The Karonga District Safe Water for Women and their Rural Communities Project aims at addressing water challenges faced by women and young girls at household and primary healthcare levels in four villages of Katili, Mwenitanga, Mwangwebo and Mwakabanga within Traditional Authority Kyungu in Karonga district, Northern Malawi. The project is to be implemented from 1st February, 2020. The main goal of the project is to contribute to improve access to safe and clean water for 50,000 people including 10000 vulnerable women and girls in the targeted areas. Specifically, the project aims to develop two community-based solar-powered water distribution systems in Katili and Kasoba areas in Karonga district and to promote water supply, sanitation and health (WASH) activities in the project area. The proposed system will use the Grundfos solar-powered submersible pumps to pump water from the drilled deep boreholes through a stand -alone chlorinator. DC solar power will be used in this case to power the pumping of water from a depth of between 45 to 60 metres. It will also promote water supply, sanitation and health (WASH) awareness amongst the target communities.

The prevailing situations in the targeted areas compel households to use contaminated water from unprotected shallow wells and rivers resulting in high incidences of water borne diseases. The project is targeting these areas as they are prone to severe flooding, where boreholes are inundated during the wet season and cannot be used during a significant proportion of the year, which compels households to use contaminated water. SSLLP Malawi will implement the project in close collaboration with the Malawi government departments of Water and Irrigation, and Health and Population Services as well as local council of the Karonga district. Initiatives for Development and Environmental Action (IDEA) will be the local implementing partners for this project. The owners of this project are the communities within the project areas who will eventually be handed of the project after it comes to fruition