Water of Mercy
Kanjazi Village Well Project
Kanjazi Village Well Project
Location: Kanjazi Village, Malawi Africa
Population: 470
Current Water Situation: The Kanjazi Village Well Project is complete. Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of a single donor, J.W., a parishioner of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in the Archdiocese of Chicago, Kanjazi Village was fully funded on September 9, 2026, covering 100% of the $5,500 goal in a single gift. The well has been successfully drilled, and when the borehole was cleaned out, water rushed up out of the new casing and sprayed across the rig. The hand pump has been installed and its brick-edged concrete pad built around it. Drilling and construction took three days in all, and a formal blessing with Father Petros is still to come. This is the first time Kanjazi has ever had access to fresh, clean water. More than 470 residents, and the children at the nearby primary school, now have access to clean, safe drinking water. A local water committee will be established for maintenance and management of the well. With proper care, the well should serve the community for approximately 75 years.
Project Impact: Before this well was installed, the 470 residents of Kanjazi Village had no safe water source of their own. They drew what they drank from hand-dug wells, open holes cut down into the ground with no lining, no cover and no pump, with a shallow pool of muddy brown water at the bottom among bare earth and exposed roots. In the dry season a single hole could not fill one 20 litre bucket, so the village worked several wells in turn and moved on to the next as each one dried. The nearest borehole was 1.5 kilometres away, too far to serve as the daily source for most families, and the same water was shared with livestock. This area was at high risk for cholera and other waterborne diseases, presenting severe health risks to the entire community. Today, more than 470 people have access to clean, safe drinking water directly in their village, and the children at the nearby primary school have safe water within reach of their classrooms. Families no longer lower a bucket into a hole in the ground and wait for it to fill, and no longer move from one drying well to the next. The borehole reaches far below the level the hand-dug wells could hold, so it goes on yielding through the dry season. The risk of cholera and other waterborne diseases that threatened this community has been dramatically reduced. With proper maintenance and management by the community water committee, this vital resource should serve Kanjazi Village for approximately 75 years.
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