Chakwanika Village: Clean Water Instead of a Marsh Shared with Wildlife
Chakwanika Village Well Project - Impact Dashboard
Chakwanika Village has struck water. On September 1, 2026, the drilling team reached Chakwanika Village and drilled the new borehole, and the water came in abundance. Thanks to the generosity of 4 donors, the 430 residents of Chakwanika Village will soon draw safe, clean drinking water from a well of their own, ending their reliance on a dambo, a shallow marsh shared with livestock and wild animals.
This project was made possible by 4 generous donors whose compassion and faith in this mission brought Chakwanika Village to full funding on August 14, 2026. Every gift, whether given once or given faithfully across many villages, played a real and irreplaceable role in making this well possible.
We want to especially recognize Beth J., whose extraordinary generosity funded nearly 88% of this entire well in a single gift. That remarkable act of compassion carried Chakwanika Village to full funding and will make clean water possible for 430 people. Beth's commitment reaches across the mission: she has now helped fund seven village wells, at Yesaya, Kaputeni Chisi, Chimbiranjala, Mataliyana, Theu, Chirwa, and Chakwanika.
We also extend deep gratitude to our faithful friend Jörg P., whose unwavering support of Water of Mercy continues to inspire us. With an astounding 50 donations to date across 21 different village well projects, Jörg P. exemplifies the kind of sustained commitment that makes lasting change possible. His generosity has helped bring clean water to Msese, Khorwa, Kajombo, Mchilawengo, Luwerezi, Msambanyifwa, Zebediya, Zakariya, Bundi, Chibekete, Kapili, Yesaya, Kaputeni Chisi, Chimbiranjala, Theu, Mataliyana, Chirwa, Mkandawire, Chakwanika, Mazanga, and Chindenga.
Together, all 4 of our donors exemplify how generosity can transform entire communities, one well at a time.
From Crisis to Clean Water
Until now, the 430 residents of Chakwanika Village had no access to safe drinking water. Their only source was a dambo, a shallow, marshy wetland where murky water collects among mud, grass, and fallen leaves. Residents crouched at the water's edge to scoop the dark, sediment-filled water into buckets and containers, then carried the heavy loads home.
The dambo is shared with livestock and wild animals, so families drew their drinking water from the same source the animals use. This area is at high risk for cholera and other waterborne diseases, and that risk falls hardest on the youngest and oldest members of the community.
Before: collecting water from the dambo, a marsh shared with livestock and wild animals.
Clean Water at Last
On September 1, 2026, the drilling team reached Chakwanika Village and drilled the new borehole. The well came in with water in abundance. As Father Petros put it, the well has plenty of water.
The crew worked into the night to finish the job, drilling under the rig's own lights. Water rose out of the new borehole hard enough to spray across the rig and flood the ground around it, and it ran off across the bare earth in a stream of its own.
The rig at work after dark at Chakwanika Village, water spraying from the new borehole; the water running away across the ground; and the villagers gathered at the flooded borehole with the casing pipe stacked beside it.
The concrete pad will be poured and the pump installed over the days that follow, and the village will establish a maintenance committee to care for the well. With proper management, this vital resource should serve the community for approximately 75 years. Once the pump is in, Chakwanika will draw clean water where its people live, and Father Petros will bless the new well and formally hand it over to the community.
The Power of Generosity
The Chakwanika Village Well Project is a testament to what happens when people answer the call to serve those in need. Four donors saw a community where families crouch at the edge of a marsh to scoop water shared with livestock and wild animals, and they responded with extraordinary compassion. Eighteen days after this well was fully funded, a drilling rig stood in Chakwanika Village and water was rising out of the ground. You have given the gift of health to 430 people and to the generations yet to be born in Chakwanika Village.
Please keep Father Petros in your prayers as he continues his dedicated work serving the people of Malawi. 🙏
A gallery of video from the drilling at Chakwanika Village is included below. Photos and video of the completed well and the pump blessing will be added to this page as they arrive.