Exponential Change: Investing in the leaders who bring clean water to Malawi

8 December, 2009 @ 16:15

Macmillan Chikhoza’s story is one of humble beginnings. He grew up in the Lilongwe district of Malawi, where he helped cultivate his family’s land to earn an income. Macmillan often saw firsthand the challenges of rural life. He watched as his community suffered without the resources they needed to survive - especially clean water to help grow their crops and feed their families. He saw how ongoing sources of unsafe water caused ongoing sickness and hardship, making it difficult for individuals to build prosperous futures.

In Malawi, around 35% of wells and boreholes simply do not work leaving almost a quarter of the population without clean water. Here, the reality is that many preventable water-related diseases are contributing to one of the world’s lowest life expectancies.

At EWB we understand the importance of creating and implementing strategies that will increase the number of wells and boreholes that work in Malawi. To do so, we have developed a water point monitoring tool to understand where and why water points are broken. Armed with this critical knowledge, we are also helping governments and development leaders build the technical and management skills to best address the large number of broken water sources.

This is where EWB’s approach is particularly impactful. We are focused on building lasting solutions to development challenges both by identifying new systems and processes – like the water point monitoring tool – but also by building the strength of our partners.

Macmillan’s story is an important part of this work. In 2002, he was given a modest job opportunity as a project watchman for one of EWB’s development partners focused on improving access to water in Malawi. Even with limited education, Macmillan learned new skills and gained the confidence to excel. He was quickly promoted to a project store clerk – and that was just the beginning.

Over the past seven years Macmillan worked his way up the ranks and developed a deeper understanding how to bring clean water to Malawi’s rural communities – like his own. He was not afraid to ask tough questions, go above and beyond to understand complex challenges, and change an approach that was not working.

Macmillan was recently, offered a Project Officer role focused on identifying maintenance strategies with area mechanics in the Salima district. This exciting opportunity gives Macmillan the chance to significantly improve the repair and maintenance of broken water points – helping to bring clean water back to many of Malawi’s rural villages. Yet, with a background uncharacteristic of most development leaders, Macmillan lacked the computer, monitoring and reporting skills necessary to really excel in this role.

EWB first worked with Macmillan this past summer, as we have long recognized the importance of equipping the next generation of African leaders with the skills they need to create lasting impact. EWB Junior Fellow Rob Sparrow worked with Macmillan to build his technical and leadership capabilities.

Over the course of four months, Macmillan spent 12 hours a day under the hot sun supporting area mechanics and stocking spare well parts – only to return each evening excited to begin developing his computer skills with Rob. To be successful in his new Project Officer role, it was important that Macmillan expand his data management and reporting skills to be able to analyze the information collected from the field in a useful way. However, Macmillan had only ever used a computer a few times in his life and as a result, had almost no data analysis skills.

With the necessary support from Rob – and plenty of determination – Macmillan was not intimidated by this challenge. He could often be found taking Rob’s computer home at night to practice his computer skills.

“Macmillan consistently inspired me. He successfully faced the challenges before him, with an impressive amount of insight. This drive and commitment has put him in a position to have enormous impact on the access to clean water for rural Malawians through his new role as Project Officer.”

EWB’s work is building both the tools and skills necessary to vastly improve access to clean sources of water for rural Malawians over the long term. Even with only a small opportunity to become a night watchman, Macmillan’s potential has been unleashed both to change his own life and that of thousands of others across Malawi through his work.

In the coming year, EWB will be working to drive this type of exponential change forward across all of our work. We will harness the energy, passion and knowledge of leaders just like Macmillan, to identify and scale-up innovative solutions to complex development challenges all across West and Southern Africa. Together, we are increasing opportunities for rural Africans to create permanent changes in their lives.