Our AIM Foundation intervenes in Chikwawa water crisis

Malawi: Our AIM Foundation (OAF), a renowned international organisation working in the country, is expanding its water and sanitation support to the most rural areas in Malawi's southern region, particularly in the Chikwawa district.

This comes after the organisation began new borehole installation and rehabilitation in Gogo village, which is located in the area of Traditional Authority Mgabu in Chikwawa district, with the help of its USA-based partner organisation Bread and Water for Africa.

Dr. Parth Patel, an OAF Board Member, stated that the organisation and their partner decided to embark on the mission after observing the severe challenges that people in Chikwawa rural areas face in accessing clean water.

Patel said:  “According to our assessment, many people in Malawi especially in rural areas are still having challenges to access potable water, the water supply utilities such as water boards do not cover the entire population of the country with clean water, as a result, a lot of people are drinking unsafe water.

“In addition to that women walk long distances just to fetch water and they face difficulties along the way such as being raped which threatens their life in many aspects including their marriages. Therefore, with our mission, we want to assist in improving potable water access in the rural communities particularly to take the burden of women.”

Apart from Chikwawa, the organisation has already reached out to other districts in the country, including Mchinji, and approximately 625 sanitation facilities, including boreholes and toilets, have been built in all areas where the organisation has reached out.

When asked why OAF has chosen to work in the Chikwawa district this time, Patel stated that his organisation is concerned with the difficulties that people in the district have in accessing potable water.

"Chikwawa is one of the districts in Malawi mostly affected by water-borne diseases like cholera, the district has water challenges and people do not have safe and clean water. The people in the district travel long distance to fetch water, that is why we decided to implement our project in the district," he said.

In his statement, Lyford Mastered, Group Village Headman Gogo, expressed gratitude to OAF and Bread & Water for Africa for their generosity in his village.

"As a result, I thank Our AIM Foundation and its partner for assisting us in gaining access to potable water, which is of great benefit to the people in my village," Group Village Headman Gogo explained.

In response, Emma Mbalame, Director of Water Supply and Sanitation in the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, praised the efforts of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) such as OAF in improving water supply and sanitation in the country.

She said: “The NGOs and Civil Society Organizations are helping a lot to improve potable water access among the people which we are failing to reach out as government more especially in rural areas where people have challenges to have clean water.

“As government, we applaud these NGOs like OAF for complementing government efforts aimed at improving potable water supply in the country.”