Imagine “sharing a scoop hole” with hundreds of fellow villagers as your only water source.
Such was the case in nearly a dozen Zambia villages until this spring when thanks to the supporters of Bread and Water for Africa® we were able to step in and fund the drilling of boreholes in 11 villages which are today benefiting a combined 5,640 women and men, including 1.521 children.
Village Water Zambia (VWZ) program director Elisha Ng’onomo had told us last summer in his project grant proposal that “poor hygiene practices and limited access to basic sanitation and drinking water facilities” are major risk factors linked to a wide variety of waterborne diseases and illnesses.
And tragically, in Zambia, “children bear a disproportionate part of this burden, with almost 20 percent of all deaths in children under the age of 14 being linked to unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation, or poor hygiene,” Elisha informed us.
In rural Zambia, such as in the Kalabo District, Western Province, where the projects were completed, less than 13 percent of the 20,466 households representing a population of more than 93,000 have access to improved water sources, and nearly two-thirds of those households lack latrines.
“These statistics mean that about 6.8 million people in rural Zambia do not have access to an improved drinking-water source, whereas 8.4 million people still remain without access to improved sanitation facilities.
“Lack of access to these basic amenities is among the key factors contributing to widespread poverty among the rural population.
“In rural areas of Zambia, 182 in every 1,000 children die before their 5th birthday.”
However, in partnership with VWZ, in 2023, Bread and Water for Africa® had embarked on a pilot project to complete nine boreholes in the Kalabo District.
Our efforts did not go unnoticed.
“This triggered local demand from communities all seeking similar support,” Elisha said.
The group of villages targeted for the second round included Buyeyi (pop. 425), Kalimbwe (pop. 420), Silai (pop. 338) and the others “were selected because they lack basic human needs such as safe water, safe sanitation, food security and nutritional requirements, and are generally poor and live far from urban centers.”
Elisha reported that “the drinking water for the residents of the supported villages is mainly from scoop holes and unprotected shallow wells. Hygiene and sanitation facilities were uncommon in all the target communities/villages because most homes relied on the surrounding bushes for nighttime bathing and answering the call of nature.”
However, upon completion of the latest round of projects, Elisha recently reported that “Village Water Zambia was able to reach and supply safe and clean drinking water sources as well as promote hygiene and sanitation to 11 communities because of financing from Bread and Water for Africa®” and adding that, “This brings the support of Bread and Water for Africa® to 20 communities.”
He also noted that “All target communities had to deal with the difficulties of not having access to sources of clean, safe drinking water as well as inadequate sanitation and hygiene facilities because they were unaware of the importance of these amenities for promoting health.”
In addition, “the project’s intervention includes teaching communities about the value of sanitary amenities like toilets and toilet lids, as well as mean hygiene and sanitation and water provision.”
In conclusion, Elisha told us that “the 11 communities are excited about this kind gesture from Bread and Water for Africa® and Village Water Zambia.
“They expressed their gratitude and pledged to take care of the hand pumps donated, using the knowledge they had learned from the hygiene and sanitation classes.”
