Youth Group Tackles Water Woes in Rural Malawi Village
The youth aim to continually counter issues plaguing residents with local solutions until water, sanitation, learning opportunities, and other services reach acceptable standards.
KASUNGU, Malawi— Moved by deadly waterborne illness stalking their community, a group of young villagers in Malawi's Kasungu district took matters into their own hands—digging wells, laying pipes, and even building a kindergarten—to uplift their marginalised homeland, writes Johans Mumba.
Fifteen youth leaders from Chimoto village have dedicated themselves to solving local problems the government has left unattended, drawing praise from both area parents and traditional leaders.
Lack of access to clean drinking water had been an especially dire and long-running problem for the remote settlement in Traditional Authority Mnyanja.
“We have so far dug two modern wells to ensure that our village has access to clean and safe drinking water. The situation was terrible because our mothers and sisters could travel long distances to the nearby only one borehole, which villages scrambled for just to get water,” group leader Mathews Nyirenda told Malawi's National Broadcaster.
The singular crowded water point was often dry or broken with no alternatives beyond murky sources exposing many to waterborne diseases like typhoid and cholera.
“Since one borehole could not provide for all the surrounding villages, some villagers were forced to use unprotected hand-dug wells as a source of water for domestic purposes, including drinking. The village was at risk,” Nyirenda explained.
By leveraging local resources, the busy bee brigade has installed two deep-lined wells with hand pumps conveniently located for shorter, safer walks. Mother Ireen Theu no longer loses time journeying kilometres to distant taps.
Their self-starting civic action didn't end there. Seeing nursery-age children idle, the team began constructing their own rudimentary community classroom block so the next generation could get an early education.
Village Headman Kamoto says the young changemakers' initiative defies negative stereotypes of disengaged and disruptive youth. Their drive to tackle tangible neighbourhood challenges sets an inspiring example.
“We have no cases of youth-connected robberies, property destruction, and others because they commit their time to baking ideas on how to transform the area,” he said.
The youth aim to continually counter issues plaguing residents with local solutions until water, sanitation, learning opportunities, and other services reach acceptable standards.
They hope the wells and school are just the start of an ongoing quest to uplift Chimoto.