By Damiano Thengo

Nkhotakota, August 9, Mana: Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM) says it has spent over K80 million since 2023 to drill six and maintain 31 boreholes to provide clean and potable water to communities in Nkhotakota district.

Speaking on Thursday during the borehole handover ceremony held at Senior group Kawerenga, WESM Branch Manager for Nkhotakota, Yasin Rasheed Malandura said they had been influenced to drill boreholes in most remote areas within the district after discovering through a survey conducted in 2017 that people around those areas were using unprotected water, putting their lives at risk of suffering from diseases like diarrhea and cholera.

"We noted with great concern that people living in remote areas, especially around Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve were denied the right to access safe and clean water, that is when we sat down and found a solution to the situation," said Malandura.

He said his organization is expected to maintain 12 other broken boreholes and continue providing communities with clean water by drilling boreholes in hard-to-reach areas within the district before urging community members to take care of the boreholes that have been handed over to them.

One of the community beneficiaries from Senior Group Kawerenga, Aweto Zuliani hailed WESM together with the Peter Falvey Foundation for providing them with boreholes saying this will prevent people from drinking water from unprotected sources.

WESM has since 2016 drilled 126 boreholes in the district with financial aid from Peter Falvey Foundation and Bridge Waters Foundation.