KAPEMBE – ReconNamibia has just concluded the donation of 10 more fully- installed water boreholes to 10 villages, five in Kavango West and five in Kavango East.
Last year, the oil and gas exploration firm donated 26 boreholes, which were shared by the two Kavango regions.
The water sources come as a relief for villagers who previously had to walk long distances to fetch water for decades. Some walked 10 to 15kms to fetch water for household use.
ReconNamibia is a local branch of ReconAfrica, a Canadian oil and gas company engaged in the exploration in the two Kavango regions. While busy with their exploration, they are also attending to their corporate social responsibility, which includes providing water to the needy communities of the two regions.
“We started this village when we first cleared our mahangu field with my late father in 1996. In 1997, we moved here as a family. Over the years, we struggled with water, and in 2003, another family came to join us, with others following. We thus approached our constituency councillor to see if they could assist us with a borehole. But all these years, they were unable to bring us water,” said Theresia Haita from one beneficiary village.
“Now, they’ve managed to put us on the list where ReconNamibia has drilled water. We are, therefore, thankful as we won’t be walking long distances to fetch water, and our livestock will now also have water nearby,” she enthused.
Five boreholes were drilled in Kavango West, one at each of the five villages namely Kapembe, Kapenene, Mangetti, Runone-Tumwene and Sondorokeni. In Kavango East, the boreholes were drilled at Kangongo, Kayova, Rudjarara and Tjeye, with the last one at Siguruguru.
“It gives me great pleasure to be here today, handing over 10 community water wells to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, for the benefit of the people of the Kavango East and Kavango West regions,” said Brian Reinsborough, ReconAfrica CEO, who also oversees the operations of its subsidiary ReconNamibia.
The decision to drill community water wells or boreholes was also informed through community engagements and consultations with relevant authorities, which helped the company in identifying areas where to provide the rural communities with safe and secure access to potable water, which is a great need for the two regions.
“It is extremely disheartening to hear that people in the regions die of crocodile attacks due to human-wildlife conflict, because they depend on the river for water. Hearing stories like that of a seven-year-old girl falling victim to a crocodile attack is absolutely shattering,” said Reinsborough, who said his company spent N$21.5 million as part of their corporate social responsibility in the two regions to provide potable water to rural communities. -jmuyamba@nepc.com.na