Water is life.

Laughing children, beaming faces and good humour. Is this a scene from a Christmas celebration with lots of presents perhaps? No. These are pictures of people experiencing bubbling water from a new well for the first time and drinking its fresh water.

A lot of people take it for granted that they can go to the tap to get a glass of fresh drinking water. Yet many others have to walk long distances to reach the nearest source of drinking water or they have to rely on surface water, which is often contaminated.

For this reason, the non-profit organisation "Viva con Agua Austria" (VcA) is committed to sustainable water projects sponsored by the Welthungerhilfe charity in Malawi. The focus here is on WASH projects at primary and secondary schools (WASH stands for water, sanitation and hygiene).

At Hawle, we manufacture products for the supply of drinking water and are committed to supporting projects that improve access to drinking water worldwide. For this reason, we have been donating to Viva con Agua Austria since 2019. The projects implemented in recent years are impressive:

A selection of the projects

2020: Handwashing day

VcA completed large handwashing facilities in the schools of Chiwaka and Kamtedza in the Malawian district of Dedza, supplementing the existing sanitation infrastructure. The new facilities teach students about the importance of handwashing in a fun way, leading to a positive change in behaviour that the students can pass on to their families. These improvements to sanitary conditions have led to a significant reduction in infectious diseases.

2021: Charity Run "Run4Water"

More than 5,000 people in total walked almost 70,000 kilometres and donated 114,571.53 euros. This enabled employees of Viva con Agua in South Africa to supply 10 schools with clean drinking water.

2022: WINS Projects (Wash IN Schools)

• Handwashing station at the Kadzomba primary school In Malawi
  The handwashing station with eight outlets enables pupils and teachers to practice regular hand hygiene and thus prevent diseases. In addition, the popular meeting place is used for drinking, washing dishes and - in the case of the younger children - also for playing.

• Handwashing station and water tank at the Chiwaka primary school in Malawi
  The school well was constructed a few years ago and has now been supplemented with a water tank and a handwashing station. Thanks to its forward-looking design, every pumping action transports water into the tank, which supplies the handwashing station.

Workshops

In addition to the construction of various wells and washing stations, the initiative focuses on workshops and sensitisation measures. Here, the children and teachers learn how to use the new infrastructure correctly and thus pass on important information about hygiene to their families.

Why Malawi?

Malawi is the ninth poorest country worldwide with very limited access to drinking water:

• 82 per cent of the 20 million inhabitants have no drinking water connection in their living quarters.
• 22 per cent need more than 30 minutes to reach the nearest source of drinking water.
• 8 per cent have no access to drinking water whatsoever. These 8 per cent rely on surface water and insecure sources.

Would you too like to make a donation?

You can find all the information you need to make a donation on the Viva con Agua Austria website:

DE: Viva con Agua
EN: Viva con Agua