THE jubilation was understandable. The people had never had access to safe drinking water throughout their life in Palabana’s Chipalesa B area in Chongwe district.
It is estimated that 4.8 million Zambians lack regular access to clean water, and 6.6 million lack access to adequate sanitation facilities.
The people of Chipalesa area were part of these negative statistics until the Savenda Group of Companies came to their aid by sinking a borehole and providing a tank and a tank stand last week.
“These people at Savenda don’t know what they have done. God should bless them,” said an elated 23-year-old Loyce Koka.
“From today, we will even start buying white clothes and napkins. We were not doing so, because they could easily get soiled by the dirty water we have been using.”
Until Savenda sank the borehole, the people in Chipalesa B, which has a population of about 500 people, were drawing water from a shallow well which they were sharing with goats and cattle. The well was a remnant of the Mwalubuli stream which dried up many years ago.
Koka explained that the water from the well was not even enough and, as such, not everyone could afford to access the commodity on a daily basis.
When people had drawn water, the level could go down and the rest had to wait until around 16:00 hours for the level to come up.
“We really suffered,” added Koka, a mother of two. “No one was thinking about sinking us a borehole until Savenda came to our aid. They have done a great job.”
Koka was not alone in narrating the difficulties that the people of Chipalesa B went through because of lack of access to safe drinking water.
“Many times, we have been going to bed without bathing because we couldn’t access water within reach,” said 44-year-old Margaret Maluko. “It was that bad.”
And Laida Chisola, a mother of seven, said people had to cover a long distance to as far as Mikango Barracks to draw water. Even at the school, which was far away, pupils were forced to be knocking off early because of lack of water.
“We have been walking on foot to Mikango Barracks to access water,” Ms Chisola said. “Because of the dirty water we have been drinking, diarrhoea doesn’t end. There’s too much bacteria in the water we drink. That’s why we are grateful to Savenda.”
As a consequence of the unsafe water the people were consuming, water borne diseases such as malaria, dysentery, and diarrhoea were widespread in the area that does not even have a health facility within close proximity.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), diarrhoea occurs world-wide and causes four percent of all deaths and five percent of health loss to disability. It is most commonly caused by gastrointestinal infections which kill around 2.2 million people globally each year, mostly children in developing countries.
The use of water in hygiene is an important preventive measure but contaminated water is also an important cause of diarrhoea. In Zambia, like in most developing countries, poor access to safe water and sanitation in Zambia's rural areas is a major contributing factor to poverty.
The government has been making various strides aimed at ensuring that as many people as possible have access to safe drinking water. But there are also other competing needs that make it difficult for the government fulfill all of its obligations to the citizens.
It is, therefore, important that other players come in to try and help government deliver development to the people.
At such a time as this when there is a global outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, access to safe water is very important since frequent washing of hands with clean is one of the recommended preventive measures.
For the people of Chipalesa, this preventive measure has not been possible to implement because of lack of clean water. But now, courtesy of the Savenda, they can now breathe a sigh of relief that the coronavirus will not attack them.
“We are very grateful to Savenda for what they have done,” Mr Chilufya said. “This issue of water in Chipalesa was of very serious concern. So, when Savenda came in to help the people, we regarded this as God answering our prayer.”
The councillor also had good words about the government, saying it had provided an enabling environment for business to operate and share some of the profits with the marginalised in society.
“On behalf of the people of Chipalesa, I’m very pleased that the government has created an enabling environment for companies like Savenda to operate and, in turn, help the poor and marginalised people. Other companies should emulate Savenda,” Mr Chilufya implored.
The sinking of the borehole in Chipalesa is just one of the many initiatives that the Savenda Group has been implementing under its robust corporate social responsibility programme. Such initiatives have been running since 1997 when the company was incorporated as a family business until it grew into the big conglomerate it is today.
And Savenda Group chief executive officer Esther Mpoha says it is always a pleasure for the conglomerate to help the underprivileged as the government cannot be expected to do everything alone.
She was speaking at the Palabana fresh produce farm which is located in Chipalesa where the Savenda Group has even installed a 2.8-kilometre transmission line, complete with pylons, to provide electricity to the farm and some surrounding areas.
“For us, as Savenda, we feel that we have a moral duty to always come and help the government of the day fulfil its obligations to the Zambian citizens,” Mrs Mpoha said. “By providing water to the people of Chipalesa, we are simply performing that moral duty.”
As the name Chipalesa suggests, the water donation to the area could be a gift from God.
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