By Martin Banda

Kasungu, January 15, Mana: Kasungu based Non-Governmental Organization, Hoho Action Plus, on Tuesday handed over three hand water pumps to Nkanalumbo, Mdyaudzu and Nkhalapadzuwa villages in the area of Senior Chief Kaomba in the district.

Group Village Head Mdyaudzu expressed gratitude to the organization for bailing out the communities with clean water, which he said, has been a long-standing challenge.

"Access to clean water has been a big challenge for us as there are no boreholes in this area.

"For a long time, we have been using water from the nearby stream sharing it with livestock. Obviously this water is unsafe for human use especially during rainy season like now; as such we are excited and thankful at the same time,” said the chief.

He, therefore, asked the community to take care of the facilities so that they last long.

Programmes Manager for the organization, Maurine Mshani, said the response follows a survey Hoho Action Plus conducted which revealed serious challenges in access to clean water for communities in the area.

"Access to clean water is a human right and by not having clean water, there was a breach of rights for this community.

"So, we quickly came in to provide three hand water pumps which we believe will go a long way to lessen the burden of lack of access to clean water," Mshani said.

Mshani emphasized on the need to join forces and confront water challenges in the district to prevent waterborne diseases such as Cholera, which spreads fast in unhygienic conditions.

Kasungu District Council Water Monitoring Assistant, John Bob, thanked Hoho Action Plus for the water facilities pointing out that government also relies on partners to provide social services to its citizens.

The organization drilled the water facilities at a cost of K2.1 million which was sourced from Friends of Malawi Association.