Organisation for Sustainable Social-EconomicDevelopment (Ossed) has handed over a KS0 million water solar-powered system to community members in Maulidi Village, Traditional Authority Ngokwe in Machinga District.
Ossed project manager Masauko Mthuzi said in an interview on Friday that they installed the water system under the Climate Just Communities Project with funding from the Scottish Government through DAI Global UK in Malawi to complement government’s efforts to ensure that people have access to safe water.
He said: “We urged community members to establish a water users committee and it is encouraging that the committee has already started collecting user fees.
“It has collected about K30000 in less than a month since we commissioned the water supply system.”
Mthuzi said the organisation plans to install another K70 million solar-powered water system at Namiyala Primary School in the area.
Village head Maulidi said his subjects used to fetch water from swamps and shallow wells.
“I never imagined that one day my people would be able to draw water from a modernised water system. We used to draw water from the river and wells that dry up in summer, forcing women to travel longer distances to get water, he said.
Falesi Daison, a mother, said the initiative has brought relief to the communities, particularly women who were walking long distances to get water.
“We will now have time to focus on economic activities that will uplift our families’ she said.
Maggie Ngwira, DAI Global UK in Malawi local delivery partner manager responsible for Chikwawa, Machinga, Phalombe and Zomba said Climate Just Communities Project seeks to help build resilience against impacts of climate change.
We are creating a long term sustain able change within communities in line with the pillars of climate justice, she said.
Source: The nation-Haneeph Maulana-correspondent-6 January 2025