If you look at her hands, you'll see her struggles. Literally.

Who knew a bucket of water could be so hard? They do.

Aissa lives in Sahel, a region south of the Sahara Desert, in Niger.

Sahel is notorious for its lack of water.

Near Torombi Village, where Aissa lives, there is a very deep well.

That's where the village women get their water by hauling it up in buckets.

Pulling up buckets of water is harder work than you'd imagine.

Just ask the women about their hands.

"When you get used to drawing water, you don't feel the pain any more. The first time you draw water, the skin pulls off and your hands bleed, but you continue to draw water." — Aissa

But worse than having bleeding and blistering hands? Falling into the well, which is exactly what happened to Aissa — and her daughter.

Aissa yelled for others to come save her daughter:

"Just save my child! I know that I will surely die. Let my child go back home and may God bless her."

Ultimately, they were OK.

But the danger that comes just from trying to get water remains.

Watch below to see Aissa tell her story, as well as the story of another village, Sourountouna, that has found a way to battle the scarcity.

Video via Charity Water.

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