Paak Foundation targets 100 underprivileged communities with improved water access

Paak Foundation was registered in Malawi in 2022 as a charity organization to, among others, economically empower underprivileged youths and women from rural communities.

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On Friday, the organization handed over a modern borehole to the people of Santhe Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Kalolo in Lilongwe.

The borehole has cost the foundation K1.5 million to drill and install.

The organization’s founder and director Talha Saqib said apart from working to economically empower rural communities, the desire of his organization is to ensure every community has access to safe and clean drinking water to prevent waterborne diseases.

“This is a self-funded project. I am planning to put up 100 boreholes in the next two to three years. The idea is to alleviate the suffering among underprivileged communities,” said Saqib.

He added, “I don’t take donations from anybody. I just want to send the message that we can make a difference with the little we have.”

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Janet Zakaria said the facility will reduce the distance women and girls used to cover to fetch water from the wells.

“We used to spend hours to walk to and from wells. But this will not be the case anymore. We will now dedicate our time to do other productive activities,” said Zakaria.

Village Head Santhe described the borehole as a huge relief to his subjects. He said for decades, his people have been relying on water drawn from unprotected sources, which also contributed to cases of waterborne diseases in the area.

“We are very grateful to the foundation. This will greatly contribute to community efforts to eliminate cholera and diarrhea,” said the traditional leader.

Meanwhile, Saqib has disclosed that the foundation will soon be rolling out a welding school at Nsaru Trading Centre targeting unemployed youths in the area.