Drill a borehole for a rural community in Zimbabwe

Gwembudzi is a small rural village situated about 70km out of Plumtree town; Zimbabwe. It is situated in the dry matabeleland south region. Most of the villagers are peasant farmers rellying on the produce from their fields/farms or selling livestock to pay for fees.

The main challenge this community face is water for drinking, cooking, domestic use & in dry seasons for domestic livestock.

There is a small dam that most of the villagers depend on, domestic livestock & wild animals drink from. Apart from that there is a river which is dry most of the year. In the river there is a tiny waterhole thats been dug and villagers fetch water for drinking and cooking. Sand filtration is the only way of cleaning this water. Boiling before drinking is encouraged but not a common practise.

In rainy season the river floods, streams fill the dam and this leaves the community with no clean source of water.

Women and girls fetch water and have to carry up to 25litre buckets on their heads, making several trips to the river/ dam. I remember as a primary school kid we would leave our buckets at the river in the morning and fetch water on our way home from a young age.

A borehole for this village will change lives, not only for the women and girl child but for the wider population. It will provide clean, safe water that will prevent water borne diseases like the recent cholera outbreak that Zimbabwe faced. Among the community are members living with HIV. Their immune system is compromised exposing them to oppotunistic infections such as diarrhoeal deseases which they can easily catch from unclean water.

Rainy season is usually October to March with the highest rainfall in December and January. During a recent 6 week visit to my homeland over christmas and new year, i was challanged to give something back to my people. We had rain for just a few days and one can foresee that there will be a drought. This means no produce from the fields, livestock dying due to lack of food and water. With a borehole the community can grow and water vegetables to sustain themselves.

Help me contribute and make a difference to my community