Embassy of Japan in Malawi
在マラウイ日本国大使館

Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Project

Handover Ceremony
The Project for Provision of Safe Water in T/A Katunga

November 17, 2015

On Tuesday, 17th November 2015, His Excellency Shuichiro Nishioka, Ambassador of Japan to Malawi handed over eight (8) boreholes to the people of Traditional Authority Katunga in Chikwawa District.

Access to safe drinking water is still a challenge to many people in Malawi. There are districts like Chikwawa with poor access to safe drinking water. The district has a population of about 513,000 people and only 1,200 functioning boreholes. The problem is more serious in T/A Katunga where due to long distances to the nearest borehole and the high number of people sharing one borehole, people resort to drawing water from the Shire River and Mwanza River.

It is against this background that in 2011, the Government of Japan provided a grant amounting to USD50, 524 under the Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Projects. Due to other challenges, the project was suspended for nearly 3 years. In November 2014, the Gift of the Givers Foundation Malawi took over the project and completed the construction work and training of community members in maintenance of boreholes and water hygiene.

Speaking during the handover ceremony, His Excellency Nishioka commended the Gift of the Givers Foundation Malawi for taking the responsibility to complete the project. He called upon all the chiefs and community members to make constant effort to maintain the boreholes.