WILLIAM VILLAGE, MALAWI
IN PROGRESS
STATUS
PEOPLE IN SERVICE AREA
DOLLARS FUNDED
SEE MAP
FUNDED JUNE 28, 2023
William Village, Malawi is a rural village in the Thyolo District of southern Malawi. There are 1,900 people in the village, but no access to clean water. The donation of Ingomar Living Water will provide a borehole well with a hand pump, which can serve 1,000 people a day. Human drinking water is the primary focus, but it is likely that some of the water will be used for watering animals or watering gardens
William Village is a large, poor farming village. It is an upland place, and the current water source is the contaminated bottom dambo (swampy area) where people dig hand-dug wells near the stream. They also collect water directly from the stream for drinking and household use. The people also dam the water. It’s very dirty.
There is no clean water source in the area. The stream top is covered with grass and has banana plants surrounding it. People push aside the grass covering and try to collect the water from beneath. Most of the time the water has a greenish color. Both wild animals and domestic animals such as goats, pigs, and dogs come to drink. Also, people walk here to wash themselves in the surface stream.
Testimony from the video below:
My name is Jacqline Unkumba, I am the leader of FGW [Farming God’s Way] team. In this village we have a very big problem. We are close to the [? ], but we have a very big problem concerning water. Many school children, the water we are using, we are using water from this swamp as you can see. As it is alongside the road, many often come here to draw water without handwashing. Small children have problem with this water. Often the disease afflicting people here is cholera. Much of the time kids don’t go to school because of this disease. They are admitted into the hospital. For example, one village man came to draw water. He drank the water, he fainted down. Right away, he started opening bowels and vomiting. Arrangements were made to take him to the hospital, [but] when they got there it was too late, things were not okay. At the central hospital he was diagnosed to have gone with cholera. This problem goes high when it’s rainy season because all the waters drain here. Apart from that, the domestic animals, goats, pigs, cows, they do come here to drink as well. When we take the water home, without knowing children just run and start to drink the water. Then they suffer from pain, diseases from stomach. Right away you see the symptom of vomiting and opening bowels. When at the hospital oftentimes the hospital diagnoses as cholera. We hope for your help for water. How can we go on with good life without water.
Our relationship with the hospital and nation, when will we come to the end of this problem. We humbly request please help us with water. God bless you. Thank you very much.
According to the villagers in this community, most suffer from cholera and also bilharzia and dysentery.
Currently, Malawi is experiencing a serious and deadly cholera outbreak in the nation, one of the worst in its history. In the past year over 50K reported cases and 1500 deaths. The Republic of Malawi Ministry of Health provides a daily update for reported cholera cases. The dates we checked in recent times showed an average of 400 cases reported each day, an average of 740 people in the hospital, and a 3.16% death rate among reported cases. This disease can be avoided and stopped by providing access to see, clean water.
The total cost of a borehole well and a hand pump is $3,500 for materials and labor. If funds are received in June 2023, we expect the project to start in July and be completed in August.
Our ministry partner, Charles Mithowa, is the main director for these well projects and has completed many. These are very reliable partners and we have had excellent success in our relationship with them to date. Heaven’s Family sister ministry, Farming God’s Way, has been working with Charles for some years now. The farming program is changing lives of poor farmers by helping them raise more food and teaching discipleship. The government of Malawi has recognized the success of our Farming God’s Way program with these partners.
We do not do projects unless we have formed an ongoing partnership with any ministry partner who is involved in any Safe Water Ministry project, with a good track record of accountability. We require ‘before’ marker photos where the well will be drilled. We collect pertinent details that describe the need, collect completion photos, reports and testimonies. The driller will be the same as long as they keep doing good work. They have been very accommodating.
We desire to protect the on-going success of the well once it’s complete. As a part of our process, we require all of our ministry partners to agree to prepare for and manage any future maintenance on the well. The receiving partner ministry may take on the responsibility and/or they may create a water commission, have community meetings, and have the community agree to contribute in some way, according to ability. It is very important that the local people know that this is ‘their’ well. When they know they have ownership they will work to take care of it best they can. The whole community agrees how best to manage the water asset. Often times very small fees are charged for the future management of the well. The process varies from place to place.
Here with this particular ministry, ‘God’s Love Groups’, discipleship groups in place for our Farming God’s Way ministry, will direct some of the management. The beneficiaries will contribute a small amount to pay for maintenance. Both the GLG teams and community authorities shall manage the property for permanent use for the community.
Thick vegetation grows and rots on top of the water.
William Village is in urgent need of clean water. There is no clean water source available to them. The benefits are many. The people will have clean water to drink, and water to bathe with and cook with. The kids can go to school. Currently, the kids miss much school due to illness. They are a rural community and they must spend money on hospital visits due to cholera and other sicknesses. This money for medicine and hospital trips would be saved. Kids would be healthier and go to school. The people would see how the Lord does care for them through such a transformative gift. The FGW presence will be strengthened and more people will become involved in meaningful disciple-making groups.
William Village was introduced to FGW in 2017, when the villagers plus the village head came to the conclusion that their lands were not good for crops, as traditional farming was not producing anything much. People and families were not happy living in this community. All families were in a cyclical, terrible situation of hunger until the village was introduced to FGW. Since implementing FGW the community is increasingly enjoying good harvests every year and are producing enough food for keeping and supporting their families with enough food for daily meals. Besides the physical ministry of growing food, the discipleship component, GLGs (God’s Love Groups) of FGW, has helped the people to learn to work together and to follow the Lord more closely. The meetings are regular, the Bible is studied, they pray, and the community is built up, The program also increases dignity and purpose, and provides them with success, which is another benefit for these very poor people.
All projects are made possible by World Changers.