Orant is proud to announce the opening of The Kabuluzi Piped Water Project, which we are sharing with you today in this article from our partners Opulence Malawi. Take a look!
Making Clean Water Accessible in Malawi
One Donor’s Life-Changing Gift
In the Eastern part of Chikumba village, Traditional Authority in Dowa lies an old well. Not long ago, this well was the village’s only source of water.
Lontia Levison explains, “Us women bore the brunt of the situation. We used to wake up as early as 2 am to fetch water. It could take 2 hours of waiting in line before one’s turn. After getting water, we went home and prepared our children for school. Then, we went to the fields, already exhausted.
“As if this wasn’t enough, we never had enough water for washing clothes, cleaning house, and bathing. We used our water strictly for drinking and cooking. Most of our homes were unhygienic. Diarrhea was never news to us.”
Chief Chikumba says, “I’d call the situation “pathetic.” We could find dead frogs in the well. We had no choice but to drink the water anyway.
“In months between September and December, the wells could go dry. At such times, we were forced to drink from the Bua River. The water was unsafe. People bathed and even threw dead dogs in the same river we drank from.”
Madalitso Damiano knows the risks of this water first hand. “After drinking from Bua River, my whole family became terribly sick for more than a week,” he says. “It was costly for me to take them all to the hospital.”
The World Bank reports that unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation stall Malawi’s growth and poverty reduction. Clean water is paramount for a healthy community. According to USAID, about 4 million people in Malawi still lack access to safe water.
Orant makes clean water accessible by drilling and maintaining boreholes. In 2021, we drilled 15 new boreholes. Among the villages we served: Chikumba, home to Lonita and Madalitso.
“We are now one happy village,” Chief Chikumba says. “Fetching water is no longer so burdensome. My people now have enough time to concentrate on other activities. And they don’t get sick as frequently. This borehole has completely transformed our lives.”
Chikumba Village’s new borehole was made possible by donor Steve Selinger. His donation changed the lives of over 280 people.
Learn more about Orant’s Water & Sanitation Program here. If you’re interested in donating a well, send an email to [email protected] or call us at 1(940)299-1322.
Share on:
The Orant Journal
Recently, through donations from our generous supporters, our WASH Program brought clean water to Kanono village, a community in our catchment area. Read our latest blog article to discover the profound impact this gift has had on people from Kanono village.
At the heart of Orant’s programs and initiatives is sustainability, which is also one of our values. We believe in not only implementing programs or initiatives but also in creating long-lasting change that will continue to serve our community. In today's blog article, we talk about why we perform maintenance on water wells and how it contributes to the sustainability of our Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) program.
Every year on the 22nd of March, the world commemorates World Water Day as a way of raising awareness of major water-related issues and to inspire action to tackle the water and sanitation crisis. This year’s World Water Day is themed “Water for Peace.” Read our blog article to learn more about what our WASH program is doing to promote peace and foster harmony.
We are excited to have trained the Chika Water Point Committee (WPC) as a way of ensuring sustainability. Read our latest blog to learn more about WPCs and the role they play.
We are excited to tell you about the new borehole our WASH program has drilled in Chika Village, T/A Njombwa in Kasungu. Read our latest blog to learn more about how this new borehole will change the lives of people in Chika Village.
Our Water and Sanitation program continues to make a significant difference in the lives of students in rural Malawi. Read our latest blog to learn about how we support hygiene initiatives in primary schools in Dowa, Malawi.
Yona Maloto has been a Water Field Assistant for Orant's Water & Sanitation Program since 2020. We interviewed him to learn more about his work.
Clean water is a gendered issue in Malawi. Women and girls bear the brunt of the water burden. Malita Chimbalame tells her story.
Madzi ndi Moyo: water is life. Melina Maiko of Central Malawi reflects on the gift of water. A new water well impacts her family and village.