Chronicle Editor
Mkhululi Ncube, Chronicle Reporter
FED up with losing their cattle due to water challenges in their area, diasporans from some wards in Bulilima District in Matabeleland South Province have embarked on a second dam rehabilitation project.
The villagers from Wards One, Two and Three recently rehabilitated Nunu Dam at a cost of US$17 000.
They have now shifted their focus to the second dam, Matsapo, which is located in a grazing area.
The villagers involved in the project live in villages falling under Headman Sikhathini, under Chief Kandana’s jurisdiction.
While many communities wait for help from outside, the villagers say they have taken it upon themselves to solve their problems than hoping for a helping hand.
The chairperson of Matsapo Dam Project, Mr Muzi Jele, said villagers lose a lot of livestock like cattle and donkeys during droughts while some animals get lost as they search for water.
“Our aim is to de-silt the dam because we lose a lot of our livestock which gets stuck in the mud when the dam dries up. Our elders spend a lot of time during the dry months rescuing stuck livestock while some animals die before they are rescued which is a huge loss. We saw it fit to take it upon ourselves rather than just lamenting without action.
“Many people are losing their livestock and while we thought that they are being stolen by cattle rustlers we have also realised that the challenge of water forces them to travel far in search of water resulting in them being lost, hence we want to address the water problem,” said Mr Jele from his base in South Africa.
He said they are using the WhatsApp platform to mobilise diasporans from the area to contribute with an initial target of R500 per person which is deposited in a bank account in South Africa.
“We want to be mobilising resources so that once we get the quotation, we are able to start from somewhere. The experience we got from the Nunu Dam project taught us that as a community we can come together and solve some of the problems we face.
Every Wednesday our people back home gather to work and we support them by sending money so that they are able to buy food for energy as they work to open the pathway to the dam,” he said.
Mr Jele said social media platforms like WhatsApp have become a key development tool for them as it has made it easy to bring people together for development purposes no matter where they are in the world.
He said once a member deposit the money in the project account, they send the proof to the WhatsApp group which act as a motivating factor to others.
“Our fundraising so far is going well and we are grateful for the support coming from our people. We hope to reach more community members based in the diaspora so that they contribute to the development of our areas back home.
“The only difference between the Nunu Dam Project and this one is change of leadership otherwise the same villagers who rehabilitated the last dam are the same people involved. We just elected a new leadership. The two dams are not too far from each other and our livestock drink from both dams so the work being done on the two dams will bring relief to our community,” said Mr Jele.
Mr Jele appealed for support from Government and well-wishers as the project will also benefit wild animals found in the area. — @themkhust
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