The days of walking long distances in search of water are over for the residents of Bacclesfarm and Tentergate villages near Komani.
This is, in the main, thanks to the Pakistan expat communities’ reviving of the two villages’ boreholes.
The boreholes will bring much-needed relief to villagers as they have been struggling to access water in the grip of an ongoing drought since 2015.
The situation improved when members of the Pakistan Muslim Community and Border Kei Chamber of Business started cleaning the boreholes in the two villages.
They also did regular checks on the boreholes before installing solar panels to revive them.
Ward councillor Nkululeko Ngcefe said the six villages in his ward all depended on boreholes for water.
“People walked long distances to get water as the boreholes experienced problems,” he said. There are boreholes that have not been working for years and these people are now reviving those boreholes to help bring water to the village,” he said.
Ngcefe said one such example of those experiencing problems with access to water was Mbekweni High School in Tentergate.
“After the contractor finishes cleaning and reviving the boreholes in the village, they will come and dig a new borehole at the school.
“This borehole will help as the school toilets have not been working since there has been no water to flush them.
“The borehole will help us have a backup so that toilets are accessible anytime at the school.
“When all the boreholes are operating in all six villages we will have enough water to drink and give to our animals as they have been struggling since the drought started,” he said.
“We will have a meeting with the community asking them to look after the solar panels and guard them as if they are their own. This initiative has brought joy and hope to the people of the two villages who have been struggling with thirst for so long,” he added.
Border Kei Chamber of Business administrator Adre Bartis said the Pakistan Muslim community had initiated a number of community development initiatives, this time focusing on bringing water to badly affected drought areas.
“This initiative will bring the much-needed relief to people,” she said...