Opening of the Nursery school and borehole

Joy in Phulanya! At the end of November the festive opening of the new nursery school and borehole took place in the village of Namagawa, the most remote village of Phulanya. A special milestone for us as an organization, but above all for the community in Namagawa. Let’s look back for a moment…

Throwback:
In the summer of 2022, we started construction of the new nursery school in Namagawa. We started by putting together an expert construction team (of local construction workers and construction workers from the city) and committees of volunteers (for making food, supplying water and carrying and storing materials). Construction progressed beyond expectations. A good foundation was laid, then the walls were built with strong and environmentally friendly high-quality cement blocks. We managed to attach the roof before the rainy season started in December 2022.

During the rainy season we had to stop construction. In March 2023, Cyclone Freddy struck southern Malawi, causing Phulanya to experience severe flooding, with damage to homes and crops. Cyclone Freddy made Namagawa inaccessible for several months, because the area was cut off from the outside world by the flooding and the roads were impassable. This meant that we could not continue the final work on the construction of the nursery school until the summer of 2023. In recent months we have been working hard to finish the nursery school. 

In the meantime, enough money had been raised to drill a borehole in Namagawa! This borehole has been realized in recent weeks, next to the nursery school. Previously, the residents of Namagawa had to walk a long distance to fetch water or, they used water from the river. During the period when the village was cut off from the outside world, the residents did not have access to clean drinking water. There was a great need for a borehole for this community. We are grateful that the community in Namagawa now has access to clean drinking water in their own village. 

It is difficult to put into words what these two projects mean to the community of Namagawa. These developments not only give residents joy, but also hope and prospects for change in their community. The nursery school has been in use for pre-school education for a few weeks and will also be used in the future for medical assistance and evangelism meetings. This will be further addressed in 2024.

Of course, a festive opening is appropriate for these major milestones! The nursery school and the new borehole were officially opened at the end of November. Watch the video to see footage of the grand opening and experience some of the joy of the Namagawa community!