In many parts of rural Zimbabwe, the water supply has completely collapsed.
Some rural communities never had a good clean water supply, but where these did exist they have usually collapsed due to the lack of maintenance during Zimbabwe’s long years of violence and crisis.
Many have now become fouled with sewerage and cannot be brought back into use.
Lack of water obviously has a direct effect on health, and Zimbabweans fear the likelihood of another cholera outbreak.
Over recent years, southern Africa has been experiencing lower rainfall, and increasing drought, which makes the needs of sustainable water supplies even more vital.
In addition, the new agricultural projects which Hope for Africa Missions are setting up to help families to provide a sustainable supply of food for themselves, also needs a reliable water supply to irrigate the crops.
For all these reasons, building new wells is critical to helping Zimbabwe’s rural communities. The wells need to be deep, and well lined. This is a specialist job, requiring equipment and expertise.
A complete well, which will provide water for decades ahead, complete with a simple pump to draw water, will transform the lives of villagers and show that someone cares for them.
Each well costs £3900 – a lot of money, but very little to give a whole village the precious gift of clean water.
