In the course of 2007, three volunteers from Italy; Enzo, Aldo, and Alberto presented a drilling machine to Andiamo Trust that will be used to drill boreholes around the region of Balaka. This development comes following great and commendable initiatives currently run by Andiamo Trust. The three volunteers who all work with an Italian organisation known as Oltre Confine (Beyond Borders) come from Rieti in Italy and visited Balaka for three months to study the viability of the project.

Receiving the donation, padre Mario expressed gratitude to the Italian community whose efforts to help the people of Balaka are complimenting Andiamo Trust’s dreams. He described the initiative as the most suitable one following severe shortage of clean water for Balaka communities. In his remarks, padre Mario mentioned that that the donation was made in the honour of the late Andrea Pacifici who had plans to drill boreholes in Balaka. However, he urged the beneficiaries to take good care of the boreholes once installed.

After commending the viability of the project, the volunteers will be back to Balaka in February 2008 to train a team of local young men and women who will be fully responsible for drilling boreholes and managing the project.

In Balaka and surrounding areas, there is scarcity of clean water. As a result, a lot of people tend to consume water directly from rivers or unprotected wells. In the end, they inevitably catch all sorts of bacterial diseases that lead to a reduced life expectancy.

By Eugenio Njoloma