Nurturing Resilience: A Systems Approach to WASH in Malawi
In briefAI summary — tap to read
Heidi Rickels, director of Freshwater Project International, presented a systems approach to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure in Malawi, focusing on rural health centers. The organization partners with local governments and international organizations to upgrade failing water systems and build community ownership, ensuring long-term sustainability through local capacity building and ongoing technical support.
Key takeaways
- WASH projects must shift from installing single water points to implementing comprehensive systems that address water supply, sanitation, waste management, and hygiene across entire health facilities.
- Sustainability requires genuine community and stakeholder engagement from project design through handover, including local health staff, district officials, and community committees who co-develop maintenance systems and receive capacity-building training.
- Freshwater Project International uses solar-powered systems and partnerships with technical experts like Zyllem to mechanize existing boreholes, serve multiple locations simultaneously, and provide remote troubleshooting to reduce costs and prevent system failures.
- Strong partnerships with local governments and trusted on-the-ground organizations enable decade-long impact programs that can be adapted to different contexts, such as government health centers versus church-run facilities.
- Rigorous water quality testing, preventative maintenance protocols, and monitoring platforms like Mwater track functionality and health outcomes over time, allowing organizations to pivot approaches based on real-world data.
About Heidi RickelsHeidi Rickels is the director of Freshwater Project International, which focuses on solar-powered water, sanitation, and hygiene systems in Malawi. She has worked in this field for 20 years, initially motivated by a fellowship exchange with a Malawian water professional that revealed the critical link between water access and health outcomes in rural developing countries.
AI-generated from the meeting recording — AI can make mistakes, so check the recording for anything important.
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Program: Nurturing Resilience: A Systems Approach to WASH in Malawi
Speaker: Heidi Rickels
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How might sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) solutions strengthen health systems and communities when designed through a holistic, locally-driven lens? Drawing on Freshwater Project International’s on-the-ground work in Malawi, this presentation highlights a collaborative partnership with Engineers Without Borders USA and the Xylem Impact Project to address critical infrastructure gaps. Together, these partners are upgrading water and sanitation systems at every health center across Malawi's Zomba District, ensuring reliable access to clean water, safe sanitation, and improved hygiene practices where they matter most.
Through case studies, lessons learned, and community-centered design principles, the presentation illustrates how a systems approach to WASH builds long-term resilience in resource-constrained settings. It examines the integration of technical engineering solutions, local capacity building, and cross-sector collaboration to improve health outcomes, reduce risk, and create scalable impact. The speaker will describe insights into how coordinated partnerships and sustainable infrastructure investments can transform district-wide healthcare delivery and serve as a model for resilient WASH programming across sub-Saharan Africa.
Our speaker, Heidi Rickels, is the Executive Director of Freshwater Project International, where she leads global efforts to expand access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene through resilient, solar-powered systems. With more than two decades of experience in humanitarian work, sustainability, and community-centered development, she specializes in building partnerships that drive long-term impact. Heidi works at the intersection of health, clean energy, and global development, collaborating with organizations, youth, and innovators to advance equitable solutions. She is passionate about empowering communities and creating pathways for sustainable change.
Members and guests, please welcome Heidi Rickels!
To learn more, go to:
Freshwater Project International:
https://www.freshwaterintl.org
https://youtu.be/DPbIdK5qEUw?si=qGJIldJACXQyolPG
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