The Rotary Club of Inverness Culloden has recently completed a two year water and sanitation project in Malawi, thanks to a Matching Grant from The Rotary Foundation and assistance from the Rotary Club of Bwaila. The project resulted in the installation of 80 new toilets along with 10 new wells and water pumps in 30 schools and childcare centres.
This has provided proper sanitation for over 10,000 children and water pumps for more than 1,100 villagers at a cost of less that £22,000. The Inverness Rotarians worked with PumpAid, a charity that specialises in the installation of water pumps and sanitation, to provide the toilets.
It was back in 2009 that Rotarians Phillip Thorn, Duncan MacDonald and Derek McRae, undertook a visit to Malawi. There they met members of the Rotary Club of Bwaila, the charities LINK and PumpAid and the local Director of Education, to discuss implementing the projects.
They visited villages consisting of mud built buildings with poor toilet facilities and no wells for fresh water, meaning that the women had to walk several kilometres every day to fetch water. There were schools with dark unpleasant classrooms housing up to 200 children in one room. Despite these conditions, the people were welcoming, polite, happy and always ready to laugh.
On their return, the Inverness Rotarians got together with the Rotary Club of Gota Kanal in Sweden, the Rotary Club of Harpenden Village, the Rotary Club of Thurso and the Rotary Club of Orkney as funding partners. It was eventually decided to switch the assistance to the nearby area of Mchinji, due to excessive local inflation and rocketing fuel costs.
John Prescott of the Rotary Club of Inverness Culloden, said: “This was a very successful project which shows Rotary at its best. By working in partnership with other Rotary clubs and charities and with the aid of a Matching Grant, we have provided fresh water for thousands of people and proper sanitation for thousands of children in these communities."
