School goes four months without water

Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
PARENTS with children at Mbgwenda Primary School in Bulilima District are concerned that the school has been running for four months without water after a borehole dried up. Mrs Sindisiwe Nyathi from Dombolefu said pupils have been bringing water to school for much of the past two terms. When schools opened for the third term we assumed the problem would have been rectified but it is still going on.
“When schools opened for the second term we were advised that the school borehole was not working and as a result parents were expected to provide children with drinking water.

“The school authorities promised that they would address the problem but we are now in the third term and the school still has no water supply,” she said.

Parents expressed their concern over possible health threats that could be caused by the situation.
“It is highly risky to have children learning from a school with no water. Although they carry small bottles of water from their homes that is not enough as that water will not last them for the whole day.

“We fear for the health of our children because they will use toilets and handle their food without washing their hands,” said Mr Elias Nkomo.

Councillor Morgen Ndebele said the school’s borehole dried up in May which has compelled school authorities to order pupils to carry their own water from home.

“This problem has been persisting for the past four months. The borehole has not been yielding water since May and since then the school has not had water.

“This has become a major concern as it is highly risky for pupils to attend lessons at a school with no water. What makes the situation even worse is that these are primary pupils who also include Grade Zero and Grade One pupils,” he said.

Clr Ndebele said a number of villagers within the area were faced with water supply challenges after boreholes dried up.
“The water table has dropped making it impossible for water to be drawn through a borehole. Some of the villagers have been relying on dam and river water for drinking. This is really unsafe as these are the same water sources for animals.

“Community members in Village 27 have been for the past three months relying on dam water for drinking and cooking. They have been collecting this water and boiling it in order to make it safe to drink as the boreholes are now dry,” he said.

“Our worry is not only water for human consumption but for animal consumption as well. Some of the dams have dried up as elephants are causing havoc and are consuming water in dams. Some of the dams have dried up because of these animals.”