Tawina Now Has Water- The Tawina Well
On the 16th of November 2017 the community of Tawina took ownership of a new year-round water source ALL THANKS TO YOU! Following an emotional appeal from Seibo Malawi staff in September the “Help Tawina” campaign achieved success in a short time thanks to the generosity of our donors in Japan. In addition we are truly grateful to Water Wells for Africa, a U.S-based NGO, who not only fast-tracked the Tawina Well to beat the oncoming rainy season but also co-funded the well and expertly managed the process of securing a suitable site with an extremely tight deadline. Thanks to our donors and the support of Water Wells for Africa we can now share the success story that is the story of Tawina.

Water Water everywhere but not a drop to drink!
The above words of the poet Samuel Taylor came to mind each time we received information from Tawina. The drilling company tasked with sourcing water near Tawina kept telling us the water was at such a low depth it would lead to the pumping pipes collapsing but then…as seems to be theme of Tawina- a site was found only ten minutes distance from the Tawina Nursery school where Seibo is active with school feeding.

Where there is water, there is a way
It is said where there is a will there is a way. In Tawina’s case there was a will and there was water so a way had to be made by the community to allow the drilling tractors access to the newly-located site.

Get Organised
Of course it was never going to be enough to simply dig a well and leave it. Under the guidance of Water Wells for Africa a committee was formed. Gender equal the committee was to be led by the women of the community since it was more likely they would have first-hand experience of any problems that may arise in the future.
Conditions of membership were clear and simple;
1. Members had to be literate
2. Members had to be born and raised in Tawina community
3. Members had to be hard-working and committed
4. Members had to be considered reliable by the community

Get Going
On Saturday morning the 3rd of November the Blue Water Drilling company arrived on site. Drilling began at 9am and was completed by 5pm. The following day pipes were lowered, rods put into place and the borehole strengthened.
The community played their part preparing food and helping out where they could.

Future Proof
To ensure the continuance of fresh clean water a maintenance pack was handed over to the community- including spanners, hubs and rubber piping. A starter pack that relies on the future responsibility of the committee members. Seibo’s role for the well ongoing will be in a third-party capacity merely to ensure accountability of the community fund which has since been established for future maintenance costs.

A Short Wait in the End
By now excitement was building. However a short wait ensued while the cement set in place before the well could be put to use. During that time the Beehive construction team fit a padlock and chain to the well apparatus and handed ownership of keys to the community.

A Word from the Chair
The Chairman of the Borehole Committee, Mr. Gilbert Wedulo, had this to say;
“This borehole will be of great help to the community, our women always had a problem with water. They would wake up as early as 1 am in the morning walking long distances in search of water. The coming of the borehole is a big relief; our women will now have more time to do household chores. Thank you Seibo and Water Wells for Africa for the timely donation”.

With your help we did it. On behalf of the children of Tawina nursery and the Tawina community and all of us at Seibo – Thank You!