Salaam Foundation has two main projects in Malawi: Ramadan feeding and Water Wells. In February 2025, during a site inspection of the water wells, Salaam Foundation launched the Ramadan feeding project.
Water Wells
#Malawi: Another water well opened to help communities in need
In March 2024, Malawi’s president Lazarus Chakwera declared a State of Disaster in 23 out of Malawi’s 28 districts due to El Niño conditions. Part of Salaam Foundation’s work in the region has involved the setting up of water wells in villages in Malawi most affected by the El Niño conditions. Wells have been opened in the Kalapwaga village in Mangochi District which is under Traditional Authority Bwananyambi. The village is situated in the eastern part of Malawi. A representative from the village said the community were facing a dire need for water and the water well was welcomed. He thanked the generous donors who made the water well and the clean, pure reality a reality for the villagers. The water well will be able to serve several hundreds of the villages, made up mostly of women and children.
In February 2025, Salaam Foundation’s co-director Azhar Vadi visited the villages where the water wells were built to see the impact of the project. The water wells are keeping communities in deep rural Malawi afloat. The drought conditions are no longer the only things affecting the people in the villages. It is now the terrible economic conditions facing the country which is presenting the biggest challenge for the people.
“The water wells are proving vital in assisting and helping the community in irrigating their lands and providing water for their animals and providing clean, drinking water for themselves and generally being able to uplift their community,” said Vadi.
The water wells which are dug go deep into the ground bringing forth clean, safe water and compile with government regulations.
You can donate a water well for just R14000.
Ramadan Feeding
During the site visit to the water wells, the Salaam Foundation team became aware of another pressing issue which is that due to the dire economic situation in the country, many people cannot afford even the most basic food items like mielie meal. Prices increase daily as the currency is losing value and depreciating at a rapid rate. In 2024, the Malawian currency was one of the weakest from the African continent. Vadi said that day-to-day shop owners have to go into their shops and change the price of items because the prices keep increasing. Many families do not eat for several days on end. The more rural areas suffer even more. While the prices of food items and other essentials increase, people’s salaries and wages have not increased which is making it more and more difficult for people to survive.
With Ramadhan coming up, this has made things even more urgent. The people in the villages are concerned whether they will be able to observe the month as they do not even have enough to make the suhoor meal to begin their fasts and they do not have enough to open their fasts at the end of the day.
Malawi’s economic collapse having a devastating impact on already vulnerable communities
Due to the urgent needs facing the people in the villages in Malawi, Salaam Foundation has launched the Ramadan feeding programme.
Provide Ramadan meals for a family of 5 for just R2000 for the entire month or feed a village of 100 people for just R22500 for the entire month.
Salaam Foundation
FNB 62669147665
Branch 250737
Ref: Mal + your name (zakat/lillah/sadaqa)
