The end of his water woes

Every day, Tonnex Dailesi wakes up early and gets ready for school. The 12-year-old aspiring doctor understands the only way to achieve his dream is through education.

“Before going to school I am required to assist my mother with household chores, that include fetching water from a borehole which is far from here and serves several villages,” says Tonnex.

Collecting water slows down Tonnex’s daily routine and he ends up going to school late.

“We find long queues at the borehole so sometimes we end up drawing water from Domasi River,” he says.

The river, however, poses a health risk to the users as many villagers wash their laundry directly in the river.

According to Tonnex’s mother, Daisy, other people feed their livestock at the banks of the river and then the animals drink from the river, making the water unsafe for humans.

“This has been a cause for diarrhoeal diseases in my home but we still use the water since we do not have other options nearby,” explains Daisy.

Tonnex and Daisy’s water woes are the result of Tropical Storm Ana that hit most of Malawi, including the village of Lisanga where they live, in January, 2022. The storm triggered torrential rains and winds, destroying homes and infrastructure. Water sources and sanitation facilities were severely damaged, reducing access to safe drinking water and increasing the risk of disease.

To address water and sanitation needs, World Vision Malawi -- supported by the Humanitarian Coalition and the Government of Canada – began rehabilitating boreholes which were damaged and drilling boreholes in areas where there was no clean water source.

Lisanga village is one of the communities to benefit from the project. Luckily, the site where the borehole is being drilled is right next to Tonnex’s home.

“I am very happy that soon we will be able to easily access safe water next to our house. This means I will no longer be reporting late for school and incidences of diarrhoea in our family and the whole village will be reduced since we will stop using water from Domasi river for cooking or drinking,” says Tonnex.

Daisy is equally happy with the development.

“With water on our doorstep my future doctor will be going to school on time, and I will save the time I was spending on fetching water from a far source,” she says.