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Imagine walking six kilometres every single day just to fetch a single jerrycan of water. Across sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls collectively lose 200 million hours daily to this grueling routine, shouldering more than 70% of the burden in water-deprived households.For years, this was the daily reality for women and girls in Bare. Trekking several kilometres to a distant stream, they faced exhaustion, lost hours, and heightened safety risks along isolated paths in the pre-dawn darkness and late evenings.Today, that trajectory has shifted. With support from the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF), the rehabilitation of a solar-powered borehole in Bare has brought clean, reliable water directly to an estimated 10,000 residents. The dividends go far beyond the tap. By reclaiming hours once lost in transit, women and girls in Bare can redirect their energy toward schooling, agricultural productivity, local enterprise, and civic life, all while significantly reducing their exposure to gender-based safety risks along remote trails. The rehabilitation of the borehole forms part of broader WPHF-supported efforts to strengthen the resilience of communities affected by the intersecting impacts of conflict, displacement and climate change across Adamawa State.During a joint monitoring visit, UN Women and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs also visited ongoing interventions in Yola South and Michika Local Government Areas, where two solar-powered boreholes are being constructed to support women farmers with irrigation.For these women, reliable access to water is closely tied to their livelihoods. Erratic rainfall and prolonged dry spells are increasingly affecting agricultural production, putting pressure on household incomes and food security. The solar-powered irrigation systems are designed to provide a more reliable source of water, enabling women farmers to extend production beyond the rainy season and strengthen their ability to adapt to changing climate conditions.Together, these interventions demonstrate how investments in basic services can contribute to wider development, livelihoods and resilience outcomes. Access to water can support food production, reduce the time burden on women and girls, and create conditions for greater participation in economic and community life.In communities facing multiple, overlapping pressures, such investments matter because they address immediate needs while also building the foundations for longer-term resilience.A borehole may be a simple piece of infrastructure, But for the women and girls of Bare community, bringing water closer to home can mean more time, greater safety and more opportunities to shape their own lives and the future of their community.