Piped water project uplifts over 600 Gwanda households

Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, [email protected]

OVER 600 households from two wards in Gwanda District have benefitted from improved water supplies following the establishment of two piped water schemes by the Government in partnership with Welt Hunger Hilfe (WHH).

Two more piped water schemes are being established in two more wards in the district, with about 1,100 households set to benefit.

The intervention has helped ease water challenges in the area.
Nkalange water project vice chairperson, Ms Moscow Moyo, said their project is supplying water to over 350 households. She said 10 taps have been installed where community members are now collecting water.

“We were walking up to five kilometres in search of water and sometimes after walking that distance, the boreholes would run out of water before we could collect,” she said.

“We used to spend long hours standing in queues waiting for water and we would lose a lot of valuable time and fail to perform other chores.

“Collecting water was such a nightmare and we also missed out on participating in development projects because of the time spent collecting water. Our animals now access water close by,” she said.

To sustain the project, Ms Moyo said villagers were contributing R15 per household towards security services to protect solar panels and other equipment from vandalism.

Another villager, Ms Sithabile Ndlovu, said the old times of being stranded and desperate for water were over. “This is now a thing of the past as I now have a tap just outside my homestead where I can collect my water,” she said.

The humanitarian drought response project, which started in March, is coming to an end this month, being implemented in Mount Darwin District.

The major objective was to provide emergency access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene solutions, supported by local water committees and community health volunteers, to mitigate water-borne disease risks and enhance community health and safety.

The project is being funded by a German-based organisation Bauer Foundation, with WHH as the implementing partner. Various Government departments play an advisory role, working closely with the District Civil Protection Committee, DWSSC, drought relief and food and nutrition committees.

WHH head of drought recovery project, Mr Vincent Chiunya, said the project sought to support communities in recovering from the effects of the El Niño-induced drought.

“The main goal of the project was to bring immediate humanitarian relief for drought-affected communities in the two districts, Gwanda and Mount Darwin,” he said.

“It also sought to contribute to the restoration of livelihoods by mitigating the impacts of climate change and recurrent droughts.

“It is also targeted to restore critical livelihood options and opportunities and improve household food security. To ensure improved access to water within communities, activities that were conducted under the project include construction of four piped water schemes in Gwanda District,” he said.

Mr Chiunya said the project also saw the rollout of activities that promote climate-smart agriculture, natural resources management, livestock supplementary feed formulation, small livestock production.

Other activities that were conducted include poultry restocking, community-led veterinary livestock vaccination activities and establishment of village business units, which will be supported by piped water schemes.

Gwanda District Development Coordinator, Ms Nomathemba Ndlovu, said the drought response intervention will go a long way in complementing efforts being made by the Government to alleviate the impact of drought in the district.

“As Gwanda, we were not spared from the effects of the El Niño-induced drought, which left a number of households food insecure and many people are still trying to recover,” she said.

“Government has rolled out several interventions, which have helped to bring relief, but there is always room for partners to come on board.

“We appreciate this intervention, which is coming through WHH, as it will go a long way. We look forward to seeing communities sustain the gains of this project,” she said.
-@DubeMatutu