Project includes new showers, toilet facilities for better hygiene

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco High School, located in Nkhotakota, Malawi, has improved living conditions for 80 young girls thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The project funding was used to purchase five buildings as well as the adjacent land. The new area was also fenced for safety.

Three houses were renovated and adequately equipped. One house and another building were taken down because they were not in good condition. Seven toilets and 14 showers were constructed, as well as a stand for two 5,000-liter water tanks. Water and electricity were also connected.

A Salesian explained, “The main objective of the project was to create better safety and living conditions for the school girls. This was achieved, and as a result, the girls punctuality improved because of the availability of more showers, toilets and available water.”

Jenallah Mkandawire is a teacher at the school. Before the project, she noted that the living conditions were not adequate for the girls. She explained, “Now the girls are on time and have adequate water for washing their clothes and sanitary needs. Since they have more places to wash themselves and to wash their clothes, the general hygiene of school has improved.”

Mkandawire said that many of the girls have better living conditions at the school now than they have at their homes.

She added, “We broke for holidays and were surprised to see the changes in our campus after the holidays. All of us appreciate the donors who helped make this dream a reality.”

In Malawi, more than 50% of the population lives in poverty and the majority of households have women as the head of the household, according to the World Bank. Agriculture is a central part of Malawi’s economy, but land distribution is unequal and crops are highly vulnerable to the region’s frequent droughts. Few houses have piped water and less than one in 10 Malawians has access to electricity. Water is collected from wells or streams, and most people cook over an open fire. Malawians deal with hunger and malnutrition on a daily basis.

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Salesian Missions – Malawi

World Bank – Malawi