"Drinking water without fear" - Alima Mussa

The feeling expressed above is shared by several members of the communities that have benefited, for the first time, from water points in the administrative posts of Ancuabe Sede, Meza and in the locality of Metoro, located in Ancuabe district, Cabo Delgado province. In total there are 13 new water water point with Afridev manual pumps delivered by HELVETAS Mozambique during the past month of May, which will contribute to the improvement of access to safe water for the local population and consequently reduce water related diseases or those resulting from bad hygiene practices.

The new water points will serve 4,550 people in the above-mentioned communities, who will now have safe water available for domestic and productive needs. They were installed by the KALAI project with funding from Charity:water.

In the ceremonies to deliver the new water points, in which the Water and Sanitation Committees (CAS) also participated, the Ancuabe district government appealed to the communities to guarantee the conservation of the new infrastructures, to ensure transparency in the accountability of the communities' monthly contributions to guarantee the maintenance and sustainability of the water points to benefit more people and for much longer.

The new water points thus represent a significant change in the living conditions of rural communities as there is easy access to and consumption of clean water, resulting in a reduction of water-related diseases. Clean water means education, income, and health, especially for women and girls.

What makes water from springs safe for communities?

The construction of a borehole follows several steps and starts with the choice of the communities where the boreholes will be drilled, followed by public soundings, geophysical studies to identify possible points to be drilled. Once a site is selected and the aquifer is reached, the borehole is opened and cleaning, flow testing is done to evaluate the capacity of the borehole. That said, water samples are collected and sent to the laboratory to analyze the quality, and finally the hand pump used to bring water to the surface is installed.

Facts in figures

Since its implementation in 2018 to date, the KALAI project with funding from Charity:water has built 568 water points in Nampula and Cabo Delgado provinces, of which 333 water points are rehabilitated, benefiting a total universe of 189,684 people. The project has 3 water supply systems under construction in the districts of Eráti in Nampula province, Ancuabe, and Namuno in Cabo Delgado province, and 1 system already in operation in Mecubúri district, Nampula province.

Alongside activities to promote water supply, the KALAI project also undertakes sanitation and hygiene initiatives to help promote the long-term health of communities. These initiatives are often taken up by the communities, who work hard to create positive change within their members. In this component, 40,000 latrines have been constructed and are now in use by the communities, 568 CAS have been created, and an equal number of communities have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF).