James lives in Chiwvayika, with his spouse and their 11 children.  A large portion of their family’s income comes from fishing and, every September usually becomes ill, suffering from Dysentery, which can have long-term effects on his health. 

Dirty water has continued to be an issue for the families and communities we work with at Temwa and in Nkhata Bay North, three in five people contract waterborne diseases every year. James is unfortunately one of those people. 

James discovered Temwa through one of our Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) awareness events, last year. Where we deliver hygiene education for the community to support them in improving their safe hygiene practices. 

From the first meeting, James has already realised the importance of good WASH practices and how by not using them sooner, he could have worsened his condition. 

“As I begin to work with Temwa through their WASH program, I expect my condition to improve.” 

Now James and his family have the resources to practise safer hygiene and hope to see the issues revolving around waterborne diseases decrease. 

“Thank you Temwa for choosing to work with our community. I have learnt a lot just from this meeting. I believe if these sessions continue, we will change as people and improve our health.” 

In order for communities to make informed decisions about their health, including their hygiene and sanitation practices, Temwa runs awareness-raising activities to improve understanding about best practices to combat WASH related health issues. WASH committees, which comprise community members trained by Temwa, are taking a leading role in improving community knowledge and adoption of these best practices like James has. 

WASH committees use community gatherings such as church services, as well as arranged meetings by chiefs, to raise awareness of key WASH issues. 

Find out more in our latest report here