{"id":42040,"date":"2026-11-12T18:41:01","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T17:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madeblue.org\/?p=42040"},"modified":"2026-11-12T18:58:46","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T17:58:46","slug":"margarets-story-malawi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madeblue.org\/en\/margarets-story-malawi\/","title":{"rendered":"Margaret’s story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Since our latest update<\/a> from Malawi, a total of 70 water points have been rehabilitated, serving more than 26.000 people. Margaret George, a mother of six from a village in Machinga District, shares what this means for her and her family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Update: 12 Nov 2026<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Anita and her mother Margaret<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Early mornings, Long walks and missed income<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For Margaret George, fetching water for her family once meant that her day began at four in the morning. The mother of six used to get up early to collect water for drinking, cooking and washing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This had a direct effect on her families’ income. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t go to the fields because so much of our time was spent searching for water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the early mornings, long walks and missed income, Margaret worried about what the water her family depended on might mean for their health. \u201cWe had to fetch water from dirty wells, sometimes mixed with rainwater,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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“<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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We had to fetch water from dirty wells, sometimes mixed with rainwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Margaret George, community member<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Illness caused by unsafe water<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

That worry became reality when her eight-year-old daughter, Anita, fell ill and had to be admitted to Chikwewo Health Centre. Margaret remembers health workers explaining Anita\u2019s illness was caused by drinking unsafe water, the same water the family relied on every day for drinking and cooking. \u201cAs a mother, that made me very sad,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diarrhoea is one of the most common illnesses in communities without access to safe water, and it hits children hardest. It leaves them weak and dehydrated, and recovery can take time, affecting the whole family: a parent has to stay home to care for a sick child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Anita, being ill also meant missing school. Today, life looks very different for the family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Margaret showing us where they used to get water<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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It takes less than five minutes to get to the water point, I don’t have to get up as early as I used to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Margaret George, community member<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Margaret using the new borehole close to home<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Safe water, close to home<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A water point built close to Margaret’s home has completely changed the way the family gets its water. What once meant getting up at four o’clock and walking a long way now takes just a few minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Margaret, this makes a big difference. The shorter distance gives her more time for her family, and the reassurance that a reliable source of safe drinking water is always close by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the water point, she meets other women from the village that come to collect water for their households. Fetching water is still part of daily life, but the long walks and hours spent searching for water are no longer necessary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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This borehole has brought us a better life, and our families are happier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Margaret George, community member<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Healthy and Back in school<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For Anita, better access to water also means growing up in a healthier environment where she can develop and learn. When she was ill with diarrhoea, she couldn’t go to school. Now the eight-year-old is back in class and doing well \u2013 she is one of the top pupils in her class. She even knows what she wants to be when she grows up: a teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her story shows how something as seemingly simple as access to water has effects that reach far beyond the household. Illnesses caused by contaminated water can keep children out of school for days at a time. On top of that, the daily search for water costs families a great deal of precious time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Anita helping her mother collect water at the new borehole<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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