MUNASHE Mushoriwa (12), a pupil at Mangoro Primary School in rural Chirasauta, warns parents to take care of a newly-installed borehole situated at the far end of the school.
BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA
“We are grateful that we have a borehole at this school. My fellow pupils and the community at large are now beneficiaries to clean water,” he says.
“But please, to those who will be using this borehole, take care of it. I repeat, please take good care of it.”
Villagers in Chirasauta, Chikomba East Constituency and pupils at Mangoro Primary School have been drinking unclean water and the sinking of a borehole recently brought joy to the community.
The assistance came from Reaction of Orphans Support Association (ROSA), a local non-governmental organisation that has been implementing projects in the poverty-stricken areas targeting orphans.
Chikomba District is characterised by very low rainfall patterns and orphans, among other villagers, have been scavenging for clean water, resulting in them travelling long distances to fetch the precious liquid.
Moved by the plight of orphans and villagers, ROSA is currently ensuring the availability of clean safe water in Chikomba East constituency.
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The organisation’s director, Forbes Chikobvu, says water is a basic human right and that he is saddened to realise that orphans in his home area are facing a number of challenges, among them lack of access to potable water.
“We consider easy access to safe, potable water a right. The precious liquid is a basic need and right, leading to increased human security and well-being,” he says.
“Thanks to the implementation of this project, Chirasauta villagers, particularly the women and children, will be free from the tedious task of walking long distances to fetch water.
“Perhaps more importantly, they will no longer be exposed to water-borne diseases such as cholera, dysentery and diarrhoea.”
He adds: “We have been actively supporting similar water supply projects throughout this catchment area such as Mutengwa Primary School, where we have drilled a borehole, as well as moving around the villages repairing old boreholes without any costs to the villagers.”
The borehole at Mangoro will serve up to 250 pupils and scores of villagers who live nearby.
Speaking during the handover ceremony of a number of boreholes in the area, Chikomba East constituency legislator Edgar Mbwembwe castigated individuals who politicised issues, thereby hindering development in the constituency.
“This is what we want in the community, for our people to be associated with development. I have heard that people have been politicising issues to the extent that we lost potential people and organisations who wanted to develop this area. It is you the people who benefit. Our economic blueprint, ZimAsset, speaks of development among the people and we need to do that,” he said.
“One cannot develop an area alone. It is about numbers, hence I encourage more people to come on board and establish projects for the better of the people. We give thanks to ROSA for what they are doing for the orphans and community at large.”
Chikobvu said the installation of boreholes was being done across the constituency.
Apart from drilling boreholes, ROSA is also implementing a number of projects meant to empower orphans, including paying school fees for them.
“We are supporting more than 60 pupils from different schools, whereby we have been paying their fees, buying uniforms and stationery for the past eight years. We also have a number of income generating projects,” Chikobvu said.
“We initiated these projects to villagers as a way of alleviating hunger and poverty.”
The pupils that have benefited from fees are those from Chirasauta, Mutengwa, Dembwa and Bimha primary schools, among others.
Some of the income-generating projects are soap-making in Hukutu village, goat production in Nhedziwa village and poultry project in Bimha area, among many others.
