KIDS has been working to fundraise enough money to secure the borehole project in the Lemolo community. After having implemented a Harvest Irrigation project to support the Food Program for the schools and having completed the Agriculture & Food Security project allowing for over 700 families to manage their own income generating businesses of growing and selling their crops, we are now on to our last project within the community. The Borehole project will be the last one we will fund in Lemolo, allowing for all individuals to access safe clean water for their own personal use and to hydrate their crops at times of drought.
KIDS believes in finding sustainable solutions to empower communities.
“Days and nights have been faced in equal measure by the residents of the Lemolo community in their quest to get the basic commodity to life, water. The temporary river within the community dried up in November last year when short rains stopped. The water shortage has affected every aspect of the community’s lives,” shares our friend Korgoren Leonard from the Lemolo IDP Camp.
“Residents dig small holes in the dry river bed hoping that water can seep into them so that they can scoop it up by use of a cup then into a jug and finally transfer into a 10 or 20-liter container. What makes the situation worse is that they are not always guaranteed that the small hole will be filled with water. It, therefore, takes some good amount of time for a 20-litre container to be filled. Sometimes residents spend the night by the river as they wait for the water to seep out of the dry riverbed. This has become part of their daily, and nightly, routine. The situation is getting worse every day as at times they dig holes but not even a single drop of water seeps out. The small holes that the community describe as “holes of hope” have not only hope for getting water for the residents but also for the animals and livestock.”
In some extreme situations, residents are forced to walk for up to about 12 KM to a permanent river known as Molo river to get the water. Women have really faced it hard, you could find them carrying a baby on their back and a 20-litre container on their head. Walking for 12 KM by foot is not a walk in the park, it calls for sacrifice, commitment and dedication.
It’s also important to note that the health condition of the Lemolo community has been at risk for a number of years due to the contaminated water being accessed and causing residents to fall ill with waterborne diseases like typhoid, dysentery and some cases of cholera. It is crucial that KIDS secure the funding ASAP for the Lemolo IDP Camp borehole.
In a quest to address the water shortage the community of Lemolo is really making an appeal to well-wishers to drill them a borehole. This will be the only way the water shortage can be permanently addressed. The community wants to also thank charity organizations that have been working with them in programs geared towards the sustainability of the community in areas of agriculture. KIDS Initiative in partnership with V.I.C.D.A supported farmers from Lemolo in the provision of materials and education allowing them to succeed.
We ask that, should your situation allow, you find a moment to make an impactful donation to KIDS so that together we can truly change the lives of our family in Lemolo. Safe clean water isn’t a “given” to everyone, but we know it should be.
Thank you for your consideration in supporting Lemolo and KIDS’ efforts to empower their community.
