Stories and News

Improving access to water can reduce gender-based violence Improving access to water can reduce gender-based violence in communities. Lack of access to water exposes many women and young girls to gender based violence as they strive to address water challenges. In a recent visit to Jambawe Village, Group village Mtata in Traditional Authority Tombindiya in Mulanje, Habitat for Humanity Malawi was following up with the community to appreciate the impact of a borehole drilled in the community in July 2022 with funding from Gales family from the United States of America. Whilst many were appreciating how the water point has increased access to water in the area, Mai Margret, a divorced woman broke-out and revealed that her marriage would not have ended if the water point was provided a year ago. She narrates her sad story and states that when the village had no access to portable water, they used to fetch water from the unprotected shallow well which didn’t have enough yield particularly in the dry season. On that fateful day, she went to the draw water from the shallow well around 7oclock in the morning and found a long queue at the well and waited there until she accessed the water and returned home around 1 o’clock in the afternoon. When she returned home, her husband misinterpreted her long stay at the well for her having an affair and divorced her immediately. Today Margaret is a divorcee and she has 4 kids. She concludes narrating her story by claiming that the improved to access to water is helping build stronger marriages in the area. Habitat for Humanity Malawi, with funding from Gales Family and US affiliates are providing an integrated approach to housing and water solutions to the most vulnerable hard to reach communities in Mulanje. Since 2009, Habitat for Humanity Malawi has supported over 300 most vulnerable poor families with decent housing and supported worst communities lacking water with 5 new boreholes and rehabilitated 12 boreholes.

The rainy season for this year has begun. Some parts of the country have started receiving the rains. Heavy rains are mostly associated with hailstorms and affect the houses the most. Just yesterday, more than 21 houses have been affected with heavy rains and hailstorms in Group Village Head Mpako, Traditional Authority Kabudula in Lilongwe. To protect your houses from such impact, follow the safer housing construction guidelines. https://reliefweb.int/…/guidelines-safer-house… #saferhousingconstructionguidelines

Today, November 17,2022, Thyolo District Executive Meeting (DEC) approved the Habitat for Humanity Malawi WASH project to be implemented in Traditional Authority Ngongoliwa. The project is funded by Foundation of the German Lions. The project seeks to improving livelihoods through sustainable WASH practices in rural communities of Thyolo District in Malawi. Currently 23% of the people in targeted community lack access to safe drinking water and 50% have no latrines. The project is expected to improve this status and will wind up in June 2026. #WASH #SDG11 #germany #LionsDeutschland #lionsinternational

Habitat for Humanity Malawi is attending the 5th SADC Ground Water Conference happening in Windhoek in Namibia. During this conference, Habitat for Humanity Malawi will make presentations contributing to Ground water and ecosystems services and Ground water as a catalyst for attaining SDGs. Follow the deliberation of the conference on this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81455944331… Meeting ID: 814 5594 4331 Passcode: sadcgmi SADC – Groundwater Management Institute https://conference.sadc-gmi.org/5th-sadc-groundwater…/

Member of Parliament (MP) for Lilongwe South Constituency Honorable Peter Dimba was in Mtata Village in Traditional authority Masumbankhunda where he was appreciating the impact of the project implemented by Habitat for Humanity Malawi (HFHM) with funding from Federal Ministry for Economic Corporation and Development (BMZ). The project started in October 2020 and is expected to be completed in October 2023. Habitat is implementing a Water, Hygiene and Sanitation (WASH) project which is aimed at improving the access to portable water, household hygiene and sanitation practices. So far, the project has drilled 16 boreholes, rehabilitated 14 boreholes, triggered 72 villages, and conducted hygiene campaigns in the area. The project is also promoting corbelled latrines which are low cost, sustainable and withstand the loose soils. The project has constructed 210 model corbelled latrines. The corbelled latrines were designed by Department of Water and Sanitation from Mzuzu University and is recommended by government. Honorable Dimba expressed his satisfaction of the project and encouraged members of the community to be committed to the project and ensure that the impact of the project is sustainable beyond the project period. “This community had serious concerns on the access to portable water and this project is address this gap. Even if this project came to our area to construct only one borehole, we would have been so appreciative of the support. What we are seeing are more interventions and we are immensely grateful for the support and the big impact the project is making in our community. We are hopeful that it will be extended to reach out to many communities”, Said Honorable Dimba. The MP joined the District Coordinating Team, Senior Chief Masumbankhunda on this tour. The stakeholders visited Mtata, Kangwiriro and Songayabere villages.

Today is World Habitat Day. Happy World Habitat Day to you all! Habitat for Humanity Malawi joins our partners and friends around the world to rededicate ourselves to recognizing the basic right to adequate shelter. It is a unique opportunity to come together as one network in communicating that: • Every one of us deserves the opportunity for a better future. • A decent place to live can remove barriers to opportunity, health and success that might have been part of a family’s life for years and in many cases for generations.

The real impact of housing can be discovered in the stories of the people benefitting from these services. Today we bring you the story of Helena Lumbe Pelekamoyo from Traditional Authority Kabudula in Lilongwe. “All my life, I have ever owned an iron sheet roofed house. Even my parents and descendants lived and died without owning a beautiful house like this one. In our generation, I am the first one to own a beautiful house like the one that Habitat has constructed for me. I feel honored and favored by God. I speak blessings upon everyone who has contributed towards the success of this project. Only God can reward you.”-said Helena. Helena and her three grandchildren used to live in a small 2 roomed house in Matuwale Village in Lilongwe District. Over the years, the family had to renovate the old house before every rainy season but due to financial constraints, the house was partially abandoned. They also never had a toilet of their own. Helena and her family are now proud owners of a 3 roomed decent house and a well-ventilated pit latrine as well as a bathroom. The project was supported by one of the HFH US Affliates, Metro Denver. Habitat Denver

Read or Download the HFHM Annual Report 2022 .

Habitat for Humanity supports 350 Families with Emergency Shelter Kits in Chikwawa   Habitat for Humanity Malawi (HFHM) with funding from Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) has supported 350 families in Chikwawa with Emergency Shelter Kits (ESKs) and non-food items (NFIs). The families supported with the ESKs are from Group Village Head  Matsukambiya in Traditional Authority Ngabu in Chikwawa. These are some of the families whose homes and properties were destroyed by the  Tropical Storm Ana and Gombe. The families have been living at the Camp since January 2022. The families were failing to go back to their communities to start a new life and find a way out of the rubble because they could not find resources on their own to build back better and stand on their own. Everything they had was lost. Habitat for Humanity provided the families with shelter kits to make immediate transitional temporary homes and move from the camp to their homes. The items which were packed in a shelter kit includes Tarpaulin: sheets of heavy-duty tarp to be used to create walls and roofs, rope(s). The families were also supported with NFIs such as blankets, mats, plastic backets and working tools. Speaking during the handover ceremony, the National Director of Habitat for Humanity Malawi,  Anock Kapira, expressed gratitude to Habitat for Humanity International and all affiliates for supporting the survivors of the disasters with ESKs and NFIs in Chikwawa. The people have been at this camp since January 2022 and were helpless and could not go back to their communities to start a new life on their own. This help will support the families from this camp to go back and build transitional homes while awaiting building permanent homes. Receiving the donation on behalf of the community, Group Village Headwoman, Matsukambiya, danced to express her joy for the support they have received  to go back to their communities. We are so excited with this donation, and we are happy to go back home and build the transitional homes with the ESKs which we have received today, she said. The families were also trained in the guidelines on participatory approach to safe shelter awareness (PASSA), which aims to raise the awareness on how communities can foster locally appropriate safe shelter and settlement practices. Government is planning to relocate the survivors of the disasters to high  land areas.

Habitat Donates MK1.9 million Construction Materials to Malawi Police Service Driven by the vision of a Malawi where everyone has a decent place to live and a mission of seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity Malawi (HFHM) supported South Lunzu Police Station with various construction materials to assist in the construction of a shed and some offices at the Police station. Some of the construction tools and materials include brickforce wire, galvanised wire, wire nails, dump proof course, plastic drums, wheelbarrows, lime patty, and shovels to the tune of K1,901,875.00. Presenting the donation to South Lunzu Police on behalf of Board and Management for Habitat for Humanity Malawi, the Construction Coordinator, Architect William Kachikopa, had this to say, ‘Despite that Police wrote to us a request for assistance, we at Habitat acknowledge the complementary services of Police in our work. Without Police providing public safety and protecting the rights of persons in Malawi, our efforts towards decent housing for all would be futile.  As such, Malawi Police Service is a key stakeholder in alleviating housing poverty in Malawi. And when we learnt of their plans to construct some offices and shed, we were quick to support. That is why we are here today to present this donation of various construction materials to Police worthy MK1.9 million. On behalf of the Officer in Charge (OC), the Station Officer Mphwatiwa expressed sincere gratitude to Habitat for Humanity Malawi for the kind gesture saying; “This is a contribution to the entire community, as the Police is in service to all.” He further said that the neighbourly heart demonstrates what a true humanitarian organisation Habitat for Humanity Malawi is. The donation was made on 6th of May 2022.