For Every Child, clean and safe water
Residents of Chiswankhata Village in northern Malawi can now enjoy a peaceful morning, no longer needing to rise before dawn in search of clean and safe water.

It wasn’t so long ago when 15-year-old Ethel Mkandawire, from Chiswankhata Village in Rumphi district, northern Malawi used to wake up around 4 o’clock in the morning to walk about a kilometre to fetch water at the nearby stream for her household.
Ethel, a Standard Eight learner at Chitimba Primary School tells us of the impact of the early morning water collections:
"It was difficult for me to balance school and household chores because I had to wake up around 3 or 4 a.m. to fetch water. I spent most of my morning collecting water, and by the time I got to class, I was already tired, which affected my concentration."
However, in 2024, UNICEF in collaboration with the Government of Malawi, with support from United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) restored the borehole at Chiswankhata village that has been nonfunctional since 2021. This borehole now enables the 52 households of Chiswankhata Village to access safe and clean water more easily.
Ethel, who has been selected to Karonga Girls Secondary School in Northern Malawi says the maintenance of the borehole allowed her to wake up at 3 o’clock in the morning to study and not to fetch water. This improved her performance in class.
“The construction of the borehole allowed me to have ample time of preparing for my standard eight examinations. The borehole is just a few minutes from my home, so I had ample time to prepare”, said Ethel.
Princess Chisambo, a six-year-old girl from Chiswankhata village concurs with Ethel, saying the borehole has provided an opportunity for her to drink safe water.

Witness Mhango, a mother of eight children from Chiswankhata Village says access to water treated with chlorine has reduced diarrhoeal cases in the village.
“Although we were sometimes boiling the water we fetched from the river, we were not consistent. So, diarrhoea cases including cholera were high”, said Mhango. “But with the borehole repaired, the cases have been reduced that has increased productivity in our households”, added Mhango.

Elias Duwe, Secretary of Chiswankhata Water Management Committee says UNICEF with support from USAID’s BHA has trained the committee in the borehole management to ensure sustainability of the borehole.
“Each household contributes 500 Malawi Kwacha (US$0.3) monthly which we use to buy spare parts and with the expertise we got from UNICEF we are able to do minor maintenances when needed”, said Duwe.

Doctor Chimwendo, Water Monitoring Assistant for Rumphi district says UNICEF in partnership with Self Help Africa, a non-governmental organization, with support from USAID’s BHA has constructed a total of six boreholes in Rumphi which have significantly reduced cases of diarrhoea in the district.
“In 2022/2023 we registered high cases of diarrhoea diseases including cholera but with the construction of the boreholes, the cases of diarrhoea have significantly reduced in the target areas”, said Chimwendo.