Ending poverty requires more than just a quick fix. But we know that change is possible, and best of all, it can last.

In Ethiopia, the impacts are life-changing for families like Jamilla’s

For Jamilla and others in her community, accessing water used to present an impossible dilemma. The closest water source to her home in rural Ethiopia was heavily polluted by sewage, livestock and run-off from farms, making her young children frequently sick. To reach clean water took a four hour return journey on foot.

“I used to get water from the creek, very early in the morning before the animals came,” Jamilla says. “Everyone was sick with typhoid as a result. I frequently took my children to the clinic with typhoid.”

The alternative? A long and arduous journey to the nearest source of clean water. “If we wanted tap water it used to take four hours going and coming.”

Water is essential to life. Without it, people cannot flourish. Jamilla can tell you this, because she knows what it’s like to live without water – and she also knows what it’s like when clean water flows freely.

There is now a borehole in Jamilla’s rural village in Ethiopia, bringing a life-restoring supply of clean water to around 150 families. With support from Tearfund’s Christian partner Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church Development Commission (EKHCDC), the community installed and now maintains this precious water source, ensuring it can supply as many people as possible and improve overall sanitation and hygiene too.

The support of the passionate Tearfund community around Australia is helping Tearfund sustain transformational, long-term partnerships with Christian organisations like United Mission to Nepal (UMN), who we’ve partnered with for close to 40 years. In that time, together we’ve championed UMN’s vision to see fullness of life for all, supporting many integrated community development projects for some of the most marginalised communities in Nepal. Through catastrophic disruptions like earthquakes and landslides, unprecedented events like the COVID-19 pandemic, and the day-to-day challenges of poverty and inequality, this long-term partnership is bringing hope to hard places in Nepal.

In Mugu, the most remote area in Nepal, the life expectancy has increased by 20 years over the last 20 years — from 36 to 56. Tearfund’s partnership with UMN has played a part in driving this exciting progress. Right now, our partnership with UMN in Mugu is focused on improving access to quality education for primary-age children in 28 schools, and empowering people living with disability with improved access to their entitlements and services. The project is impacting over 1500 people directly – which ripples out to an additional 6900+ people indirectly reached!

Families in the remote area of Phongsaly, Laos have lived with limited access – whether to clean water, education, livelihoods or health services – for generations. Alongside their families and neighbours, farmers Kia Loc and Por Cher often struggled to overcome these obstacles, keeping them trapped in the cycle of poverty.

But a new story of restoration is emerging for Kia Loc, Por Cher and communities across the region. Tearfund’s local partner, World Renew Laos, has worked here for the past 14 years, building relationships and sharing skills, resources and support to open up life-giving opportunities. Initiatives have addressed immediate needs, such as installation of water points and accompanying hygiene and sanitation education. They’ve also helped to build resilience and generate long-term transformation, demonstrated in strengthened families and positive approaches to gender equality.

Now, Kia Loc and Por Cher are seeing local children access the education they never had themselves. With household latrines and new avenues to access health care, they’re seeing the health of the community flourish. They feel proud to be part of the journey of change that their community is experiencing. They see the impact it’s having on the next generation: healthier children with better opportunities to grow and learn, who can continue the story of restoration for their community.

Together with our local partners and our community of passionate supporters, we are seeing long-term transformation happen for communities facing poverty all around the world. As each of us plays our part, a powerful story of change continues to be written – across families, communities, generations, and nations.

* To protect our local partner in Afghanistan, we have withheld their name.