When Mark Kwenda was four years old, he accompanied his mother on one of her regular trips to collect water near a local stream. While there, they encountered a snake that sprayed venom into his eyes. His family sought treatment, but ten years later, his eyesight is still affected.
For Mark and the rest of the Kwenda family, the dangers associated with collecting water were part of everyday life in M’baluko Village, Malawi. Dziwanani, 44, and Janet, 39, were raising five children without a reliable source of safe water nearby.
That changed in November 2025, when The Sonder Project worked with the community to install a well through our Water is Our Right program. Today, approximately 300 people in the community are benefiting from access to clean, safe water.
Mark (right) whose eyesight is still affected by a snake encounter during a childhood trip to collect water near a local stream.
When a Short Walk Could Take Hours
Before the well was installed, Janet and her children relied on shallow, hand-dug water sources. Some were only a 10 to 15-minute walk from their home, but the distance and time required to collect water changed throughout the year.
During and shortly after the rainy season, water was easier to find near the surface. As Malawi’s dry season progressed, water levels dropped and the shallow wells had to be dug deeper. Nearby sources produced less water or dried up, forcing families to search for other places where they could dig.
By September and October, more families were gathering around fewer viable sources. The wait grew longer, and competition intensified. One person would have to climb into a deepening hole, scoop up the water, and pass containers to those waiting above. Even when the source itself was nearby, Janet could spend hours obtaining enough water for drinking, cooking, bathing, and washing clothes.
The scarcity also created tension between neighboring communities. Families from surrounding villages faced the same challenges, and men sometimes chased women away so people from their own communities could collect water first. Women also faced the risk of violence while traveling to and waiting for water.
“Nearby villages had the same challenges so they tried to chase us away for the women from their village to get to the water source first.”
-Janet on the competition and aggression motivated by the issue of water scarcity.
Janet often left home as early as 4am to collect water. During especially difficult periods, she collected water at night to avoid the crowds and conflict. As the dry season progressed, obtaining enough water could consume a significant part of the day.
Janet demonstrates collecting water at one of the community’s former sources, a shallow open well
Time Restored
The new well is about a 10-minute walk each way from the Kwenda family’s home. Unlike the shallow sources the Kwenda family previously relied on, it provides clean water throughout the year.
The family estimates that walking to the well, collecting water, and returning home generally takes about 25 to 30 minutes. During the hardest months of the dry season, the same task could previously take several hours.
That reclaimed time has changed what is possible for the entire family. Dziwanani is a farmer, and before the well was installed, he often worked alone while Janet and the children searched for water. With fewer people available to help, the family accomplished less on the farm, affecting both the food they produced and the income they could earn.
Now Janet has more time for her family and other responsibilities, while Dziwanani has more support with the work that sustains their household. Families throughout the community can devote more of their day to farming, small businesses, school, and activities at home.
“(In the community) people have more time to do other things like farming and business now – before life revolved around worrying about getting enough water every day.”
– Dziwanani Kwenda
Janet collects water from the community well installed in partnership with The Sonder Project in 2025.
More Time in the Classroom
The burden of collecting water also affected the Kwenda children’s education. Early morning trips caused them to arrive late or miss school entirely. In some weeks, they attended classes only a few days.
Their parents worried that the search for water would prevent the children from progressing in school. Dziwanani did not have the opportunity to complete his own education, and he feared his children might face the same outcome. Limited water also meant they could not always bathe or wash their school clothes, and teachers sometimes sent them away when they arrived late.
Today, having a reliable well nearby allows the children to attend school more consistently, arrive on time, and prepare for class with clean clothes.
“I am able to go to school daily, and I am very hopeful that I am going to pass my exams,” one of the Kwenda children told us.
Another child shared that he now has more time to study because he no longer has to worry about searching for water. The change has also brought their parents peace of mind. Instead of watching their children leave early to look for water, they can watch them leave for school.
Women collect water together without fear of scarcity when a Sonder well is installed.
Better Health and Greater Dignity
The Kwenda family drank water from the shallow sources because it was the water available to them. Illness became a familiar part of life, with diarrhea occurring so frequently that the family said they had grown accustomed to it.
Dziwanani told us that there were times when they would make as many as four trips to the public hospital in a month. Although they could walk to the public clinic, medicine was not always available. Then they would have to go to a private clinic, which costs the equivalent of $11.50 round trip, in addition to the cost of medicine.
Today, the family has enough water for drinking, cooking, bathing, cleaning, and laundry. Community members report significant improvements in hygiene, and the Kwenda family has fewer concerns about the illnesses that once sent them repeatedly to the hospital.
Having water nearby has brought more than convenience. It has brought greater health, dignity, and security to daily life.
Janet (front left) joins other community members in celebrating the new well.
A Community That Refused to Give Up
The well did not arrive because the community waited passively for help. Beginning in 2018, Janet joined with other community members and began advocating for a safe water source.
They traveled to government offices, sometimes taking taxis or riding on passing trucks to ask for assistance. When those efforts did not result in a well, they were eventually referred to The Sonder Project. Their persistence helped bring a reliable source of clean water to M’baluko Village.
Janet now serves on the community water committee, which supervises the well and promotes its proper use. The community has also established a maintenance fund. Households contribute money that can be used when repairs are needed, helping ensure that the well continues serving families for years to come.
The impact has also strengthened relationships within the village. Before the well, families worried about neighbors who did not have water but had little ability to help them. Scarcity created competition and conflict.
“Now relationships are stronger and there’s more unity in the village. Before, we worried about our neighbors but couldn’t help each other much.”
-Janet
Now, water is something the community can share and protect together.
Reliable water can strengthen relationships because families no longer have to compete for a limited source.
Help Bring Clean Water to Another Family
For the Kwenda family, a reliable well has meant fewer illnesses, more time in school, greater opportunity to work, and freedom from the daily uncertainty of searching for water.
This is the impact of Water is Our Right. A well does more than provide clean water. It gives families time, health, safety, dignity, and the opportunity to move forward.
Your support can bring those same possibilities to another family and another community.