urac-news-letter

volume 2 Number 8, August 2019

THE URAC UPDATE MONTHLY

Nkhota Kota villagers get first taste of safe water

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Bobu and Kamtekete villagers in Ngala in Nkhota Kota district are pregnant with excitement as they witness the sinking of one bore in each of their villages by URAC, courtesy of funds raised by Konrad Kess through the German charity, Malawi-Hilfe Schwindegg e.V. Until recently, for the people of Bobu Village, particularly women and children, accessing safe water was a nightmare. They had to carry water over long distances from nearby streams and the lake because the place has never had any source of safe water. For Kamtekete villagers, accessing potable water has been an ‘oversleep and miss’ affair since piped water is only available after midnight when other users have retired to bed. To ensure sustainability, the excited communities have been trained in how to manage and repair their boreholes. The boreholes are at completion stage and water is already being pumped out. Malawi-Hilfe Schwindegg e.V is a charity that raises funds from German citizens to support community projects in Malawi. The current target area was identified by Konrad Kess who once visited Ngala as a tourist and witnessed how women and young children struggled to access water for their daily use.

Konrad Kess was born in Germany in 1955. He worked as a bank apprentice from 1971 to 1973; worked as bank clerk and trained as a soldier in 1975. He studied for a first and second degree in banking (obtaining a bachelor’s in 1973 and Master ‘s in 1978). He served as Bank Officer and Project Manager from 1979 to 1988 when he worked in Munich, New York and London, rising to the position of senior bank manager and departmental head, and Chef Execute Officer a position he held until 2000. Konrad founded a business and financial services advisory consulting company and served there until 2017 when he retired.