Welcome to a window into Malawi – or more specifically the everyday lives of 750 people living in two rural Malawian villages, Kaniche and Bokola, and the journey they are about to take towards a life with clean, safe water and all the good things that flow from it.
This summer, through The Big Dig blog, we guarantee you some amazing content – stories of hope, transformation and great human endeavour, all captured through photography and short video recorded on mobile phones directly from the villages by two of our dedicated field officers Michael Kalane and Nathan Chiwoko. This blog is their unedited account of what’s happening on the ground, posted in real-time via Instagram, complemented only by the occasional post from me, Angharad McKenzie, a fundraiser from London and our Rural Programme Manager, Boyce Nyirenda, based on our personal experiences in the field.
By following this blog, you’ll see transformation in the making – transformation of people’s lives as they go from living without the most basic of things that you and I all too often take for granted, clean water and somewhere safe and dignified to go to the toilet, to a brave new world where living beyond immediate needs becomes a real possibility. A life where the burden of searching endlessly for enough water to meet basic daily needs, water from rivers and streams often the colour of milk chocolate, is replaced by the chance to go to school, to earn a living, to create a life where dreams can be fulfilled.
You’ll ‘virtually meet’ awe-inspiring people like Mary Mbena; Howard Mustaf and Mr Khombe, people I’ve been lucky enough to meet, who I’m sure will enrich your lives, just as they have mine.
The Big Dig is special in more ways than one. Live blogging by field staff using Instagram and mobile technology, that’s neat, but the reason for doing it is even better. You see, through The Big Dig WaterAid is aiming to bring clean water and safe sanitation to 134,000 people across rural Malawi – 134,000 people who today are drinking filthy, disease ridden water, when they can find water at all. That’s what The Big Dig is going to change. We’re hoping this blog, showcasing exactly how WaterAid works together with our partners in the field and the stories of the people whose lives are affected, will inspire donations that will make that happen. What’s more, every donation made to The Big Dig before the 18th September will be DOUBLED by the UK government, meaning we can reach twice as many people every time someone hits the donate button. Together, these are the things that make The Big Dig a world’s first and something worth being part of.
Today, we’re starting a journey that promises to be enlightening. I hope you’ll join us and the communities of Kaniche and Bokola by by following the stories, donating, sharing the content and spreading the word.
Let’s change the world starting with Kaniche and Bokola, and let’s start now.
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