Happy Mwabe, Representative from Malawi shared his gratitude to Zainab and Symon for involving him in their project design.  He values the support and partnership which is becoming important every day. This project catches his interest as it falls in both his professions in teaching and agriculture. The project is very feasible and answers water scarcity problems facing our schools and communities. Happy says, “I must confess, designing a water catchment system is affected by many ground factors and this calls for the designer to physically study the project site adequately. Notwithstanding, the following would be my quick advice pertaining to the project.’

• Topographical aspect of the water system. Gravity is the cheapest way of transporting fluids. Therefore, it is important that the whole conveyance system is installed in the favor of gravity.
• The primary uses of the water. This will decide the design of the water scheme. For instance, water for hygiene, irrigation, fish ponds, or A and B? These questions will affect the final set up of the system. The goal should be making sure that the initiative answers the most pressing issues at the school. A project which is solving the most pressing problems in the communities will be accepted and the communities will be willing to participate even when the grant cycle is over.
• Intensity of rainfall in the area. The capacity of the system will depend on the amount of rainfall per annum in that particular area. This calls for rainfall data in the area for the past ten years.
• Public Safety. Since the proposed project site is a school setting with young children around, the system set-up and its materials would take consideration of children safety. This includes fencing the main tank, ensuring a minimum height of two metres in all system flyovers etc.
• User friendliness. The system should consider user friendliness and safety in terms of age, disability, gender etc. This includes system flexibility, approachability, accessibility, manoeuvrability…
• Materials. The system would require the following materials; gutters, conduits, timbers, bricks, sand, cement, iron sheets, roofing tiles, pipes, nails, water faucets. The qualities and quantities of the materials would be known upon the actual field study.
• The project costs. As rightly put by Symon, the project budget could be higher. Other options could be using participatory approaches where some materials and labour are provided by the communities themselves. Opportunities of co-funding could also be better options. The actual project budget would be declared upon the successful study of the project site.