Mozambique - Supporting Water Projects in Rural Communities
Making water readably accessible for fifty rural communities in Mozambique has offered the people of the region a new lease of life.
Muvamba Mission is located 80km north of the
district of town of Massinga in the east side of
the country.
It is a rural area with more than 51,000 people
dispersed around the local communities.
Literacy rates are lower than 30%, and in many
communities, the rate is lower than 10% for
females.
One of the major challenges faced by the people
there is access to water. This problem is
particularly heightened during drought periods,
when people must walk up to 26km to obtain
water. Often it is the responsibility of women
and girls to fetch the water, despite it being a
physically demanding and time intensive task.
Due to an ongoing lack of accessible water,
people increasingly suffer from cases of
diarrhoea, rampant malaria, and a range of other
skin and eyes diseases.
There are also high levels of malnutrition
throughout the area.
In 2009, the Redemptorist Fathers received
funding from Misean Cara to commence a
three-year ‘Water for All’ project that will
benefit each of the communities in Muvamba. In
partnership with each community and with the
government, they are working to construct 10
manual water resource pumps, repair 10 covered
community water cisterns located at family homes
and schools, and construct 15 covered community
water cisterns.
This work is providing a basic human right that
will significantly improve the health of the
local population, boost school attendance rates
and help transform the lives of local women and
girls.