Families: 52 households across 5 villages
Water Committee: 6 women and 4 men

Sixty-four years ago, families migrated from Dedza District and settled in Chem’dara. In the decades that followed, the community continued to rely on the Namichimba River, never having had a water well of its own. For 80-year-old Alifosina Chimaliza, known as Grandma Alifosina, collecting water was especially difficult. She could manage only one bucket.

The lack of a reliable source of safe water contributed to diarrhoea and cholera. Families visited the clinic, but medicines were often unavailable, leaving residents worried about illnesses they struggled to prevent.

The new 40-metre well now provides water for Chem’dara and four neighbouring villages. With a source closer to home, residents have more opportunity to keep their households clean and hope to see waterborne illnesses decline.

For many families, the change also creates room to earn an income. Residents are growing leafy vegetables and tomatoes, moulding bricks, and selling fish and doughnuts. These activities can help families afford food, clothing, and farming supplies—needs that were harder to meet when so much time was spent finding water.

Residents have also described a difference in family life. With more time available to work in their fields and share household responsibilities, women and men can work together more easily. Community members report greater harmony at home and less domestic violence.

Six women and four men have been elected to the water committee. For some of the women, this is their first leadership role. Their training has yet to take place, but they will help oversee the well and its long-term care. After more than six decades without a community well, Chem’dara has a new resource for daily life and new opportunities to build on it.