Wells for Widows: Three Weeks in Malawi | Part 3 of 6

"Now we know God is real, and now we know God hears us."

Those were the words of a father we met while visiting one of our Wells for Widows villages in Malawi.

His community had been waiting for clean water for decades. The government had promised them a well, and the villagers had even paid money toward it, but the well never came.

After years of waiting, some had started wondering if God was even listening to their prayers.

So when Shine Malawi told them they were going to receive a well, they didn't believe it. They'd heard promises before.

It wasn't until they actually saw the well equipment coming up the road that they realized it was really happening.

And now they had clean water!

This was also the village of one of our sponsored students, Nester, so the visit was especially meaningful to us. We got to meet his dad, stepmom, and sisters, and I held his little sister for almost the entire visit. 

We loved getting to know his family and hearing their story.

Of all the things we did during our three weeks in Malawi, visiting the villages that had received wells was definitely one of our favorites.

The Women!

At another village, the women danced "with all their energy" in gratitude to God for providing a well.

At that same village they had prepared a skit to show us what life had been like before they received their well.

And let me tell you, these ladies were hilarious! 

They played all the characters themselves. Some dressed up as men to play the husbands, and others dressed as hyenas!

They acted out the long walks they used to make to collect water, including trying to avoid being attacked by hyenas along the way.

Then came the husbands, who were suspicious because their wives were gone so long. They accused the women of visiting other men in neighboring villages instead of collecting water.

The women really got into their roles, and we were all laughing.

But their story was also heartbreaking.

Before the well, they had been collecting water from muddy holes. One mother in that village had lost her baby to an illness associated with the contaminated water.

These women were using humor to tell us about something they had actually lived through.

While we were there, Stalin, the director of Shine Malawi, spent time encouraging the men to help their wives more and to work together as partners.

Collecting water and many other daily responsibilities have traditionally fallen on the women in these communities. Stalin was challenging the men to share those responsibilities instead of leaving so much of the work to their wives.

We really appreciated that.

And it's certainly not just a Malawi issue. Women can be undervalued or expected to carry more than their share in every culture, including our own.

God created both men and women in His image (Genesis 1:27), and we loved seeing Stalin encourage families to recognize each other's value and work together.

Getting a Well Takes a Lot of Work!

Something people might not realize is how much work the villages themselves put into getting a well.

Before the drilling trucks can even reach them, the villagers have to prepare and level the roads. And after driving some of those roads ourselves, I can tell you that's no small job!

They also make the concrete blocks used around the wells and help prepare the concrete surfaces and drainage channels that carry excess water away.

The villagers put in their own time, labor, and skills. Shine Malawi coordinates the work, and Giving Basics donors help provide the funding.

Many of the wells have been donated by widows here in America to help widows and their communities in Malawi. Other generous individuals and families have helped fund wells too.

Each well can serve around 200 people a day.

And the need is enormous.

Two of the villages we visited were so remote that there weren't even primary schools nearby. The children couldn't attend school because there simply wasn't one close enough for them to reach.

It was difficult seeing how many basic things we take for granted are still out of reach for some of these families.

Loving Your Neighbor, Even When It's Hard

At each village, we were welcomed with singing and had opportunities to sit together and talk about Jesus. Our new friends even gathered chairs for us as we shared and learned together. 

Their kindness and hospitality meant a lot to us, and we were humbled by the way they welcomed us.

We shared from John 4, where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well and tells her about living water.

I loved how interactive these conversations were. A lot of the time people asked questions, shared their thoughts, and really engaged with what we were talking about.

We also encouraged everyone to share the water with their neighbors, even those who hadn't been kind to them or shared with them in the past.

That's not always easy, is it?

But Jesus didn't tell us to love only the people who are good to us. He taught us to love our neighbors, and that includes the difficult ones!

The well was there to serve the community, and we wanted to encourage everyone to use it as an opportunity to show that kind of love.

Maintenance Matters!

We also returned to some of the villages where wells had previously been installed to do preventative maintenance.

This is something we've been putting more emphasis on because drilling a well is only the beginning. We want these wells to keep working for years to come.

One of the challenges we discovered is that there isn't really a direct word for maintenance in Chitumbuka, the local language. So we spent time explaining what we meant.

In the communities we visited, we noticed that equipment is often used until something breaks before it's worked on. And when resources are limited, it's understandable why preventative maintenance might not be a priority.

But with a well serving around 200 people every day, waiting until something breaks can leave an entire community without clean water.

So we talked about the importance of caring for the pumps while they're still working, checking components regularly, and replacing parts before they fail.

We brought components from Design Outreach, and many villagers joined us to learn and help with the maintenance.

It was encouraging to see everyone working together, because our goal isn't simply to drill wells. We want to help communities develop the knowledge and skills to keep them working for years to come.

Providing clean water is important. Teaching people how to keep it flowing is just as important.

The Hospitality Was Incredible

Every village welcomed us with singing, and many prepared food for us.

At one village, everyone gathered around and watched us eat. When we finished, they started clapping!

We were a little confused until they explained that they hadn't thought we would actually eat their food.

That really touched us and we were really glad we ate!

They had taken the time to prepare a meal for us, and we were happy to sit and enjoy it.

We loved getting to spend time with the families, hearing their stories, laughing together, and getting to know them beyond the well projects.

There's Still So Much Need

Back in 2025, a widow from Chisoso Village shared something that really stuck with us after her village received a well:

"The curse is lifted, others laughed and disregarded us (a big way to shame others). But the devil has been defeated and we have water now."

It's hard to imagine what having clean water means when you've gone without it for so long. For her, it was about more than water. It was also about dignity, answered prayers, and knowing she hadn't been forgotten.

Since we've been home, another well has already been donated to a neighboring village whose people came to us asking for help!

We're so thankful for that.

But there are still so many villages waiting for clean water.

• Right now, our goal is to provide one more Wells for Widows well in November 2026. The potential site is being investigated this week.

• We're also hoping to provide two additional wells next summer, for two additional sponsored students villages, Alex and Madilitso 

These are the projects we're hoping to move forward with, and we're praying the resources will come together to make them possible.

A well costs approximately $5,000 and can provide clean water for around 200 people every day.

You don't have to fund an entire well to help. Every contribution brings us closer to providing another community with clean water.

I keep thinking about that father who told us his village had prayed for water for decades.

And I think about the women laughing as they acted out their skit, knowing what they had endured just to bring water home.

I also think about the widows and other generous people here in America who have given to help families they'll probably never meet.

We can't provide a well for every village overnight, but we can work toward the next one.

If you'd like to help provide clean water to another village in Malawi, we'd love for you to be part of Wells for Widows.

Click here to give: GivingBasics.org (add a note: for water wells)

A Prayer for All of Us

Father, thank You for the clean water we so easily take for granted. Thank You for the people who have generously given to help others. Please provide for the villages still waiting for water, especially those we're hoping to reach in the coming months. Help us be good stewards of what You've entrusted to us and teach us to love our neighbors well, even when it's difficult.

In Jesus' name, amen.

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Coming next week: Growing More Than Food!

We'll share about farming, school feeding programs, and what we're working toward to help make these projects more sustainable.

Thanks for following along on our Malawi adventures!

I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences, feel free to leave a comment below. 

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