People celebrating around a well. What’s going on? Three years of work have achieved their goal: the picture and its history.
Safe water meant a three-hour walk every day. For many women in Phalombe, southern Malawi, this was a reality for a long time. Three years ago, the New Apostolic aid organisations NAK-karitativ (Germany) and NACRO (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi) set out to radically change things. Now they can see the results.
The key figures are outlined quickly:
- two solar-powered boreholes, 16 water extraction points in 16 villages
- 20 sheltered, barrier-free toilet blocks in schools, markets, and in a health centre
- 2,127 households (a good 10,000 people) have direct access; a further 1,000 indirect access
NAK-karitativ explains what this means for the local people. The region has seen an 80 per cent drop in water-borne diseases. Children can attend school more regularly. And many families have planted small gardens or fields. The harvests are not only sufficient for their own consumption, and any surplus can be sold at local markets. This significantly improves the food situation and strengthens the economic independence of households.
“The project in Phalombe impressively demonstrates how vital water is for a dignified life,” the aid organisation concludes in its message to the donors: “Thank you for making change possible.”
Photos: NAK-karitativ
