Increasing Access To Safe Water In Rural Malawi

Phazima, Malawi – Access to safe water has always been a cause of apprehension for Maureen Phiri from Phazima Village in Malawi’s northern district of Mzimba. With the nearest source for safe water at an approximate distance of 2-4 kilometers, the only option for Phiri and the people in the village is to find an alternative water source near their homes.

“For all these years we were depending on a well-water [connected to] a nearby river,” Phiri told Rural Reporters.

However, the water source, which was constructed through communal efforts, did not provide safe water due to it multi-purpose use by the community.

“Using water from this water point was not safe as we were very prone to waterborne diseases,” Phiri said.

To solve this challenge, a shallow-well was drilled in the area through the Manyamula Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project by Find Your Feet (FYF), a Non-Governmental Organization that works to improve the lives of the poor in rural communities.

“We have been assisted such that even when we come from our gardens we still manage to fetch water for domestic use as it is near,” Phiri said.

Phazima and two other villages will benefit from the project that seeks to increase access to safe water supply within the 500-meter radius.

Although villages are often provided with Boreholes, the limited budget for the project made FYF opt for shallow wells. Compared to BoreHoles, drilling shallow well in villages is affordable and more sustainable, explained FYF Project Officer, Sain Mskambo. For instance, one shallow well costs around MK540 000 (around US$720) while a borehole cost between MK3.5 to MK5 million (around US$4600 to US$6700) depending on the geological format.

“To get the desirable results, the water points have been drilled where the water table is lower,” Mskambo said.

Apart from drilling shallow wells, the project has also been working on rehabilitating water points with abandoned boreholes.