Explainer · updated July 2026

Where your dollar goes: repairing wells in Malawi

Why repair wells instead of drilling new ones?

Across rural Malawi, 35–40% of installed handpumps are broken at any moment. The wells exist; they just don't work. Repairing one costs a small fraction of drilling one — which is why $1 given to Clean Water Climb provides clean water for 1.5 people for up to 5 years.

Who does the work?

Child Legacy International's Malawian repair teams, working year-round from their solar-powered campus. Since 2008 they've restored more than 5,300 pumps — every repair free to the community. Clean Water Climb has funded 4,200+ of those repairs with $5.2M raised by climbers and donors since 2011.

What changes when a well flows again?

Waterborne disease drops. And the hours women and girls spent hauling water long distances come back — for school, for income, for their households. When a repair team finishes, the village's women often sing and dance at the well. Most of us have never once celebrated our kitchen tap.

How to help

All donations tax-deductible · EIN 93-4081451.

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