Examples of our work in Malawi

Clean water improves health

Hawa Salimua from Mzalule village enjoys clean water from a new handpump.

Credit: WaterAid / Jon Spaull

Hawa Salimua, 18, lives in Mzalule village in the Salima District, where WaterAid's partner the Salima District Assembly recently installed a handpump. ''I collect water from this handpump three times a day. The water is much sweeter than it used to be when it was an open well.

"It was dirty then, but now it's clean. We used to have a bucket on a string that we pulled up from the well and debris used to fall in which caused people to have terrible stomach pains. I was always getting diarrhoea with extremely painful stomach ache. Now those pains have vanished and it feels so hygienic to be drinking this water.

"I feel that my children will be born into a much better future because of this clean water.''

Eco-sanitation

A concrete slab used to cover a composting latrine.

Credit: WaterAid / Jon Spaull

Mwenyenguzu Alifa, 52, from Mzalule village, explains how WaterAid's ecological latrines have also benefited the community. ''These latrines have two pits where you let the contents of the first pit decompose whilst you use the second pit.

"By the time the second pit is full the first pit can be dug out and the compost used for our gardens. This means that you don't have to keep moving your latrine when it's full as you just switch between the two pits. I quickly saw the advantage of using compost from old pits as my plants would benefit.

"I have bought more seeds so that I can start growing more trees and fruits and I'm very hopeful the manure will help me start making a good income''

Case 3: A better life

Zeinabu Kayisi is the Chair Person of the Water Committee in the village of Chiutila Kuluunda in the Salima District.

Credit: WaterAid / Jon Spaull

Zeinabu Kayisi is the Chair Person of the Water Committee in the village of Chiutila Kuluunda in the Salima District. This was the site chosen for the first ever handpump installed by WaterAid in the district and Zeinabu now helps look after the new pump.

"I had four children die and now only have one son left," she explains. "He's 14 years old. I didn't have the time back then to spend with my children but now clean water has given me more time because we're not so sick any more.

"If people feel healthier then improving their lives feels like more of a possibility. Some people in this village are now starting to better their own lives by selling donuts or drying fish and selling it. I sell samosas and fish which is helping me to become very independent and strong. Just like being able to maintain the pump myself makes me feel independent and strong!

"My wish for the future is that our village is full of happy and healthy children and that we can all earn more money which will make us even more independent and pay for schools and decent food."