by Kurt Dahlin
From October 7–25, 2025, I had the privilege of leading our annual site inspection tour to Malawi, Africa with Water Wells for Africa (WWFA) and the Africa Outreach Mission.
Since 1996 WWFA has installed over 600 water wells. WWFA has provided the first clean water for over a half a million people. This year, we’ve installed 59 new water wells in some of the most remote and hardest to reach villages.
During our visit, we personally inspected 31 of these wells, listening to the stories of local families whose lives have been radically changed by access to clean water. Water that has been underground since creation.
In every village, the people were rejoicing, singing and dancing. They sang, “Water wells is #1. There isn’t even a #2. Let’s give them fire.”
In Malawi, where diarrhea and cholera still claim lives, WWFA is delivering hope in every drop. In every village, the message was the same: “Clean water has ended our suffering from waterborne sickness.” Mothers spoke of children no longer suffering from diarrhea. Elders rejoiced that cholera outbreaks had ceased.
These communities once relied on contaminated open water sources—ponds, ditches, and seasonal streams—that were the very cause of their illness and grief. They told us that cholera and deadly diarrheal diseases have become history after the water well was drilled. Their daily lives revolved around collecting water that made them sick. Now, they gather around wells that give life.
Let’s be clear: diarrhea is a global mass murderer. What most people don’t realize is that diarrhea is one of the world’s biggest killers. It kills more children than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined.
These numbers only scratch the suffering. In Malawi, waterborne disease is the leading cause of death for children under five in Malawi, and the root cause is unsafe water.
leading cause of child mortality.
In Malawi, the burden is staggering:
- In the first half of 2025 alone, 309 cholera cases and 15 deaths were reported.
- Between 2022 and 2023, Malawi suffered one of its worst cholera outbreaks in decades, prompting the government to launch a 2025–2030 Cholera Control Plan.
- UNICEF-supported WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) efforts reached 128,000 people in 2025, underscoring the scale of need.
That’s why WWFA exists. Every water well we install is 8 ounces of prevention—a cup of clean water that replaces a cup of poison. It is buckets and buckets of life and freedom. It’s not just hydration; it’s liberation from needless misery and water slavery. It’s the difference between a child thriving or dying before their fifth birthday.
We’re delivering the simplest and most effective preventative medicine on earth: clean water. Every water well is a life-giving gift, restoring health, family dignity, and reducing poverty, increasing educational opportunity and housing to entire communities
We are delivering joy and hope to people who’ve waited generations for clean water. Thank you for being part of this miracle.
