After years of relying on costly tanker deliveries, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Syria has restored reliable water access for thousands of families in two Syrian communities.

In Kafr Naha, a village outside Aleppo, the only reliable water came by private tanker, which drew from wells that had not been tested for safety. Each delivery cost close to 600,000 Syrian pounds a month.

Families like Abdul Qader's spent nearly one-fifth of their monthly income to keep water in the house. Qader supports 16 relatives and manages a chronic heart condition. With resources so expensive, Qader's and other families were forced to choose between water, food, and medicine each month.

ADRA Syria rehabilitated the borehole, pumping station, and elevated water tank in Kafr Naha. Reliable water now reaches roughly 1,200 households, nearly 6,000 people. For community members like Qader, the new water source made an immediate difference. Money Qader once spent on tanker deliveries now goes toward his heart treatment, other family needs, and better meals.

"Providing for a large family while living with a heart condition has always been difficult," he said. "Now that water reaches our home reliably, we can focus more on medicine, food, and our baby daughter's needs instead of carrying the constant worry of buying water."

In Kafr Ammeh, a village in Idlib province, 55-year-old Umm Bashar faced similar challenges. She raises three orphaned grandchildren. Every 10 days, she paid 150,000 Syrian pounds for tanker water—nearly half her monthly income. The cost of water left little room for medicine or the children's other needs, and she could never be sure the water itself was safe.

ADRA's rehabilitation of Kafr Ammeh's borehole, pumping station, and elevated tank changed Bashar's and other community members' situation. Around 800 families—nearly 4,000 people—now have regular access to water. Bashar no longer depends on water tankers, and the money she saves helps her manage diabetes and heart disease while raising her grandchildren.

"Before, we waited many days before we could afford water, and we were never sure it was safe," she said. "Today, water reaches our home regularly. It has eased our burdens and given us hope that Kafr Ammeh can recover."

For families in both villages, dependable water means more than convenience. It ends the daily choice between health, food, and safety—a choice that families like Qader's and Bashar's had faced for years. For Qader, Bashar, and thousands of others, clean water arriving at the tap is a new beginning.

The original article was published on the Middle East and North Africa Union news site.