Water

	Almost 80% of all Malawians get their water from local bore holes.

Water in Malawi is not always safe. Although the water in Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu are treated to some degree, Peace Corps still suggests filtering and boiling your water. Peace Corps will issue you a large water filter for use at your home. While traveling, many volunteers bring a water bottle with purifying tablets (Peace Corps issues iodine tablets).

Most volunteers do not have running water in their homes. Those who do will find that there is no hot water heater, hence no such thing as hot water for their showers!

Volunteers that do not have running water in their homes usually have several buckets of water from a nearby bore hole for cooking, cleaning and the infamous bucket bath.
Bottled water can be found in most PTCs (the local super market chain) and just about anywhere in the big cities.

Electricity

	The standard outlet here in Malawi runs at 240v in 50hz cycles. Most outlets have an on / off switch like the one pictured above.

Electricity in Malawi is based on the English standard 240v system at 50hz cycles. What does this mean for you? Well, it means that the majority of your American electronics that are based in 110v or 120v will not work here without a voltage transformer to step- down the voltage (in fact, plugging in your American electronics without a transformer would destroy the device). Step-down transformers can be found at most electronic stores in the states (I even found one at my local WalMart) and at a few hardware stores here in Malawi.

To check what voltage your device requires look at the back or near the AC outlet of the device. CD players, speakers, walkmans and some other devices have an AC adapter (that big black cube at the end of the cord with the plug in it). For those devices, the voltage will be listed on the black cube. Don’t be fooled by something like “12v” or “4.5v.” That is what the AC adapter brings the voltage down to for the device. What you need to find is the input voltage. If you find that the input voltage says 110v or 120v then one of several things; stock up on batteries, buy a transformer in America or Malawi or find a 240v adapter in America or Malawi that will bring the voltage to the correct level.
Most laptops made within the last ten years have a variable voltage adapter. In other words they are capable of handling any voltage (all they will need is a simple adapter to plug into the outlets here). If you decide to bring your laptop, I would STRONGLY suggest that you invest in a 240v voltage meter. Malawi does have power surges, but it also has brown outs, which occurs when the power drops below the norm. Brown outs can be as destructive to your electronics as a surge. A voltage meter will measure the incoming voltage and make sure that it is at acceptable levels before allowing it to pass to your device. Voltage meters can be found here in Malawi in Lilongwe and Blantyre.

Of course, not all volunteers have electricity in their houses. Many volunteers who do not have electricity buy car batteries to power their devices (CD players, walkmans and small speakers). All the necessary tools for this can also be found in Malawi.

For cooking, those volunteers who have electricity will usually purchase a hot plate (two electric “stove top” burners). Those who do not have electricity will use either a paraffin stove or a good old fire to cook with (check out James’ impressive mud stove).