ForAfrika successfully carried out the rehabilitation of boreholes and pumps in various rural villages in Montepuez, Cabo Delgado, recently.

The municipal pumps had stopped working due to lack of maintenance and a few broken bits and pieces but have been restored, bringing much hope and happiness to the villages they serve.

More than 21,000 people live in these villages and are overjoyed at the simple solution to their water scarcity woes.

“Since we arrived, we were forced to resort to getting water from traditional wells and ponds. The water from the wells was often dirty,” said Fina Gustavo Robert and Cecilia Severino Dama, who went on to explain that their settlement had experienced a number of outbreaks in diarrhoeal diseases.

Since 2020, ForAfrika has rehabilitated 43 such boreholes in the area with the aim of providing potable drinking water for residents who would otherwise rely on unsafe sources.

In addition, ForAfrika has assisted hundreds of families to erect latrines and communal bathing facilities as well as trained local members of the community how to construct concrete slabs for this purpose.

ForAfrika moved into Cabo Delgado in the north of the country to assist those who have been internally displaced by violent insurgency in the province, and the communities who host them.

Offering water, sanitation and hygiene measures are essential in an emergency situation where resources come under pressure and where water-borne diseases can spread rapidly.

“There are drastic changes in living conditions which occur when families displaced by conflict or natural disaster need to live in shared and minimally serviced temporary settlements. As such, the families need different sets of hygiene norms and practices to maintain good sanitary standards,” said Arsenio Mucavele, ForAfrika’s country director in Mozambique.

In light of this, sensitisation programmes are held regularly to train people on safety measures.

Arcénio Macuende is Communications Officer for Mozambique