THE Rotary Club of Lusaka Central has sunk 15 boreholes worth $33,100 in Mbuyamusuma Village of Mazabuka district in Southern Province.
The 15 boreholes have brought to an end a long standing water problem that the more than 15,000 residents of Mbuyamusuma Village have had to grapple with for years.
Lack of water had made waterborne diseases like diarrhea a permanent feature in the village located 22 kilometers from the Mazabuka main road.
But last Saturday, the residents of Mbuyamusuma village, young and old, male and female turned up in their numbers at Mbayamusuma Rural Health Center to officially receive the 15 boreholes whose sinking was funded by Rotary club of Bottlek Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
Smiles, laughter, dance and whistles marked the joyous occasion as the Mbuyamusuma residents bed farewell to water blues.
Rotary Club Lusaka Central president Tristan Patel led other Rotarians in handing over the boreholes.
Patel said the boreholes were sunk to provide safe drinking water to the area which had continued to record cases of waterborne diseases such as diarrhea.
He said the club would continue uplifting living standards of the people in areas like Mbayamusuma in terms of providing safe drinking water among their humanitarian aid.
“We are happy as a club to associate ourselves with such noble gestures but however, more still needs to be done in providing education, proper health care and giving safe and clean water to the people.
“we shall endeavor to continue assisting communities where such services are of great need,” Patel said.
Also speaking at the handover ceremony, Mazabuka district health director Dr Stephen Shajanika said the donation of the boreholes will contribute to the reduction of diarrhea cases in Mbayamusuma catchment area.
“Diarrhea will now be a thing of the past in Mbayamusuma
and also this donation of boreholes will improve the nutritional status
of the community because people will now be able to do gardens and plant
vegetables which are very important to a person’s health,” Dr
Shajanika said.
Mazabuka Mayor Vincent Lilanda warned the residents against damaging of the hand pumps and urged them to jealously protect the
boreholes.
Lilanda also urged residents to adopt a culture of planting trees in an effort to combat effects of climate change in the district.
He thanked the Rotary Club Lusaka Central for the gesture which he said had changed the status of Mbayamusuma in Mazabuka district.
Project chairperson Daljeet Singh said implementation of the project started in 2017 in Mbayamusuma, an area which has about 50 farms.
“Previously, the residents especially mothers traveled long distances of about five kilometers to farms where they could access safe drinking water and due long distances, others opted for shallow wells for water
and thereby putting themselves at risk of contracting waterborne diseases,” he said.
