Earth Day Eco Queens
Makundika Village
Naphiyo Kachingwe Village
Kaluwa Village
Read their inspiring messages below
Across Malawi, Clean water
Transforms Communities
Eco Queens honors the women in Malawi who help keep clean water flowing in their communities. These local leaders help care for and sustain the wells that protect health, reduce pollution, and strengthen their villages. This Earth Day, meet the Eco Queens, and hear the stories of these remarkable women helping lead a more sustainable future.
Make Sustainable
Water Possible
With your support, more women can lead, protect, and sustain the wells that keep their communities healthy.
Our husbands would beat us a couple of times a week. We were suspected of extra-marital affairs. Now we are not beaten anymore. We can bathe two or three times a day. We can get 6, 5, 4, 10 buckets a day depending on family size.
I would get one bucket a day. Every day we would fight for our place in line. I am the strongest one. Now I get seven buckets. I woke up at 4:00 am. Now I can go anytime. I can leave food on the fire and get water and come back. Our children were always late for school. Their grades have improved. They are working hard in class. In a month we would go three or four times to the clinic. Our families are stronger. Now we have happy families and happy husbands.”
Before clean water arrived in her community, Annie could collect only three buckets of water a day from a distant well—barely enough to support her family and livestock. Today, with a reliable well in her village, Annie can gather up to ten buckets a day. That change has transformed what is possible for her household and her livelihood.
Access to sustainable water has allowed Annie to grow her herd from just 8 goats to 45, strengthening her family’s income and food security. With dependable water for both people and animals, her livestock can thrive without putting additional strain on scarce local resources.
Annie now dreams of raising more than 100 goats, building a future that is more resilient for her family and community. Her story shows how sustainable water doesn’t just meet daily needs—it creates the conditions for long-term growth, healthier ecosystems, and stronger rural economies.
As an Eco Queen, Annie represents the power of clean water to sustain livelihoods, support responsible livestock growth, and help communities build a more sustainable future.
