Portable water improves marriages in Machinga

Malawi: Dorica Dickson of Group Village Headman Chindamba in traditional authority Kawinga in Machinga district has commended WaterAid Malawi through Armref for the construction of 40 boreholes for the Kawinga chieftaincy's 44,925 population, writes Owen Nyaka.

"There were a lot of divorce cases in this area before this borehole." We were working at 3 a.m., hauling water, and some husbands thought we were engaging in immoral behaviour because we were leaving our homes in the dark to look for water.

"This borehole has saved some marriages, and life has changed dramatically." This time, we get up at 6 a.m. to fetch water without a fuss, and we're back in our homes in a matter of minutes," Dickson says.

She stated that her Chindamba village was plagued by diseases such as diarrhoea, and that during COVID-19, they struggled to wash their hands on a regular basis in accordance with WHO guidelines due to a lack of water.

According to a woman who requested anonymity at the Chikweo traditional authority, a health facility in the area has safe water. She stated that there was no water for the five times she had children, and the most recent time she gave birth was in 2016.

"I am so happy that there is water, and I am planning to get pregnant so that I can feel the experience of giving birth and immediately getting a bath, thanks WaterAid," she said.

Malawi has an abundance of water, with approximately 24,404 square kilometres flowing through its fertile land, but one in every three people in the country does not have access to clean water.