They have had no access to safe clean water all these years; dirty scoop holes provided this much needed resource ? water.
For over fifty years, this community of over 1,200 people survived on scoop holes. These scoop holes would not provide adequate water to this high population.
Women would fight to have access to water that was killing them. Yet this is a common experience of many other communities in Traditional Chief Ngokwe, located at the eastern end of Machinga district.
Drinking water resource before constructing borehole(2) Drinking water resource before constructing borehole(1)
Like a good dream come true, the Malajira community at last have access to safe clean water! Heart to Heart International,
with funding from KOICA, has supported this community and thirteen other communities to have access to safe clean water.
The HtHI Malawi Branch Office organised a facility completion ceremony on 5th November.
The ultimate purpose is to ensure that these facilities are sustained over time so that target communities continue to enjoy this support.
The newly constructed borehole
Several Government officials from Ministry of Irrigation and Development, Ministry of Health, Machinga District Council,
Ministry of Gender including Traditional Chief Ngokwe and other Traditional leaders under him, CSOs, community members and of course HtHI staffs participated at the completion ceremony.
About four hundred people participated at this Completion Ceremony. Government officials, Traditional Chief Ngokwe all expressed deep gratitude to HtHI and KOICA.
Chindimba performance from community leader Ribbon cutting to announce the opening of ceremony
In a typical Malawian style, women and men danced in circles, with lots of excitement. Traditional leaders also performed the Chindimba
dance (no one but traditional leaders join in this dance). Songs of gratitude to HtHI and KOICA filled the atmosphere, spiced by ululation and whistling.
“You have saved our lives, you have liberated us from many years of struggles fetching water.
We don’t need to drink water which has contaminated by livestock’s defecation no more.
WASH related diarrhoea and the untimely deaths of our children are now issues of the past”, they said.
Demonstration of new built borehole
Women who use borehole Child who drinks water through newly constructed borehole
