On
Dec 23rd I wrote Notes No 66 (copied below). It told the story of
Jonathan and Jennifer Hunter, from Drinkwell International, who are doing
pioneering work in Malawi and who were facing a particularly challenging set of
circumstances. I invited you to send them a message of support, to spread a bit
of Christmas cheer. Many of you responded so Jonathan/Jennifer have asked if I
could share their reply:
Jennifer
and I were overwhelmed by your messages of goodwill and support over the
Christmas period. I would like to thank you individually, however, due to the
rather slow internet connection and the regular power cuts we enjoy here in
Mzuzu (north Malawi) that could take some time. Hence a group message sent
through Piers! So, thank you all, the gesture was most definitely appreciated,
and made for a better Christmas.
The
idea of Drinkwell began back in 2003 when we were doing various charity-funded
water and sanitation projects. The intention was always to do more in Malawi,
and we even considered establishing a dedicated charity. However, following
several years working with different NGOs (in Sudan, Sri Lanka and Rwanda), I
moved away from the aid model, and concluded that fostering private sector
development was a better way to achieve truly sustainable goals. A business
needs to be financially viable to survive, so what better way than to develop a
private business that builds local capacity? Notably, in the water sector
follow-up services, (maintenance etc.) are desperately needed but rarely
provided. UNICEF state that 40% of Malawi’s boreholes are not
functioning!
In
Malawi the plan therefore was for Drinkwell to be a local business run by
locals, providing quality technical services in the water sector. Our plan was
that it would be financially viable within 3 years. We believed we already had a
local partner who shared our vision and a functioning drilling rig leased from
an American NGO. Sadly the rig turned out to be damaged, and we did not realise
the scale of corruption/social crisis within Malawi today – it has worsened
considerably since we were here in 03/04. Given the state of the country
(failing public institutions, rife corruption, nepotism, and very low capacity
in the workforce), it will be a long time before things stabilize such an
enterprise.
We
still very much believe private enterprise is the way forward in developing
countries, and that it can play a very important role towards achieving real
development and sustainability. It can help address the gaps that have been
tackled (with little success) by countless NGOs, charities and donor-funded
projects, or neglected by ever more corrupt and ineffective governments. Through
Drinkwell we have learnt valuable lessons that I hope we (and others) can gain
from in the future. Though Malawi is still some-way off being a conducive
environment for private sector development, I believe the model can work. I
would support anyone who is prepared to try it.
Despite
the set-backs suffered by Drinkwell, the results achieved in the short-time we
have been in operation show what is possible; 26 new community boreholes, 5 new
water points in schools, hospitals and other institutions, 27 rehabilitated
community water points, 7 rehabilitated in schools and other institutions, 7
rehabilitated for private clients reaching 19,000 beneficiaries providing them
with much improved access to water. If Drinkwell does not survive, then this is
the memory I will take away from this experience. The achievements in just
under 2 years, with relatively little investment, calls into question the large
budgets of the UN and NGOs and the often slow pace at which they
work.
My
biggest regret is we may never be able to fully re-pay the support and trust put
into the enterprise by a few brave individuals at home, who made it all
possible.
Jonathan
and Jennifer Hunter, January 2015
COPY OF THE
ORIGINAL NOTE NO 66
And you thought
your day sucked….
Drinkwell
International is a Malawi-based business that drills and maintains boreholes.
They provide water to communities in one of the poorest regions of one of the
poorest countries in the world. I love this business.
Isle has provided
financial support to Drinkwell over the past couple of years. We first learnt
about the company through its MD, Jonathan Hunter. Back in the early noughties
when he was a fresh graduate (and I still had hair), Jonathan was one of my
colleagues at Atkins. Even then his commitment to Malawi was obvious. He would
do regular trips.
He reconnected
with me in mid-2012 with a vision for Drinkwell. I thought it was inspired.
Brave, risky, daring…but inspired. I particularly liked the fact that I
personally didn’t need to do anything other than provide some start-up capital.
I am not a very practical person and my role as an investor rather than a
hands-on employee was perfect. I can cause much less mayhem that way.
Over the past
couple of years I have watched spellbound as Jonathan, supported by his wife
Jennifer, has steadily built the business. Despite all the initial naysayers,
they have successfully established themselves in Malawi. They have employed
locals, drilled new wells, got paid for their services, built a
reputation. The plan was to grow the business to a scale where it could be
handed over to local Malawians as a going concern - not dependent upon charity,
but a vibrant enterprise!
This summer
Jonathan and Jennifer returned home to Scotland. This was partly to see family
but mostly (I suspect) to enable Jennifer to have their fourth child
(establishing Drinkwell was clearly not keeping them busy enough). Upon
returning to Malawi Jonathan has discovered the truly heart-breaking news that
his local partner has robbed him. There is clear evidence that he has defrauded
the company, taken (and probably given) bribes, used company resources for his
own purposes. The more Jonathan digs the more bad news he discovers. This is
clearly tragic and grossly unfair.
Do not mistake
Jonathan for a soft touch. He is a robust, clear headed, pragmatic man who now
has to salvage what he can and rebuild where he can. However the damage caused
may be too much. Only time will tell. Jonathan and Jennifer have every right to
feel annoyed, angry and abused. They have done what very few people have the
guts or the vision to do, and right now it must feel pretty sucky. My heart goes
out to them.
So now I have a
tiny favour to ask you: please send Jonathan an email, congratulating him on the
fantastic, ground-breaking work he has done and wishing him good luck for the
new year (jonathannhunter@gmail.com – yes it does have two ‘n’s in the
middle that is not a typo). Imagine how brilliant a Christmas present it would
be if he was to open his emails (which he only gets access to once every few
weeks) and see well wishes from people he doesn’t even know. He knows about
these Notes so you can make reference to them.
There are too few
people like Jonathan and Jennifer on this planet and if we can help them feel a
little less alone, a little less screwed over, then that, surely, has to be
something worthy of the Christmas period.
Best wishes for
the holiday season, see you in the New Year.
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