Location
Nessa Village, Mulanje, Southern Region, Malawi
Community Description
Nessa is a highly-populated community located on the southern side of Mount Mulanje. The village has 783 households and a total population of 3,136 people.
Economically, the village consists of low-income farmers who grow cash crops such as tea and pineapple to sell, so that they can afford staple crops, like maize, a dominant part of the local diet. Nessa has one junior primary school which hosts kids from the village as well as children from neighboring villages.
Nessa is a unique community in the sense that it is situated on Mt. Mulanje and that it borders a perennial river. Unlike most communities that rely on boreholes or shallow wells for water, Nessa has a gravity-fed pipe system diverting water from the river, allowing its members to install water taps for easy access to clean potable water.
Problem Addressed
There were previously two sections of the village without easy access to water. People in those areas had to travel long distances through tough rocky terrain carrying 20-liter buckets of water on their heads just to reach clean water.
With the completion of the Nessa Water Project – Malawi, water was made accessible to the residents of one of those sections. There remains one section of the village where the residents do not have easy access, making farming and daily life difficult.
Project Description
This project will provide a reliable and accessible supply of water to a currently unserved area, to be available for drinking and irrigation of crops.
Villagers will dig a trench that is 1,200 meters long and two feet deep for the new pipe. Skilled plumbers will then assist in cutting into the main line and installing a fitting that will allow water to flow to the newly-installed pipe.
Plumbers will also install 4 taps that will be strategically placed along the new pipe in order to minimize the distance that villagers need to travel to access water.
The village will provide the labor needed for digging the trench, and will cover the costs of the plumbers.
Water Charity funds will cover the costs of 162 polyurethane pipes, 4 taps, the appropriate fittings to divert water from the main line, and the transportation needed to move all of the materials from Blantyre into the village.
Project Impact
523 people will benefit from the project.
Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Lucas Elenitsky
Comments
The project will not only improve the health and well-being of the villagers, but will also lead to greater food yields for consumption, and additional economic opportunities.
Dollar Amount of Project
$555.00
Donations Collected to Date
$555.00 + additional amounts
Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 – This project has been fully funded through the generosity of Carl Christensen, of Irondale, AL, USA.
We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Lucas Elenitsky of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Lucas and/or those of other PCVs in the country of service.
This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.