Martha's Story: A Mother’s Prayer Answered

Martha is a mother of sixteen children and grandmother to twenty-nine grandchildren living in Nakasero Village in Uganda’s Mityana District. Over the years, she built a life defined by perseverance, faith, and care for her family. Like so many mothers around the world, she spent her days doing what mothers do best: showing up again and again for the people she loved.

But in Nakasero, access to water shaped nearly every part of daily life.

Each day began before sunrise. Women and children walked long distances searching for water, often carrying heavy jerrycans home under the heat of the day. Time that could have been spent in school, caring for family, farming, or building a future was spent simply trying to meet a basic need.

Still, Martha kept moving forward.

“Every day was a test of its own,” Martha recalled. “Giving my children dirty water, even when I knew the danger in it, felt like punishment. But I had no choice. I kept praying that someday God [would] remember us.”

Through every challenge, Martha held onto faith, and one day, that prayer was answered.

Through the generosity of supporters committed to reaching hard-to-access communities, Well #988 was drilled in Nakasero Village, bringing clean water to more than 115 households.

The change reached far beyond water itself.

Children now drink clean water closer to home. Families have more time. Health has improved. Parents are able to focus on farming, caring for their families, and building brighter futures. What once felt out of reach slowly became possible.

And for Martha, there was something else she never expected to feel again: joy!

“In the past, we lost many family members. Our children suffered. We lost our livelihoods and even our dignity,” Martha shared, tears gathering in her eyes. “But ever since clean water came to our village, life has completely changed. Our families are healthier. There is happiness everywhere now. This new well brings life to our community. I thank God for this precious gift from our friends abroad.”

Today, Martha walks to Well #988 no longer carrying the weight of fear, but instead the lightness of relief and hope.

Because of supporters like you, mothers like Martha are experiencing something powerful: the relief of knowing that tomorrow can look different than yesterday. Thank you for helping answer prayers that have been carried for generations.