Education Malawi
Carrying water before class
Rainwater tanks and girls' latrines at forty-five schools in Zomba. Attendance rose for boys first — until the latrine blocks opened.
Education Active Malawi Since 2022
School tanks, Zomba
Rainwater tanks and girls' latrines at forty-five Zomba schools.
In Zomba the trip for water is a school problem before it is a health problem: children, mostly girls, leave class to fetch water for cleaning and cooking. The program installs 50,000-litre rainwater tanks and separate girls' latrines, and pays for two tanks' worth of gutters and filters as a maintenance reserve.
Attendance is counted by the schools themselves and audited each term. The program's honest result is mixed — attendance improved for boys faster than for girls until the latrine blocks opened, which the team writes about openly in the story attached to this page.
- Install rainwater tanks at forty-five schools
- Build separate girls' latrine blocks at every tank school
- Keep 90% of tanks functional through two dry seasons
- Raise girls' year-completion to 90% and hold it there
Latest reported values against this year's targets. A value below target stays visible — it is never rounded up or hidden.
| Indicator | Value | Target | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students supported | 21,300 | 22,000 | |
| Schools with safe water on site | 41 | 45 | |
| Girls completing the school year | 89% | 90% |
- Direct delivery63% · $189,000
- Local staff20% · $60,000
- Training10% · $30,000
- Logistics7% · $21,000
2025 budget: $300,000
What the budget covers
The split above is the approved 2025 budget. Restricted gifts to this program are spent within it, and variances above five percent are explained in the quarterly spending note.
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From the field
Read the story behind these numbers
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