Conclusion of Mapiko Well Project – Malawi

This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Gretchen Ruhl. To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.

The project was to build a well as a new water source in the village of Mapiko.

Gretchen worked closely with Gen Crisford, Manager of the Kuti Wildlife Reserve, in the planning and implementation of the project.

Gen reports:

Conclusion of Mapiko Well Project - MalawiThe project has been completed.

The people previously had great difficulty in accessing the water, having to wait in line for extended periods, and facing limited supply. With the new well, there is now easy access.

This project was a great success, but not without problems along the way. The digging process took longer than expected. The first location failed to provide water, and finally collapsed at a depth of 14m. So, another site, approximately 250 m away, was selected. This time everything worked out. After two weeks of digging, and some breaks, the construction phase started.

Due to the extremely dry conditions of this area, even this second well had to exceed regular depths to find water. The well diggers estimated that 12m deep would be sufficient, based on their experience in other areas, and materials were planned for this. This well measures 18 m in depth, and so another pipe (5,200 MK), two extra bags of cement (13,000 MK), and iron steel for making ferroconcrete as a slab for covering the well (2,000 MK), were needed. Kuti Wildlife Reserve helped with these extra costs.

The people in the community helped in different ways with construction, supervising the project and taking care of the materials, the site and the labor budgets.

The women in Mapiko are very happy with the results!

We are grateful to Gretchen for organizing and enabling the project, and to Kuti Wildlife Reserve, for their work in achieving this excellent result.

We again extend our thanks to the First Unitarian Society of Madison, Wisconsin, and to Gretchen’s friends and family, for providing the funds for the project.

Conclusion of Mapiko Well Project - MalawiConclusion of Mapiko Well Project - MalawiConclusion of Mapiko Well Project - MalawiConclusion of Mapiko Well Project - Malawi

Conclusion of Mapiko Well Project - MalawiConclusion of Mapiko Well Project - Malawi