The celebrations have died down, the drilling rigs have packed up and gone home, and our window into the lives of Bokola and Kaniche is starting to close. But there is still much to do and a huge amount of change to come. Our partners Nathan and Michael, along with WaterAid’s Boyce, will continue to be familiar faces in the communities, and we’ll continue to tell the story on this blog.

This is the first in a series of posts to update you on what’s happening right now in the communities, and to share what we hope clean water and safe sanitation will mean in the longer term.

In the last two weeks the main priority has been getting operational hand-pumps into both communities, especially Bokola where the scoop hole completely collapsed and the community had to borrow or buy water from neighbouring villages. My colleague Erik Harvey heads up WaterAid’s technical team, and he’s written a few words below:

“The borehole has now been properly sealed around its lining to prevent contamination. The water quality will be tested, the drainage slab constructed, the pump installed, and the committee trained in its maintenance. They will also be helped to devise a tariff system and supported in the early stages to ensure they are able to undertake the day-to-day maintenance.

“These are all very important processes and steps aimed at ensuring that we do not just provide a pump, but a pump that provides water for a long time to come.”

Both Boyce and Eric stress the importance of the role the community must play as owners of the waterpoint. In both communities we had vital technical supervision from the Government and WaterAid, but it was the local waterpoint committees who where the client of the project, they had to be happy and make the final decisions.

Now that safe water is in both communities they can start to look towards a different future. It’s obvious to see from Michael’s photos the benefits people are already enjoying.

There are other, less obvious benefits too. Firstly, the women and children are simply safer. In both communities the scoops were a little way out of the village and were in secluded areas. This left women prone to attack and they had to go to collect water in groups just to feel safe. The other immediate benefit is economic; by having water in the heart of the community many hours each day are saved in walking to collect water from the river beds. This time will be invested in setting up small businesses, or allow more time to be spent cultivating crops.

One of the most striking yet least visible changes in both communities is a new found pride.

Pride comes from many sources. This project has brought the whole community together in a way nobody ever imagined it could. In a previous post Mary mentioned how the project had given her strength, and Mr Khombe has clearly reveled in the challenge.

Every household in both communities has constructed a latrine, bathing area, hand washing facility, and dish rack. They worked together to plan and build everything, making sure that even households run by children or with elderly people were included, nobody was excluded. In Bokola people are so proud of the work they have done that they have even made a sign to tell others.

With the support of WaterAid and our partner Work for Rural Health, and under the steely gaze of Mrs Mwanza, the communities have flourished – taking a lead role in planning and delivering their sanitation projects and overseeing the well-building work.

Safe water is the first step for both communities and in future posts we’ll explore the longer term changes both communities can look forward to.

After 7 days when the concrete is dry the pump will be installed in Bokola.

Original photo on Instagram

Even those with disabilities can use this water point because of the slope. Thanks for your donation on behalf of Kaniche and Bokola villages.

Original photo on Instagram

Bricks arleady gathered at the second site in Kaniche village.

Original photo on Instagram

From Michael’s post earlier in the week about the threat posed by the Bokola scoop, and subsequent news that the sccop had collapsed, it was clear that the new boreholes couldn’t come soon enough.

The drilling teams arrived in Bokola on Tuesday and a WaterAid team was at the drilling site, tweeting and reporting back live on the progress. The drilling wasn’t without setbacks; the tension, emotion and celebrations of the day were captured in full in Jeremy’s blog from Bokola.

The next day in Kaniche, success with drilling came sooner than it had the day before. But the celebrations were no less euphoric.

The excitement and importance of the drilling was all captured on video. Boyce describes how the drilling progressed and just what the new wells will mean to the residents of the villages.

Weeks don’t come much bigger!

Last week was a momentous turning point for the residents of Bokola and Kaniche. The drilling of new boreholes brought clean, safe water to the communities for the first time. The wells will have a profound impact on the health and quality of life of the people here, and ultimately, save many lives.

Watch here how the drilling unfolded and the celebrations started, celebrations that will continue for a while to come!

Generous donations to the Big Dig have made made this all possible. However, donations made before 18th September will be matched by the UK Government, so will have double the impact. All money raised will go on to help other communities around Malawi and save lives. The story of the Big Dig in Bokola and Kaniche has had a happy ending, and we want to make sure this story is retold all over the country.

Many WaterAid supporters wrote to her personally to tell her how much her story had inspired them, so we spent an hour with her chatting and reading your messages together. She was amazed by the warmth that comes across from the messages you have sent to her community.

The process which has lead up to today has had a big impact on Mary. “Before I was on the water committee, we didn’t know who we were or what we could do” she said. She also talked about the lack of shared values and unity in the community, which made it hard to improve life.

Things are different now. Mary has found her voice.

For Mary, clean water also means a stronger sense of self and a new determination to improve her own life, her children’s lives, and her community.

Already, she’s played a role on the village Hygiene Committee, dug her own latrine, nursed her cholera-ridden children and overcome her own fears.

The future

Having disease-free water nearby and a safe place to go to the toilet is particularly important for women, and Mary is determined it’s going to change her life. She’s a strong, feisty character and it’s clear that when Mary sets her mind to something, it happens.

No longer having to trek four hours each day to fetch water means Mary can follow her dream of independence. She’s going start a business brewing and selling sweet-beer, which is a local non-alcoholic delicacy. “I feel I can do it” she shouts, beaming and clapping her hands!

She also wants a brighter future for her two daughters. Her eldest, Noria, will no longer be late for school because of Mary’s walk for water, and she won’t be sick from diarrhea, and less at risk of cholera. Her baby Faith (pictured) simply won’t know the sickness, fear and misery dirty water has brought to Mary’s young life.

Mary’s life may have been tough, but so is she.

Collecting water from Kaniche’s first borehole:

Mr Khombe is a village chief who has been a leading light throughout the The Big Dig.  Taking an active role in everything from hygiene education and latrine building to community mobilisation; he’s also one of the top men on the Waterpoint Committee.  As a carpenter and builder there are seemingly no end to this man’s talents. His energy, determination yet sense of fun are striking which makes him a great person to be around.

As the a local leader, he was one of the first people in Kaniche to adopt a composting latrine which turns human waste into a compost which can be used for agriculture.  The Kaniche approach to sanitation was for Mr Khombe to invite his neighbours to try out his ecosan toilet so they could see for themselves how easy it was to use, and how much nicer it was than walking to the bush.  A handy side effect of this was the amount of manure it generated, and Mr Khombe boasts of his two grain stores full of manure.

Making the most of waste, a pile of manure is ready to fertilise crops

Once the community had decided to adopt Ecosan toilets Mr Khombe lead from the front, building over 50 of Kaniche’s 120 latrines himself.  Your donations provided the cement and materials he needed to cast the slabs, line the holes and build the protective structure.

Overseeing pit construction

As a technically minded man, Mr Khombe loved the drilling process.  He was one of the first people to meet the drilling team and lead the discussions with the engineers as work progressed.  He has also made sure that the well maintenance fund is a healthy 40,000 Kwacha.  He seemed to be there mainly for civic reasons, but there was an obvious sense of intrigue and joy as the brutish trucks rolled into the village.

The drilling process in Kaniche

Talking about the arrival of the boreholes he said;  ”In those days it was a story that one day we will have a borehole, but having seen with my own eyes, this something bringing happiness in me.”

When asked about the future Mr Khombe is optimistic, he hopes the location of borehole number one will help promote local business and that more eating places and tea shops will open in the market area.  He’s also confident more children will attend school more often that they won’t be struck down with diarrhea anywhere near as often.
Mr Khombe wanted to give you a message.  Here it is….

‘We are thanking them, thank you so much, we are their friends, we are only different in complexion, you are good people, you are mothers of Malawi, I thank Britain’

With Mr Khombe as a leader, it’s clear Kaniche is going to be okay.

This site is also attractive from a geological point of view and everybody seems confident we will hit water on the first attempt, so confident, the drilling contractor had rather bravely decided against a second site so this one simply must work.

Around 100 people had come to meet us and Mr Khombe was there to formally greet us along with the Group Village Head Man Kaniche, the most senior person in the area, who gave the the warmest of Malawian welcomes. The local water committee were also on hand and a knot of men stood away from the rest of the crowd earnestly consulting their plans. Local committees are vital to the success of thse projects as it is they who will oversee the work, and ultimately take ownership of the waterpoint on behalf of the community once it is installted. They looked on sternly as they checked the engineers’ work against the plan they had agreed a couple of weeks ago. The committee and the engineers formed a tight cluster around the machinery and the thumbs up was given for drilling to start. For the first 15 meters progress was fast, but at around 20 meters drilling stopped. We had hit solid rock.

Every single drilling rod which had already been sunk had to be painstakingly removed so that the alternative drilling head could be added. The new drill was nearly as big as a person and needed two people to haul it into position. Drilling through rock is a much slower process than earth, drilling slowed down, and vast plumes of dust pored from the borehole for the duration of the dig, it was much nosier. Mr Khombe, a builder who has been a key figure in latrine construction, was impressed by the professionalism and speed that the engineers work. ‘They are good men, they work fast. I am happy’.

Water comes to Kaniche

Like the second borehole in Bokola, we had suddenly hit water, but this time it was an amazingly powerful surge and within minutes the contractors were wading through what looked like wet cement. Kaniche has water and the celebrations started instantly. Mary half danced, half walked to the borehole with buckets to test the flow. The buckets filled so quickly that they overflowed in a matter of seconds. The drilling team are hopeful that the water source is so powerful that it may be able to support irrigation of the adjoining vegetable plots.

Celebrations

The party atmosphere was helped by the arrival of the local ‘health band’ who are provided by the hospital, to deliver health messages through music. Their thumping Afrobeat songs promote good hygene practices and talk about the benefits clean water will bring. The well development process which forces water into the borehole, resulted in jets of water surging more than five meters into they sky. Children dared each other to put their hands into the water flow, while others danced and jumped in the growing pool. They were soon vying for space with the women who had brought an immeasurable number of buckets and bowls to catch the falling water. We ended the day with the sound of Afrobeat in our ears, as in front of us,  a steady flow of women left their new borehole carrying clean water to their homes for the first time.

Original photo on Instagram

Original photo on Instagram

Setting up the drilling equipment took twenty minutes and the team worked efficiently. The atmosphere in the village was one of celebration with the women leading the dancing while the men looked on taking an interest in the equipment and hive of activity around them.

Drilling soon got underway to great fanfare and in just a few minutes first five meter drilling rod had been sunk. Every few minutes the engineers took a soil sample which is laid in neat rows for analysis. Rod after rod was sunk into the ground and every so often a burst of water or quarry stone would come from the hole which would scatter the children who crept ever closer to the drilling team.

After around 30 meters the soil suddenly darkened in colour and thickened. The community got to its feet and we all thought water had arrived. After four hours and a few false starts muddy water started flow. The team continued to drill until they had used all 60 meters worth of drilling rods. It was clear that while water was flowing it was far too slow; the whole community seemed to know that this borehole wasn’t working out. The local government engineer then had a pipe installed which drained into a bucket. He started his stopwatch and the ‘yield test’ was underway. The bucket needed to fill up in under 8 seconds. We couldn’t see the bucket, but it was clear from the body language of the engineers and WaterAid staff that things weren’t going well.

At this point the whole atmosphere in the community changed. For the first time since arriving in Bokola there was quietness, evenually, the rig fell silent. Howard, whose calm confidence has been a striking feature of our trip looked dejected and didn’t want to talk to us. While it’s common in Malawi not to hit water on the first, or even second attempt, the community were visibly subdued.

The community had two options. The first was to ‘develop’ the borehole, which involves repeatedly flushing it out to dislodge any clay which is preventing water flow. The second option was to move on to the second site. The Waterpoint committee, WaterAid, the government engineer and the engineering contractor all huddled together for a private meeting. Before we knew its outcome the rigs had started up and had begun to move – we were going for option 2.

Christina, Howard’s mother told us she was disappointed but hopeful; her body language spoke of pure dejection.

The second site for drilling was actually the village chief, Rolena’s vegetable garden which is located slightly more towards the road and at one end of the village. Although not as perfect a location as the first source, this one was a close second. Rolena, the village chief gladly gave up her garden so that the community could have a chance of clean water. Rolena has always been a staunch supporter of the village and fully engaged in the hygiene education work but has never been totally convinced that water could be found in Bokola in her lifetime, so giving up her garden was a huge sacrifice and a real example of the impact Nathan and Micheal have in the community.

In what felt like just a few seconds the dried maize leaves were cleared and the vehicles rolled in. This time there was no dancing. Many of the community dispersed, returning home, going to the water scoop or preparing food. The few that did remain sat quietly under a tree to avoid the midday sun. We started digging with a sense of foreboding everyone hoping for success this time.

Howard seemed visibly upset by the failure of the first borehole, and after some kind words from Boyce went back home to work.

Drilling continued quickly, but even at 45 meters the soil hadn’t really changed colour, the dry, grey earth only occasionally changed when a piece of quarry rock shot out of the rig showering us all in tiny pieces of rubble and dust.

The instant that the 45 meter rod disappeared into the ground water something changed. Water had finally come to Bokola. Unlike the first borehole which seeped mud for a long time, this time the mud thinned out very quickly. By the time the 50 meter rod was being added to the drilling rig a steady flow of water was coming. The community saw this and were straight on their feet. The men crowding around the drill and the women dancing. As she rushed to join the dancing Christina ran past me shouting ‘this it, this is the one’. Before we could ask her anything else she was in the middle of the crowd leading the songs and celebrations.

By this time there was a huge amount of water and the whole area was becoming muddy and slippery. The Malawian Government’s Water Inspector announced it was time for the second ‘yield test’ of the day. This time it was obvious within seconds that this borehole was going to pass, the celebrations turned up another notch.

No time was wasted and the engineering team swung into action once again, this time laying plastic pipe into the well. As the drill moved away the village cheered once more as the next machine moved forwards to start developing the well, which is a process of blasting air down the borehole to clear away any debris and measure how quickly water flows.

By this time the drilling team had been in Bokola for over 12 hours and were starting to leave when a huge scream came from the area near the borehold, everybody ran towards the noise. Jets of water were shooting 15 meters into the air from the borehole. To start with the water was muddy and heavy, but as the water continued to flow it was becoming clearer. The scream had come from the 50 children who had paniced when they saw the water ject but quickly started to spontaneously sing and dance as their mothers had earlier in the day, all the time getting soaked by the jets of water shooting from the borehole.

As we packed up to leave Boyce tapped me on the shoulder and said. ‘I don’t care how badly a story starts, I care about how well it ends’. For us the day ended with children playing in a fountain of water. That’s a good end to any day.