Lifeline for Binga folk:
Imagine sharing an open water source with animals, risking water borne diseases in the consumption of the water.
UNBEARABLE as it may sound, that has been the reality for most people in Binga where clean water sources are scarce. The situation has seen calls for intervention and some stakeholders have started responding in a bit to avert a crisis.
Binga residents have welcomed the installation of two water pipelines in their area as they bring much needed relief to the water crisis they were facing.
The two pipelines in Siyachilaba (4,7km) and Saba (11,8km) are set to service people in five areas including Manjolo, Simatelele, Siyanzyundu and the host areas.
The project being spearheaded by the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS) is set to benefit 1 586 households in Binga and surrounding areas.
Villagers expressed their gratitude to the humanitarian organisation for their efforts to bring sanity to Binga.
A villager from Manjolo, Timothy Ndlovu said getting clean water was a hassle as the only sources available to them are dams and a few sources.
“There are few sources of water our communities sometimes we walk kilometres to get water. This project has come as a rescue to us,” he said.
In Simatelele village said they were sharing few sources of water with livestock making it difficult to get clean water.
Bessie Nkala said they had a well at their home stead but it dried up forcing them to go for the community dam that was already servicing a lot of households.
“Our livestock and the people were sharing water from the community dam which am sure would run dry by September. The situation was difficult here,” she said.
The situation was worse in Siyanzyundu where villagers rely on a single source, Siyanyundu dam.
Villagers were forced to travel several kilometres to Saba to get clean and safe water.
Luckily for them, the installation of the Siyachilaba means they would be going for less kilometres searching for water.
A Village head from the same community said they have been living at the mercy of the Lord.
“We are lucky that we have not had cases of water borne diseases. This water project has come as a life saver in this community and people should just thank God for that,” he said.
Chief Siyachilaba was a happy man after the commissioning of the water project.
“People here had serious water problems and when the staff from Zimbabwe Red Cross Society approached me about the situation here I told to go ahead and they managed to install the pipeline that will see Siyachilaba benefiting,” he said.
He said the good part was that the water project has seen the rehabilitation of boreholes and bridges.
In total, 634 toilets that were constructed while 41 boreholes were rehabilitated during the installation of the pipeline.
During the three bridges along the Manjolo- Simatelele road were refurbished resulting in the improvement of transport networks as well as the link between health centres in these two places.
This water project has also resulted in the construction of Weir Dam in Siyachilaba as well the rehabilitation of roads in the same area.
“All this was done by the ZRCS in their process to give us clean water so that is a good development for us and it is now to us to utilise the water pipeline for projects like the irrigation to enhance development in this community,” Chief Siyachilaba said.
He added it was now up to the community to utilise these developments for self-sustenance projects.
“With all these developments it is now up to the people to have projects that can sustain them like these roads improve transport networks enhancing business opportunity in this community,” he said.
The Minister of State for Matabeleland North Province Cain Mathema lauded the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS) for its effort to assist the people from Siyachilaba.
Minister Mathema said the organisation’s efforts have touched the lives of many people in Binga.
“These efforts have improved the lives of more than one hundred thousand vulnerable people in Bing, building resilience and capacities of the respective communities. This intervention benefited villages in Binga. I am sure we can all bear testimony to the impact which this intervention has had on the lives of vulnerable people,” he said.
He added that the collaboration of Zimbabwe Red Cross Society and several government departments in the programme in laudable.
“Such a collaboration and exemplary humanitarian synergy bear testimony to the good work we can achieve as a nation. With a shared regard of the less privileged, Zimbabwe can become a better place for all,” he said.
“Through this intervention, the Red Cross managed to construct a total of 634 toilets while 41 boreholes were rehabilitated to increase access to safe water. I would like to acknowledge the support we received from Red Cross in the rehabilitation of three major bridges so as to ease connectivity of communities and also safer road network,” Minister Mathema said.
Zimbabwe Red Cross Society`s President Mr Edison Mlambo said safe water provision remains a critical component towards the health and welfare of local communities.
“Also important to note is that Red Cross programmes are not an imposition of the humanitarian organisation but are community owned. The water challenges were identified by the community as a priority through a Vulnerability Capacity Assessment as we sought to build better resilient communities,” he said.
He appreciated the involvement of the community in the resilient programmes.
“The involvement of community members in implementation of this project was very key. Builders have also gone a long way in also constructing safe shelter for their communities,” he said.
The humanitarian organisation’s volunteers were also instrumental in road rehabilitation.
“We have made yet another remarkable feat in the work of the ZRCS yet another milestone in the organisation’s humanitarian endeavours as we officially hand over this project and I am sure that our humanitarian foot prints will remain visible,” he said.
With the water situation showing prospects of improving, Binga residents are promising to venture into productive work that will transform their lives.