Malawi Project Details

Project Number: MAL 0443

Name of Project: Engucwini School and Health Clinic Water and Sanitation Project

Location: Engucwini, Malawi – in the Muzuz District

Malawi: The Land, the People and the Economy

Of the 10 million people in Malawi, only half have access to clean, safe drinking water. As a result, water-related diseases such as schistosomiasis (bilharzia) and amoebic dysentery are rampant. Further complicating conditions in this southeast African country is the fact that 50 percent of the population is under the age of 15, only 40 percent are literate, and 90 percent live in rural areas and depend on subsistence farming for survival. According to World Bank estimates, the average income in Malawi is $170 a year.

For several years, drought has affected the subsistence farming lifestyle of most of the population. As a result of a low literacy rate, few people can find other employment to purchase food for their families. AIDS/HIV has invaded the country -- one out of five are HIV positive. Nearly one in four children cannot expect to live beyond the age of five, and every other child displays signs of stunted growth.

Malawi, which shares borders with Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania, is ranked as one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. After 30 years of authoritarian rule, Malawi now has a democratically elected government. But political and economic growth is still slow due to high population growth, low life expectancy, low education levels, increase in the spread of AIDS/HIV, and poor access to health care.

Three years ago, Malawi was chosen as a pilot country because it is a country where NGOs are welcomed and supported by the government. In addition, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other West European countries have all supported Malawi’s development efforts. In fact, Malawi has become a good model of basic development programs, and donor and NGO coordination is strong.

Community Needs

Health care services and health education are severely lacking in Malawi. Fifty- three percent of the population is in need of potable water and 97 percent has no access to proper waste disposal. Most of the people who live near Lake Malawi, which accounts for one fourth of the country, rely on the unsafe lake water for drinking water and on the fish supply for food. Men herd their small quantities of livestock to the water for drinking. Women wash clothes and families bathe in its waters. For communities not close to the lake, fetching water requires a five-hour walk, after which the water must be boiled for purification.

Water For People in Malawi

WFP's philosophy is to create a partnership with local Malawian non-governmental organizations that have the language, cultural and technical expertise to carry out the projects in the most efficient way. The idea is to help them develop the ability to financially and technically support safe drinking water projects. Providing health and hygiene education to all communities that receive WFP’s assistance is an important component to this support.

The Project: Description of Community
Over 10,500 people call the Engucwini Area in the Southern District of Malawi home. The area is broken into 23 small villages, all in desperate need of water, sanitation and health care services. It is a poverty-stricken area as the farming industry has failed over the years. The economic decline is due to the decrease in tobacco plants sales and poor rainy seasons. Because there are few economic opportunities in the area, most of the men have migrated to South Africa to work in the diamond mines, leaving women and children behind to fend for themselves. Women spend hours a day tending to their homes and working in subsistence farming. Children spend some time in school, but rarely attend past sixth grade as the demands of home overtake education.

Chilukwa Primary School Water and Sanitation Component
One of the schools in the Engucwini area is the Chilukwa Primary School. It was established in 1984 by the Malawian Government. Although the Government provided funds for the infrastructure (school buildings, supplies and some equipment), it did not provide a source of water or sanitation facilities for the schoolchildren. Over 400 girls and boys attend the school and have to use the open field for their “toilet”. In terms of drinking water, they go without or bring small containers of water (oftentimes unfit to drink) from their shallow wells located at home. The rate of water and fecal-related disease is high in the school. Children miss several days of school a month due to illness.

This proposal addresses the dire needs of the Chilukwa school and will drill one borehole (drilled well) for drinking water. The well will be fitted with an Afridev pump where replacement and spare parts are easily obtained. In addition, WFP will assist with the construction of 10 Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) latrines. Each latrine will be 3-meters deep and protected by a sturdy structure. Five latrines will be built for boys and five latrines for girls. It is well documented that many female students drop out of schools once they reach puberty. It is impossible for girl children to maintain hygienic standards while using the fields as a “toilet” and this situation forces them out of school. By constructing safe and private toilet areas, it is hoped that female student enrollment will increase rather than drop.

The parents and teachers of Chilukwa school will provide all of the unskilled labor and a water committee of local residents will be formed to ensure the pump is operated and maintained after WFP leaves. Two United States Peace Corps Volunteers (stationed in the area) will serve as the health and hygiene educators and will teach the schoolchildren (and their parents) the important health lessons needed to complement the water and sanitation infrastructure.

Engucwini Health Center Latrine and Shower Construction Component
The Engucwini Health Center was built in 1984 by the Malawian Government. Although the Government provided the infrastructure, it did not provide a clean water source, a sanitation system or a location where patients and health professionals could clean themselves. One lone health worker has staffed the Center for the past 20 years having only a small supply of medication to dispense each month. There are no toilet or shower facilities, no beds for patients and no medical supplies. The health worker has struggled to provide good quality and hygienic services to his patients over the years.

In 2002, WFP drilled a well for the Center. It was the first time the Center had a clean source of drinking and bathing water for its patients. WFP has visited the health Center several times since project completion and the program has been well operated and maintained. The water system has been an incredible help to the Center and the community and has helped to increase cleanliness and sanitary conditions in the Center. However, there is still no proper area to dispose of human waste at the Center. The health worker has built a makeshift “toilet” that has to be used by patients in the Center. It is unfit for public use and only increases the nonsocomial (disease obtained from health centers) infections in the Center. This proposal includes the construction of five VIP latrines, two urinals and a shower block at the Engucwini Health Center.

This entire project will take approximately 12 months to begin and complete. The school and health center is ready to start on the work once funding is available.

Number of People Benefiting: 400 schoolchildren and the patients at the Engucwini Health Center