Water Project in Blantyre City, Malawi

Initial situation

In the three schools where the project is being implemented there were no alternative sources of water to obtain drinking water, apart from two broken wells in the Mayera and South Lunzu districts. The pupils were therefore asked to bring their own drinking water. This is a measure that is unsustainable and hygienically problematic.

Goal

The project objective was to improve access to clean, safe drinking water for three primary schools in the town of Blantyre in Malawi. This will benefit 3,160 pupils of the Chisombezi Primary School, 4,600 pupils of the Mayera Primary School and 6,900 pupils of the South Lunzu Primary School. Furthermore, 600 households will share the water supply of the schools and benefit from clean water.

Repair work successful – water at two primary schools

The repair works on the wells of the primary school in Mayera and South Lunzu have been successfully completed. At present, the pumps of both wells are working perfectly, the water produced is free of mud and pathogens, and the flow rates also cover the daily drinking water requirements.

Prior to the project start in March 2020, the structural conditions of wells, boreholes and damage were recorded and assessed at all three facilities. The individual drilling sites were checked for possible sources of contamination due to defective wastewater disposal systems on site so that the quality of the groundwater is not endangered.

Despite Corona Pandemic

In March 2020, our partner organisation Action for Environmental Sustainability (AfES), together with Blantyre City Council, organized a meeting with school administrations and parent-teacher associations to discuss and plan the way forward for the implementation of project measures during and after the Corona pandemic.

Despite the pandemic, all parties involved declared their willingness to continue with the activities under strict safety and hygiene measures, as there was no danger to the project implementation despite the closure of schools by the Malawian government. Instead, the time off from school was used for construction work so that the students would have access to clean drinking water when they returned home.