Communities in Traditional Authority (T/A) Mizinga in Machinga District have hailed the impact of the Community-Based Water Sanitation and Hygiene (Wash) Improvement project Heart to Heart Foundation has been implementing in the area.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the handover of the project that started in 2022, Fatima Jafali from Wawila Village in T/A Mizinga said before the launch of the project, her household did not have a pit latrine which affected their health.
“We used to relieve ourselves in the bush at night. Now this modern pit latrine has given us freedom and decency.
“My children used to suffer from waterborne diseases. But now with the coming of this project, that is a thing of the past. We are now living healthy lives,” she said.
On his part, T/A Mizinga said after the launch of the project, chiefs and Area Development Committee members sensitized communities on the advantages of having a modern pit latrine.
He said: “Our main aim was to instil a sense of ownership and responsibility over the project for easy implementation.
“As a result, households willingly constructed modern durable pit latrines which have improved the welfare of communities in my area.”
Heart to Heart Foundation country manager Maxwell Chiputula said when his organisation launched the project in T/As Adamson, Chikweo, Mtumbwinda, Ngokwe and Mizinga, there were a lot of Wash problems in the area.
He said: “Wash infrastructure in terms of access to clean water was low. So far, we have managed to drill and rehabilitate 36 boreholes that providing safe water to 14 251 people.
“We have also built the capacity of the users so that through water point committees, they are able to manage and sustain the water points.
“In conjunction with our partners from the district council, we have managed to facilitate the attainment of open defaecation-free [ODF] status for T/As Chikweo and Mizinga. In addition to these, many villages have also attained ODF status.”
On his part, chief supply officer (South) in the Ministry of Water and Sanitation Crispin Songola thanked all partners that contributed to the successful implementation of the project.
“All this has been possible because of the collaboration that exists between the different partners and government through Machinga District Council. We are proud to see that there is a lot of work and progress and people’s lives are improving,” he said.
The Community-Based Wash Improvement project was funded by Korea International Cooperation agency to the tune of K1.3 billion.
