Written by Mellie Chipula Bayani:
The Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM) Thursday handed over 11 rehabilitated boreholes and drilled one in communities surrounding Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve.
Speaking during the handover ceremony of three of the boreholes at Chizuma 2 Village in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Mphonde, Chairperson for Dwangwa WESM Branch Victor Mangochi, said the boreholes will address challenges of portable water in the areas.
Mangochi said it was pathetic to see communities they serve using unclean water, apart from seeing women covering long distances fetching for water, hence the move.
“After looking at how the communities were struggling to get portable water, WESM thought it wise to give back to the community by renovating some boreholes that were dormant for over two years”, said Mangochi.
He added that the boreholes will also help mitigate the Cholera pandemic, as communities were drinking the same water with animals surrounding the reserve.
Apart from providing clean water, Mangochi revealed that WESM is working on bringing a 3-year bamboo project to help conserve the environment amid massive deforestation for firewood.
A beneficiary from Chizuma 1 village, Maria Nyasaland, has commended WESM for the project, saying it will help reduce school absenteeism among learners, due to the long distances covered when looking for water.
“We were covering long distances to find portable water, and this was also affecting our children’s school performance because they were frequently attending classes late as much time was spent fetching for water”, said Nyasaland.
According to Mangochi, WESM is geared to drill 5 to 6 more boreholes in the district this year under the 5-year project funded by BridgIt Water Foundation from Australia with a tune of k125 million.
