In rural Madagascar, a clean water tap empowers woman to follow her dream

Clean water changed everything for one family in rural Madagascar.

Before a tap was put in her community, Honorine got up at 3 a.m. every morning to walk several miles for water, which was dirty and often made her husband and children sick. Recently, the development organization Helvetas installed a clean water pump in her community, and "when the tap was finished, everybody screamed," Honorine told charity: water. "The children and the adults alike all yelled, 'The water pump is finished! The water pump is finished!'"

Immediately, life was easier. Honorine could stay home in the mornings and bilharzia, a disease caused by parasites that live in dirty water, was no longer plaguing the community. The clean water also allowed Honorine to follow her dream of opening a restaurant. Her days are now spent baking banana bread, making soup, and welcoming diners to her café, and the money she's making is used to ensure her family always has enough to eat and her children's school fees are paid. "This restaurant is my job now, and I find it wonderful," she said. "We are happy. Really happy."