Muntemba Village Community, Zambia

After the pump on their borehole broke, the residents of the Muntemba Village community in Zambia were left without safe water. The women and children tasked with water collection had to walk long distances to find other water sources, many of which were unsafe to use for drinking and cooking, But with so few options, the community members had to use whatever water they could find and then suffered the consequences. Water-related illnesses such as diarrhea and dysentery were common in Muntemba Village.

These illnesses created other hardships. If they were sick, the adults were unable to work or care for the crops they depended on to feed their families. When the children were ill, they couldn’t attend school, putting their futures in jeopardy. The water crisis was creating ripple effects in the community, making it difficult for residents to escape reaction-based patterns of living.

Kasamba Nyemba is a 35-year-old farmer who lives in Muntemba Village. He explained that, without safe water in the community, residents had to go look for water, often at the expense of working:“ The community members used to walk long distances to fetch water and this proved to be so time-consuming, they couldn’t attend to other work.”

The Muntemba Village residents knew they needed help ending the water crisis in their community as they couldn’t fix their borehole on their own. They began looking for help.

When the residents heard about our work in the area, they knew they had found the answer to their water crisis. Our team responded to the community’s need by coming to fix the existing well!

The staff returned to the community to get the existing borehole up and running. They flushed out the borehole to remove any loose sedimentary rock, cased it with PVC, formed a sanitary gravel pack, and treated the water. Once they tested the water to ensure it was safe to consume, they mounted a new hand pump and handle and poured a concrete channel to wick away excess water.

Our team also helped the Muntemba Village community establish sustainability practices to help ensure a future of safe water access, guiding them in creating a water committee to oversee the care and maintenance of the well. The staff will stay in contact with the community to support sustainability efforts and monitor the well’s functionality.

In order to help the Muntemba Village community members understand how to use the safe water you gave them as a means of improving their health, the staff held a hygiene and sanitation promotion activity. These interactive sessions included lessons on proper handwashing and how to transport and store water safely.

Kasamba explained that safe water changes everything for his community, freeing residents to care for their families and crops. He said, “Now that the pump has been rehabilitated, the community will have enough time to attend to other activities, especially now that it is farming season.”

COMMUNITY DETAILS
Exact Coordinates:	Latitude: -15.026019 | Longitude: 27.818137
Previous Water:	Borehole
Source/Location:	Rural Community
Total Users:	228
Main Water Collectors:	Women and Children
CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
Pump Type:	Hand pump
Depth of Well:	45m
Coliform Bacteria:	Absent