Families: 50
Water Committee: 5 men and 5 women

The people of Jailosi arrived here in 2007 after the government purchased the land and relocated families from Mulanje. For years, their closest source of water was the Chiwandira River, just five minutes from the village—or so it seemed. Once they reached the river, they still had another 10 to 15 minutes to walk before finding enough water to collect.

During the dry season, families dug into the riverbed, sometimes two meters deep, and waited for water to seep into the pit. Cattle walked through the same area, trampling the pits and forcing families to dig them again each day. One bucket could take an hour to collect, and most families managed only two to four buckets a day. The river water was used for cooking and bathing, while drinking water came from a distant borehole at Mphatso School.

The new well has changed what is possible in Jailosi. “We couldn’t believe, but now, we are believing. This is a miracle for us.” The Health Surveillance Assistants who once brought chlorine to the village no longer need to do so, and families who regularly visited Chilonga Health Clinic say they have not needed to go in two months.

Gardening has also taken off. With water nearby, families can grow vegetables even in the dry season rather than waiting for the rains.

The change is especially clear at school. Before the well, about 70 percent of children were not attending regularly. Water collection could take up the morning, leaving children behind. Now, all of the children are going to school on time, with three or four school-aged children in many of the village’s 50 households.

For a community that once had to dig into a cattle-trampled riverbed for water, the word miracle feels remarkably fitting.