In Abyan Governorate, Yemen, a rehabilitated well ends years of dangerous journeys for unsafe water.
Clean water transforms lives for families in Yemen
For three years, 60-year-old Kudafah walked six kilometers every day - three kilometers each way - balancing a 20-litre container of contaminated water on her head. Her daily journey started and ended at her family's temporary shelter in Gawl Al-Saddah camp, Yemen. She and her ten children fled their home in Hodeidah and settled here, where her sons find occasional work by the sea or on nearby farms.
The irrigation water from nearby farms was never meant for drinking, but for the 151 displaced families in Gawl Al-Saddah camp, it was their only option.
"That water was making us sick,” Kudafah explains. “Several families developed kidney diseases. But we had no choice. Clean water was too expensive, and there was nowhere else to get it."
A crisis within a crisis
Kudafah's story reflects the harsh reality across Yemen, where more than 15 million people - half the population - lack access to safe drinking water. When floods destroyed the only well near Gawl Al-Saddah camp, both displaced families and the surrounding community lost their last source of clean water.
The daily search for water consumed entire mornings. Children missed school. Parents couldn't work. Families sometimes skipped meals because they didn't have enough water to cook.
"I'll never forget watching children fall from donkeys, their water containers breaking after hours of effort," Kudafah recalls. "Imagine a child's frustration - spending half the day fetching water, only to lose it all on the way home."
From survival to stability
Today, clear water flows freely from taps just metres from Kudafah's shelter. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), with funding from EU Humanitarian Aid, rehabilitated the buried well and installed two water tanks and distribution points throughout the camp.
The transformation was immediate and profound. The day the pump flowed, families who had rationed every drop for years ran to fill their containers with clean, safe water.
"We didn't believe it would last," Kudafah says, smiling. "But it's been months now. The bad moments have truly gone."
For 25-year-old Ghaleb and his wife, this change means reclaiming their mornings. "We used to spend hours fetching water that was never enough for the day,” he explains. “Sometimes we couldn't even cook. Now our children go to school every day. We can work. We can live normally again."
Lasting impact
The rehabilitated well now serves 264 families—152 displaced families in the camp and 112 families from the host community. Beyond the numbers, it represents restored dignity, improved health, and renewed hope.
Children attend school regularly. Parents pursue livelihoods. Families no longer fear kidney disease from contaminated water. Simple acts - cooking a meal, washing clothes, offering a guest a glass of water - have become possible again.
The broader challenge
While this well brings transformation to 264 families based in Gawl Al-Saddah camp, Abyan governorate, millions across Yemen still make dangerous daily journeys to fetch unsafe water. In 2024 alone, NRC reached 52,553 people with clean water and sanitation services - critical progress in a country where access to water can mean the difference between sickness and health, between mere survival and the chance to thrive.
For Kudafah and her neighbors in Gawl Al-Saddah camp, that difference is now their daily reality. Clean water flows. When not in school, children play instead of carrying containers to search for water. And families dare to dream beyond the next drink of water.
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