Commonwealth Business Communications
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • COUNTRIES
    • AFRICA
      • BOTSWANA
      • CAMEROON
      • GAMBIA
      • GHANA
      • KENYA
      • KINGDOM OF eSWATINI
      • LESOTHO
      • MALAWI
      • MAURITIUS
      • MOZAMBIQUE
      • NAMIBIA
      • NIGERIA
      • RWANDA
      • SEYCHELLES
      • SIERRA LEONE
      • SOUTH AFRICA
      • TANZANIA
      • UGANDA
      • ZAMBIA
    • ASIA
      • BANGLADESH
      • BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
      • INDIA
      • MALAYSIA
      • MALDIVES
      • PAKISTAN
      • SINGAPORE
      • SRI LANKA
    • CARIBBEAN AND AMERICAS
      • ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
      • BAHAMAS
      • BARBADOS
      • BELIZE
      • CANADA
      • DOMINICA
      • GRENADA
      • GUYANA
      • JAMAICA
      • SAINT LUCIA
      • ST KITTS AND NEVIS
      • ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
      • TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
    • EUROPE
      • CYPRUS
      • MALTA
      • UNITED KINGDOM
    • PACIFIC
      • AUSTRALIA
      • FIJI
      • KIRIBATI
      • NAURU
      • NEW ZEALAND
      • PAPUA NEW GUINEA
      • SAMOA
      • SOLOMON ISLANDS
      • TONGA
      • TUVALU
      • VANUATU
  • AREAS OF WORK
    • GOVERNMENT
    • EDUCATION
    • HEALTH
    • ICT
    • INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
    • NATURAL RESOURCES
    • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
    • TRADE AND INVESTMENT
  • OUR PUBLICATIONS
    • CHOGM
      • COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT INTERIM REPORT 2020
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2018 REPORT
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2015 REPORT
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2011 REPORT
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2009 REPORT
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2007 REPORT
    • HEALTH
      • COMMONWEALTH HEALTH REPORT 2022
      • COMMONWEALTH HEALTH REPORT 2020
    • EDUCATION
      • COMMONWEALTH EDUCATION REPORT 2023
      • COMMONWEALTH EDUCATION REPORT 2021
      • COMMONWEALTH EDUCATION REPORT 2019
    • MINISTERS
      • MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK COMMONWEALTH 2017
      • MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK COMMONWEALTH 2015
      • MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK COMMONWEALTH 2014
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2011
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2010
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2009
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2008
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2007
    • FINANCE
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REPORT 2012
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REFERENCE REPORT 2010
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REFERENCE REPORT 2009
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REFERENCE REPORT 2008
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REFERENCE REPORT 2007
    • TRADE AND INVESTMENT
      • AFRICA INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT REPORT 2013
    • QUEEN AND COMMONWEALTH
      • QUEEN & COMMONWEALTH: CELEBRATING HER MAJESTY’S PLATINUM JUBILEE
      • QUEEN & COMMONWEALTH: 90 GLORIOUS YEARS
      • QUEEN & COMMONWEALTH: CELEBRATING HER MAJESTY’S DIAMOND JUBILEE
  • CONTRIBUTORS
  • CONTACT US
Commonwealth Business Communications
Commonwealth Business Communications
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • COUNTRIES
    • AFRICA
      • BOTSWANA
      • CAMEROON
      • GAMBIA
      • GHANA
      • KENYA
      • KINGDOM OF eSWATINI
      • LESOTHO
      • MALAWI
      • MAURITIUS
      • MOZAMBIQUE
      • NAMIBIA
      • NIGERIA
      • RWANDA
      • SEYCHELLES
      • SIERRA LEONE
      • SOUTH AFRICA
      • TANZANIA
      • UGANDA
      • ZAMBIA
    • ASIA
      • BANGLADESH
      • BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
      • INDIA
      • MALAYSIA
      • MALDIVES
      • PAKISTAN
      • SINGAPORE
      • SRI LANKA
    • CARIBBEAN AND AMERICAS
      • ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
      • BAHAMAS
      • BARBADOS
      • BELIZE
      • CANADA
      • DOMINICA
      • GRENADA
      • GUYANA
      • JAMAICA
      • SAINT LUCIA
      • ST KITTS AND NEVIS
      • ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
      • TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
    • EUROPE
      • CYPRUS
      • MALTA
      • UNITED KINGDOM
    • PACIFIC
      • AUSTRALIA
      • FIJI
      • KIRIBATI
      • NAURU
      • NEW ZEALAND
      • PAPUA NEW GUINEA
      • SAMOA
      • SOLOMON ISLANDS
      • TONGA
      • TUVALU
      • VANUATU
  • AREAS OF WORK
    • GOVERNMENT
    • EDUCATION
    • HEALTH
    • ICT
    • INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
    • NATURAL RESOURCES
    • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
    • TRADE AND INVESTMENT
  • OUR PUBLICATIONS
    • CHOGM
      • COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT INTERIM REPORT 2020
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2018 REPORT
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2015 REPORT
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2011 REPORT
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2009 REPORT
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2007 REPORT
    • HEALTH
      • COMMONWEALTH HEALTH REPORT 2022
      • COMMONWEALTH HEALTH REPORT 2020
    • EDUCATION
      • COMMONWEALTH EDUCATION REPORT 2023
      • COMMONWEALTH EDUCATION REPORT 2021
      • COMMONWEALTH EDUCATION REPORT 2019
    • MINISTERS
      • MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK COMMONWEALTH 2017
      • MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK COMMONWEALTH 2015
      • MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK COMMONWEALTH 2014
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2011
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2010
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2009
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2008
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2007
    • FINANCE
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REPORT 2012
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REFERENCE REPORT 2010
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REFERENCE REPORT 2009
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REFERENCE REPORT 2008
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REFERENCE REPORT 2007
    • TRADE AND INVESTMENT
      • AFRICA INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT REPORT 2013
    • QUEEN AND COMMONWEALTH
      • QUEEN & COMMONWEALTH: CELEBRATING HER MAJESTY’S PLATINUM JUBILEE
      • QUEEN & COMMONWEALTH: 90 GLORIOUS YEARS
      • QUEEN & COMMONWEALTH: CELEBRATING HER MAJESTY’S DIAMOND JUBILEE
  • CONTRIBUTORS
  • CONTACT US

Malawi Community Uses Solar Power Pump to Manage Water Flow

  • CBC News Team
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0

Rural communities in Malawi face regular droughts and floods, as well as health risks such as diarrhoea and cholera, but a new project is helping to change this

Rural communities in Malawi face regular droughts and floods, as well as health risks such as diarrhoea and cholera, but a new project is helping to change this.

In 2015, UNICEF contractors arrived to install a solar-powered water pump in Kunja village, replacing a well frequented by locals up until that point which had unsafe drinking water and was located 5km from the village.

In order to be successful, the pump needed to be able to withstand shocks and natural disasters.

A drill was used to access water deeper underground than a hand pump could reach, meaning water would be available even through droughts when the water table drops.

The whole community contributed to the pump’s construction, digging trenches and fetching water with which to make concrete.

The pump now provides water to local villages and schools and operators visit daily to test the water quality and chlorine levels.

Before the pump’s construction, children were prevented from going to school by the need to travel all day to fetch water from the well, or from becoming sick from drinking the unsafe water.

They were vulnerable to attack if returning to the village from the well after dark, and whole families starved due to insufficient harvests caused by droughts.

Now, the community is engaged in protecting the new water source and understanding the value of safe water.

Representatives from local villages have formed a committee which raises money to pay the pump operators and tap attendants, as well as to make basic repairs.

An initiative has recently started to fundraise for a garden, fed by the pump, to be planted in the village, so that its produce can be sold to raise money for maintenance and major repairs.

As a direct result of the project, attendance at the local primary school has increased from 300 to 449 children.

UNICEF Malawi’s Chief of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Paulos Workneh said: “[The pump is] low maintenance and should last for at least 10 years.

“And solar power is cheaper, environment-friendly and more sustainable than relying on expensive diesel generators.”

Headmaster Kapalamula, at the local primary school, said: “The learners have water to drink and to wash their hands after using the toilet.

“Our school grades have improved because of better attendance.                     

“We’re attracting better teachers and they stay for longer.

“Our school has become a desirable place to work, because of the pump.”

Read More: The Vice President of Malawi Saulosi Chilima vowed that the government will continue working to eliminate violence against women and girls during the launch of the End Violence against Women and Girls campaign, organised by Oxfam Malawi in Lilongwe

iStock_water_pump.jpg

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
CBC News Team

Previous Article

COL Reports on Impact of Education on Women and Girls

  • CBC News Team
Read More
Next Article

Classroom Activity Pack to Support CHOGM 2018

  • CBC News Team
Read More
You May Also Like
Commonwealth Youth finalists
Read More
  • Uncategorized

Regional finalists announced for the Commonwealth Youth Awards 2023

  • CBC News Team
  • 1 September 2023
Read More
  • Uncategorized

Celebrating Trinidad and Tobago Independence Day

  • slessorecbc
  • 31 August 2023
Commonwealth Youth Award Trophies - transparent trophies inscribed "The Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work 2020"
Read More
  • Uncategorized

Commonwealth Youth Awards 2023 shortlists 50 outstanding young leaders

  • CBC News Team
  • 28 July 2023
Read More
  • Uncategorized

Trinbago 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games | 4 – 11 August 2023

  • CBC News Team
  • 19 July 2023
Peter Obi lands surprise victory in Lagos
Read More
  • Uncategorized

Peter Obi lands surprise victory in Lagos

  • CBC News Team
  • 27 February 2023
New Zealand declares national emergency as Cyclone Gabrielle pummels the country
Read More
  • Uncategorized

New Zealand declares national emergency as Cyclone Gabrielle pummels the country

  • CBC News Team
  • 17 February 2023
Flag of Nauru
Read More
  • Uncategorized

Celebrating Nauru Independence Day

  • CBC News Team
  • 31 January 2023
Malta encourages bilingualism with new policy
Read More
  • Education & Youth
  • EDUCATION
  • MALTA
  • EUROPE
  • Uncategorized

Malta encourages bilingualism with new policy

  • CBC News Team
  • 12 January 2023
OUR LATEST PUBLICATION
Commonwealth Education Report 2023
EDUCATION 23

Subscribe to our Newsletter

PARTNER FOCUS
Recent Posts
  • Close up on Mosquito. Mosquito-borne disease Dengue outbreak in Jamaica
    Jamaican Health Ministry Declares Dengue Outbreak
  • Commonwealth team to observe Maldives second round election run-off
    Commonwealth team to observe Maldives election run-off
  • Kenyan President during During the unveiling of kits to the 100,000 Community Health Promoters to the 47 County Governments at Uhuru Park, Nairobi County.
    Kenyan President Ruto To Launch Community Health Promoters Kit To Counties
  • African leaders show the “gap” during the campaign launch in the United Nations HQ. (Centre left) H.E. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal; (Second from left) H.E. Jakaya Kikwete, Former President of the United Republic of Tanzania; (Centre) H.E. Josefa Sacko, African Union Commissioner, ARBE; (Centre left) Harsen Nyambe, Director: Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment at the African Union; (Second from left) Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD; (Right) Hon. Carl Schlettwein, Minister of Agriculture, Water, & Forestry, Namibia; (Left) Alex Simalabwi, Executive Director: High-Level Panel Secretariat
    African Leaders commit to Mind the Gap – Invest in Water as the race to achieve SDG 6 in Africa accelerates

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

Commonwealth Business Communications
  • HOME
  • About
  • Contact
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
© 2022 Commonwealth Business Communications Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.