Kaputeni Chisi Village: A Well for the Village, the School, and the Church
Kaputeni Chisi Village Well Project - Impact Dashboard
Kaputeni Chisi Village has clean water for the first time in its history. Thanks to the incredible generosity of 5 donors, the 440 residents of Kaputeni Chisi Village, along with children and staff at the nearby primary school and parishioners at the nearby Catholic prayer center, now have access to safe, clean drinking water, ending their reliance on a shallow, muddy water hole shared with livestock.
This project was made possible by 5 generous donors whose compassion and faith in this mission brought Kaputeni Chisi Village to full funding on June 2, 2026. Every gift, whether a first-time donation or the latest from a longtime friend of Water of Mercy, played a real and irreplaceable role in making this well a reality.
We want to especially recognize Beth J., whose extraordinary generosity funded 77% of this entire well in a single gift. That remarkable act of compassion brought Kaputeni Chisi Village to the brink of full funding and made clean water possible for 440 people, a primary school, and a Catholic prayer center. We are profoundly grateful for her belief in this mission. Beth's commitment reaches beyond Kaputeni Chisi: she has now given to four Water of Mercy village well projects, including the completed well at Yesaya Village, along with Chimbiranjala Village and Mataliyana Village.
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 43 donations to date across 17 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 Chimbiranjala, Kapili, Theu, Kaputeni Chisi, Yesaya, Mchilawengo, Kajombo, Msese, Luwerezi, Khorwa, Msambanyifwa, Chirwa, Mataliyana, Zebediya, Chibekete, Bundi, and Zakariya.
A special thank you to several members of Father Petros's and Father Edmond's daily Rosary group, who have given generously to this well and to others before it. Your prayers and your generosity go hand in hand.
We are also grateful for our faithful repeat supporters Sonia M., who gave to this project more than once, and Alejandro E., a faithful friend of the mission across multiple Water of Mercy wells.
Together, all 5 of our donors exemplify how generosity can transform entire communities, one well at a time.
From Crisis to Clean Water
Before this well, the 440 residents of Kaputeni Chisi Village had no access to safe drinking water. The only water source available was a shallow, muddy water hole, where residents had to crouch at the eroded bank to scoop brown, contaminated water into buckets and containers. The water is shared with livestock, and this area is at high risk for cholera and other waterborne diseases, presenting severe health risks to the entire community.
The village sits beside a Catholic prayer center, one of 50 prayer centers in Father Petros's parish. A prayer center is a church without a full-time priest. Learners and teachers at the nearby primary school and parishioners at the prayer center all depended on this same contaminated water source, with no alternative and no relief from the daily health risk it presented.
Before: scooping contaminated water from the muddy water hole.
Drilling
The well at Kaputeni Chisi Village was successfully drilled on June 24, 2026, reaching clean water below the surface. The pump has since been installed, and the village is already drawing clean, safe water from it. For the first time in its history, Kaputeni Chisi Village has a reliable source of clean water right where its people live.
Drilling day at Kaputeni Chisi Village, June 24, 2026.
Rapid Impact, Lasting Change
Today, 440 people, including children and staff at the nearby primary school and parishioners at the nearby Catholic prayer center, have access to clean, safe drinking water directly in their village. The project has dramatically reduced the risk of cholera and other waterborne diseases that threatened this community, fundamentally improving the overall health and well-being of residents. School children now have access to safe water during their educational day, supporting better health outcomes and learning environments. Families have reliable access to clean water year-round, breaking the cycle of disease caused by their former contaminated water source.
The village will establish a maintenance committee to care for the well, and with proper management, this vital resource should serve the community for approximately 75 years.
Pump Blessing
On July 3, 2026, the new pump at Kaputeni Chisi Village was formally blessed by Fr. Thomas Gondwe, a brother priest of Father Petros, who came to the village to pray with the community and give thanks to God for the gift of clean water. The people of Kaputeni Chisi gathered around the borehole that now stands at the heart of their village, the first safe water source in their history.
What happened next says everything about this community. The villagers arrived at the blessing carrying many gifts of thanksgiving, and they asked that those gifts be shared with the poor in the neighboring communities. A village that weeks earlier had nothing but a shallow, muddy water hole chose the day of its own blessing to give to others. Generosity, once it arrives, does not stop.
The pump blessing, July 3, 2026: gifts of thanksgiving gathered on the well pad, given by the village to be shared with the poor in neighboring communities.
Please keep Father Petros and Fr. Thomas Gondwe in your prayers as they continue their dedicated work serving the people of Malawi. 🙏
The Power of Generosity
The Kaputeni Chisi Village Well Project is a testament to what happens when people answer the call to serve those in need. Five donors saw a community crouching at the eroded bank of a shallow, muddy water hole shared with livestock just to collect water for their families, and they responded with extraordinary compassion. You have given the gift of health to 440 people, a primary school, and a Catholic prayer center, and to the generations yet to be born in Kaputeni Chisi Village. Never again will families here have to scoop contaminated water from a muddy, disease-prone water hole.
A gallery of the well drilling, construction, and pump blessing images and videos from the Kaputeni Chisi Village Well Project are included below.