A story published on May 20, 2026, on Malawi24 exposing worsening water shortages in parts of Ntcheu has prompted an immediate humanitarian response from Italy-based organisation Il Pozzo dei Desideri, which has pledged to drill five boreholes in affected communities.
The original report by this publication revealed how villages under Group Village Headman Mkutumula 2 in the area of Senior Chief Makwangwala had been forced back to drawing unsafe water from the Linengwe River after taps reportedly started supplying water only once a week.
Communities such as Kalulu, Bauleni, and Msalawatha have since been battling difficult conditions, with women and girls walking long distances every day to fetch water shared with livestock.
The situation has heightened fears of waterborne diseases, including cholera, as families increasingly depend on untreated river water for drinking, cooking, and other household needs.
Responding to the crisis, the founder of Il Pozzo dei Desideri, Matteo Ferrari, said communities should not be forced to return to unsafe and outdated ways of accessing water when practical solutions are available.
Ferrari confirmed that his organisation will drill five boreholes in the affected areas, describing the intervention as an urgent effort to restore safe and reliable water access to struggling families.
He said the organisation has been operating in Malawi since 2015, mainly in Balaka and Dedza districts, where it has implemented borehole projects aimed at improving access to clean water in rural communities.
Ferrari added that while the Ntcheu intervention remains the immediate priority, the organisation continues receiving requests from other areas, raising the possibility of further assistance depending on available resources and emerging community needs.
