BridgIT 2024 Drilled Well Program
The SMEC Foundation supported the BridgIT 2024 Drilled Well Program to provide quality drinking water to communities within a 5km radius of the Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve, with a focus on wildlife conservation.

Challenge

In Malawi, 4 million people lack access to safe drinking water, often relying on hand-dug holes in dried-up creek beds that they share with animals.

 

Effective water management is crucial for both human communities and wildlife. Sustainable water supplies help reduce human-wildlife conflicts by ensuring that both people and animals have access to necessary resources.

 

Covering 180,000 hectares, Nkhotakota is the largest wildlife reserve in Malawi and supports most of the country’s wildlife species, including elephants. Unfortunately, wildlife and natural resources are being depleted rapidly, leading to significant environmental degradation.

 

BridgIT 2024 Drilled Well Program

Solution

The BridgIT Water Foundation, in collaboration with the Wildlife & Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM), launched a water supply program to benefit communities around the Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve. The SMEC Foundation, with generosity from SMEC Regional Head for ANZ, Kate Drews, sponsored the drilling of four new wells and the refurbishment of one community water well in the area.

On November 22, 2024, WESM organised a cheque handover ceremony with Chambika Zimba, Account Assistant from the SMEC Malawi office. He presented the cheque to Yassin Rasheed, who accepted it on behalf of WESM and the BridgIT Water Foundation. The presentation took place at Kalilangwe Village, with African Parks, Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve Association (NAWIRA), the government water department, and community members in attendance.

A trained site repair team successfully drilled and repaired the wells, installing new hand pump parts such as riser pipes, connecting rods, cylinder pumps, water tanks, complete head assemblies, and performing any necessary masonry work on the platforms.

In total, four new borewells equipped with hand pumps were installed in central locations, and one previously non-functional borewell was refurbished to working condition. Each borewell development included training water user committees on sustainability and conservation strategies.

BridgIT 2024 Drilled Well Program

Impact

This project has provided safe drinking water to approximately 5,306 community members in 884 households across Kankwenu, Saniga, Kinyama, Kalilangwe and Chalunda 2 villages, significantly improving their quality of life.

On average, people now walk 500 meters to access water, compared to the 2 kilometres prior to project completion, saving time and effort in collecting water for household use. The community members have also strengthened their capacity to manage their own water facilities, and there is an overall reduction of water-borne diseases, particularly cholera, in the communities.

Thanks to the conversation awareness training held in the community, there is also an increased understanding of the importance of protecting wildlife in the reserve, especially elephants, and how everyone can participate in conservation activities. This initiative supports the Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve in its efforts to conserve wildlife, particularly elephants.

BridgIT 2024 Drilled Well Program

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