For decades, residents of Mutengo Mukuru village in the Uvhungu Vhungu area relied on the nearby river as their only source of water. 

This daily journey often came with danger and hardship. 

Today, the installation of a communal water tap has transformed life in the village, bringing safety, dignity and relief to some of its most vulnerable residents.

Kupembona Siremo, a standing member of the Village Development Committee, said the availability of clean tap water has immensely transformed villagers lives in various way. 

He said, in the past, the river had claimed lives and caused several major injuries caused by the river, which is the source of water. 

“People used to die at the river, especially during floods or when the water level was high,” Siremo said. 

“Elderly people were also at risk of being knocked by cars while crossing the road on their way to fetch water. We have had previous cases in the past where elderly citizens got hit by cars while going to the river to fetch water at the river,” he said. 

The tap has also eased the burden on people living with disabilities, who previously depended on others to help them travel long distances to the river. 

With water now accessible within the village, they no longer endure exhausting and unsafe journeys.

“Not ruling out the disabled individuals in the community on how this tap has changed their lives. These people just do things for themselves – even taking up to themselves to go the river and get water to cook or wash their belongings. Now with clean water here, they no longer have to endure exhausting and unsafe trips to the dangerous river,” he said. 

Another resident from the area, Phineas Mukuve Focky, said his life has completely changed since the clean water tap was installed. 

“We have now access to clean water, which is what we have strived for in our community for the past three decades I have lived here. We thank the councillor for the job well done. Now we don’t have to travel kilometres to fetch or wash our clothes at the river,” he said. 

–mkambukwe@nepc.com.na