In Sare Samba village in the Sandu area of The Gambia's Upper River Region, women walk under the midday sun carrying 20-litre buckets of water on their heads just to keep small vegetable gardens alive.
The nearest market with fresh vegetables is about 5 to 7 kilometres away in Sandu town, making daily purchases impossible for many families. As a result, women depend on backyard and community gardens for food. But even these gardens are struggling to survive.
Every day, dozens of women walk about 300 metres from a village well to a fenced garden on the outskirts of the village. They repeat the journey several times a day, carrying heavy buckets of water.
"This is how we have been struggling to water our garden just to at least access some fresh vegetables for our families," said Haddy Sowe.
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There is no government-supported irrigation system in the area. No NGO project has installed taps or drip irrigation. The women rely entirely on a distant water source and their own effort.
During the rainy season, women farm millet, maize and groundnuts in the fields. In the dry season, most rural farmers rest. Not in Sare Samba.
"These are women full of hope as they have no resting season," a community member said.
With no formal dry-season support, the women created small backyard gardens. When space became limited, a local benefactor fenced off land outside the village and handed it over for gardening. It provided land, but no water.
The lack of water has already forced some women to abandon their plots.
"As you can see, some women have already abandoned their gardens because they could not continue carrying water from the village to the garden outside," said Adama Bah.
She said some women only managed to maintain the gardens during Ramadan, when fresh vegetables were urgently needed for meals after fasting.
"Some women just tried it just for Ramadan so they could access vegetables, and after they abandoned it," she said. "It is very hard to continue fetching water from the village to this garden, which is about three hundred meters away."
For many households, buying vegetables from town is not realistic.
"Even if you have money, you won't have anywhere to buy vegetables unless you travel up to 5 to 7 kilometres," said Binta Sowe.
Transport costs between D50 and D100 per trip make regular shopping impossible for most families.
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The gardens, despite the struggle, remain essential for survival.
The Alkalo of Sare Samba, Saidou Jallow, said the situation reflects deeper problems of basic services in rural communities.
"Looking at the situation and how my villagers struggle just to access water, which is one of the most fundamental human rights, that is so sympathetic," he said.
"We have been paying our taxes regularly to the government and we have been voting for government. But with all that, we are being forgotten or denied our access to our basic needs, which are our fundamental rights. And these include good roads, sufficient water supply, and others."
Sare Samba falls under Misira Ward.
Repeated attempts to reach the ward councillor, Saikou T. Drammeh, for comment were unsuccessful. It was later confirmed that he is out of the country.
The fenced garden area was provided by a private donor, giving women space to grow vegetables. But without water infrastructure, such as a borehole or irrigation system,many plots remain at risk.
Despite the hardship, women continue to carry water daily in the hope of keeping at least part of the garden alive.
For women like Haddy Sowe, Binta Sowe and Adama Bah, the message is simple with water, the gardens can feed their families. Without it, they slowly disappear.
