Drought prone Ndemena get water aiid

VIOLET MENGO

 Lusaka
 

 

“DIRTY water causes needless suffering,” reads a brochure developed to sensitise people on the need to access clean and safe water.

This is because every day in rural communities and poor urban centres, people suffer lack of access to clean, safe water.

Women and girls especially bear the burden of walking long distances to gather water from infested streams and ponds. 

This results into consumers of such water suffering from waterborne diseases.
This hallenge is particularly true to many of Zambia’s rural communities where people walk about five to10 kilometres to fetch water.

In Kazungula district is a young girl named Faustina who lives with her family in a small village of Mabole in Sekute ward.

Kazungula district lies in the ecological zone where rainfall averages below 600mm per annum, and the district is generally arid coupled with tropical climate.

Most rainy seasons, this part of the country receives very little rainfall, making it difficult for residents to have sustained water supply.

During the dry spells, Faustina, her family and residents of Mabole village rely on the one borehole located near Simukombo Primary School, a distance averaging 3 km to 5km.
The only borehole also tends to dry up in the hot season, and villagers are forced to look for water elsewhere.

It is Faustina’s responsibility to fetch water for her family’s daily needs.

Each day, she spends about three hours on her rounds to the stream, just to collect enough water for her family. Faustina is a hard-working girl, but her daily duty of drawing water for the family tends to take a toll on her education as she often missing class.

“The lack of water is an often insurmountable obstacle to helping oneself. We can’t grow food, we can’t build houses and it is difficult to stay healthy,” Faustina says.

Without water, children cannot stay in school and people cannot work.

Access to safe water is key to the development and well-being of any community, therefore Mabole community’s potential remains unlocked because of limited access to water.

Children and women spend much of their time fetching water, and thus unable to commit themselves fully to education and economic activities that could help sustain their lives.

It was against this backdrop that Pilot Programme for Climate Resilient (PPCR) initiated the Ndemena Water Supply Community Project to enhance the provision of water to residents in the drought-prone areas of Ndemena and Mabole.

Ndemena and Mabole communities in Kazungula district have an estimated human population of 250, 200, respectively.

The communities also boast of about 2,000 head of cattle, and therefore access to water is essential.
With the current drought being experienced in many parts of the country, Kazungula is also severely affected.

Apart from the borehole at Simukombo Primary School, some members of the community fetch water from neighbouring communities about 7km away, and others still survive on the Zambezi River.

It is expected that with the provision of water to residents of Ndemena and Mabole, their livelihood would be improved.

Climate Change Secretariat communication expert Chama Nambeye said the impact of the first two solar-powered boreholes in Ndemena and Mabole villages include positive change among the beneficiaries.

Ms Nambeye said the communities now have access to clean water at considerable distances, unlike in the past when they could move more than 5km, and in some cases, further on to the Zambezi River in search of water.

“When students are freed from fetching water, they return to class, the provision of water reduces school absenteeism,” Ms Nambeye said.

She said with the availability of water, the local people will be encouraged to do gardening and this is expected to improve their nutritional status.

Ms Nambeya said access to safe and clean water also tends to promote public health and reduces the disease burden owing to poor sanitation.

With sustained water supply, people can find time to engage in income-generating activities, and therefore lift themselves out of poverty.

“When people have access to water, there is food security because they will engage in income-generating activities such as gardening and will be able to sell their produce and earn some income,” Ms Nambeya said.

And Kazungula district planner Kelyson Mang’ola said the two boreholes are solar-powered because they are multi-purpose. He said a relatively large number of people are benefiting from the borehole.
Mr Mang’ola said the solar- powered boreholes are not only inexpensive to operate, but also require low maintenance costs, and are therefore ideal for rural communities.

The provision of water to Ndemena and Mabole communities, and Kazungula district as a whole, will improve the quality of life for people like Faustina and her family.