Introducing Project MapAid Changu: Securing Malawi’s Water & Agricultural Future
22/07/2026
22/07/2026
Malawi is currently locked in the grip of a devastating, record-shattering El Niño climate emergency that has triggered an acute water and food security crisis. As severe droughts cause shallow water tables to drop precipitously, unlined domestic pit latrines frequently contaminate these remaining shallow aquifers. This biological contamination transforms critical, otherwise properly placed community wells into deadly hazards, driving a stubbornly endemic cholera crisis that actively threatens the lives of millions.
Figure 1: A shallow standpipe tapping into the weathered basement aquifer, a critical component of agricultural livelihoods for small plot farmers
Project MapAid Changu is an initiative designed to fund and supply advanced predictive mapping tools to protect shallow groundwater aquifers. To ensure this technology remains permanently in Malawian hands, we are launching an independent fundraising campaign to raise $25,000 to equip the Sustainable Knowledge Center—a permanent network established and operated by a consortium of Malawian state universities.
This initiative supports a two-fold objective: first, supplying predictive data tools to assist local health agencies in identifying cholera contamination risks in shallow water tables; and second, supporting water security for small-plot agriculture—the lifeblood of Malawi’s economy. By equipping the university consortium with spatial data infrastructure, this project enables local institutions to safeguard community water supplies and smallholder crops.
To help strengthen local data sovereignty, this $25,000 campaign funds software, hardware, and data integration for the Sustainable Knowledge Center, hosted across three Malawian state universities:
Figure 2: LUANAR and Global MapAid Implementation Team for Project MapAid Changu
The dedicated professionals pictured above represent the collaborative heart of this academic partnership. Standing from left to right, they bring together the exact expertise in research, capacity building, and hydrology required to run the center:
To support early risk identification while predictive models are finalized, this campaign directly engages through contracts for services with the university network to execute student-led transect walks across high-density peri-urban zones.
Under these service contracts, university student cohorts from LUANAR, MUBAS, and MZUNI are contracted under local university supervision to deliver the following technical services:
Figure 3: Students participating in transect walks for rapid data collection
By leveraging open-source software platforms (Postgres/PostGIS and Python/QGIS), we eliminate commercial software fees. This allows us to structure commercial service contracts with registered local institutions—including Malawian state universities and registered in-country partners like BASEflow—to execute hardware procurement, server deployment, and field data deliverables:
By supporting this $25,000 campaign, you directly fund service contracts that equip local Malawian institutions with permanent spatial data infrastructure. This technical capacity supports long-term self-reliance, ensuring that local researchers have the server hosting, analytics tools, and training needed to independently monitor and safeguard regional water tables and crops.
Of this $25,000 campaign target, $6,000 has already been formally secured by private donors—meaning $19,000 is needed to reach our campaign goal and activate the center’s data infrastructure.
Figure 4: Student worker conducts E. coli test using the Compartment Bag Test
Global MapAid is a registered UK charity (No. 1124301) with a fiscal sponsorship agreement in the United States through Omprakash, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. This strategic arrangement enables US-based donors to support our work with contributions that are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
We pride ourselves on lean, highly efficient operations, with this campaign carrying a low 15.5% administrative fee. This transparent structure minimizes overhead, ensuring the vast majority of your contribution directly funds technical service contracts and data collection deliverables executed by Malawian state universities and local registered partners.
For inquiries regarding donations, foundation grants, or project details, please contact:
Rupert Douglas-Bate (CEO)
Email: [email protected]
WhatsApp: +44 (0)7951 958758
