Village gets tap after 41years of unsafe water

For the first time in 41 years, communities of Eliza Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Mlonyeni in Mchinji have accessed tap water, thanks to Zachie Mwale’s invention.

The invention, a “black wing windmill”, pumps water from the ground into a 1 000ml water tank connected to a tap that is now serving the community.

“I toured several areas in the district to find villages which have no potable water and I found that this village has for the past 41 years used untreated water. This was the cause of many waterborne diseases among the villagers,” said Mwale, 28.

He said the machine cost him over K1 million and is serving at least 144 households.

The machine has an antenna known as digital diarrhoea bacteria detector which will be transferring messages to the district hospital if there is any water contamination.

In an interview on Thursday in Mchinji, village head Eliza said the villagers have been using untreated water from wells in the dambo land where animals also drink.

“Since the village was formed in 1976, people have been walking four to five kilometres to find water sources shared with animals. Our children failed to go to school because they did not have water to wash and bath,” he said, commending Mwale for the initiative.

Mchinji District Hospital senior assistant environmental health officer Anderson Chimbizi said the prevalence rate of waterborne diseases in the district is very high.

“We are doing all we can to fight the diseases, we are still sensitising communities to the need for good hygiene practices,” he said. n