Malawi has a population of 19.8 million people – most of which are living below the poverty line of $1.90 per day. 42% of the population do not have access to clean water and 26% of the population do not have access to basic sanitation services.
Enelesi
A typical day for Enelesi meant waking up at 4am to fetch water from a nearby community.
This all changed when Enelesi’s village received access to water services last year. Not only is she now benefitting from the new water system minutes from her house, but she’s a part of making sure it’s maintained sustainably as the village water committee president.
“To know I have water is the greatest thing that has happened in my life.”
Our work
We work in rural areas where the majority of the community members are subsistence farmers – working to grow sufficient crops to feed themselves and their families.
With our partners, we are drilling new community water points and repairing broken pumps – with 30% of community water points not working at any one time in Malawi, we are also improving future sustainability by training community members to manage and maintain their water points.
In urban regions, we continue to support a district-wide coordinated approach known as Everyone Forever. The programme works with key stakeholders such as local government, communities and utility companies to reach Everyone in an entire district, delivering sustainable services that last Forever.
As part of our COVID-19 response, The One Foundation repaired three solar water systems in health centres in Thyolo – helping to keep over 66,000 people in and around the health centres safe from the virus. Handwashing promotion and COVID-19 prevention messaging was also provided to over 126,000 people in the local area.