Clean water project for people in rural Malawi

Dear Pump Aid Supporters,

Thanks to your kind support an Elephant Pump Water Project in Malawi has been successfully funded. The project that you have helped to fund is in the Mchinji region rather than the Kasungu region which was stated in the previous report because our projects in Kasungu have been fully funded.

The project is in Chilowa village and has been finished in September 2012. Thanks to your help the project has been able to provide clean, safe and accessible water to a village of 144 people, including 79 children. The Elephant Pump’s simple technology means that it can be used safely and easily by anyone, which is especially beneficial to women and children who often have to travel long distances to collect water from wells which are often dangerous
to use.  The community was also educated in basic hygiene and they formed a Water Point Committee, which we trained in maintenance, to look after the pump in years to come.

Doris Pesu, 47, and Elida Muonanji, 36 both live in Chilowa village and had big problems with the open well they used to draw water from. Because it was quite shallow it would often dry out during the dry season which meant that
they’d have to walk several kilometers to the closest pump. Because for the Elephant Pump the well has been deepened and lined, it is now much less likely to dry out. Also water-borne diseases were very common in Chilowa village because the well was open to contamination, particularly during the rainy season. The enclosed Elephant Pump now prevents contamination from outside sources and greatly reduces the frequency of diseases such as diarrhoea.

These are just examples of the many benefits that your support has helped to bring to the people of Chilowa village. Thank you so much!

Links:

• Pump Aid website

The rainy season finished in Malawi a little later than usual at the end of April. A result of the prolonged rain for Pump Aid's pump builders is that water retention and filtration in wells was very high, which increased the number of days it took to prepare a well from 3 to 4/5 days per team.

Since May Pump Aid has been carrying out pre-water quality testing and has held a District Executive Committee meeting to brief district stakeholders on the project to build Elephant Pumps in Kasungu. Community mobilisation meetings have also been held as well as well preparation and pump installation activities.

So far, 15 Elephant Pumps have been installed in Kasungu, 20 wells have been upgraded and are ready for a pump to be installed and 71 water sites have been identified and verified. 

Our work in Kasungu is ongoing as we continue to deliver clean and safe water to rural communities. 

Thank you for your support.