Sewer Rehabilitation, a promise to a cleaner Bulawayo...

A stench meets you as you walk around the high density suburbs in Bulawayo; it is the unmistakable smell of sewage. The sewer lines are blocked resulting in sewage is not moving to the sewer treatment plant. Sewage then flows out of the manholes to the streets then to people’s houses.


Dabane Water Workshops, working together with the Bulawayo City Council and World Vision have started the de-choking and rehabilitation of the sewer lines using a jetting machine for de-choking. It is not a one day job; so far the Dabane team has started working on the Magwegwe sewers, mapping the over 2000 manholes, so as to make the process easier.


a sample of mapping manholes using google earth( magwegwe north)


The blockage of the sewer system has been a result of people throwing in large objects into the manholes, such as heavy rocks, stones and even dead animals. In some instances tonnes of sand have been removed from the de-choked manholes. Whether the incidences are done on purpose or through ignorance one would never know. However, it was suggested that some of these blockages are done on purpose for irrigation, as trenches were seen starting from the burst manholes leading to their small vegetable gardens in the veld.

sewage flowing onto the streets into people's yards

Workshops have been held on sanitation, to educate the communities about the hazards of blocking the sewer lines and of having sewage flowing in their streets and yards. A lot of work has been put into communicating with residents on the danger of throwing heavy and large materials down the manholes. The results of these workshops are a bit slow to show because there are some areas where the blockages still continue, but we are hopeful that before the end of the year sewer lines would be clear.

A clear and unblocked manhole

The community is reminded to stop putting heavy materials into the manholes and that these sewers are for the good of the community.

RAINS OF HOPE- Siqala ngamanzi

Water was becoming scarce in late October and November because of the low rainfall. Although people had other means of getting access to water, thanks to the sand abstraction pumps introduced by Dabane, it was not nearly enough. Areas such as Gwanda and Beitbridge known for their high temperatures were in dire need of a miracle, as the water table became lower their needs for water were becoming higher. A high yielding dam in Gwanda called Dambashoko was running low on water and the area in which it covered was now covered with cracks. The water was muddy and unsuitable for drinking.
 Animals could be seen standing in the distance not attempting to go near the water although evident that they were thirsty. The herd men who were observing us with curious eyes, moved closer to tell us that it was not really safe for them to bring their livestock to drink in the river. They revealed that on a daily occasion they find some cows or even donkeys stuck in the mud and weak from struggling to get out, that eventually they have to kill them. Sometimes they even find them dead.



the once highyielding dam..(Dambashoko dam in Gwanda)

 

The situation is critical in rural Matabeleland South, the residents have resorted to traditional sources of water such as shallow wells and water rationing, whereby the boreholes are disconnected till a certain time and each family is allowed to draw only 40litres of water a day.

We are however hopeful that with the heavy rain we have been recieving in Zimbabwe, that there will be an improvement in the water situation in Mat South.

To date, these are the local dam levels according to how full they are:

Dam                              Purpose                                 % full
Beitbridge 1                 Water supply                            75.1%
Mtshabezi                    Water supply/ Irrigation            101.2%
Insiza                           Water supply/ Irrigation               87.6%
Khami                           Irrigation                                   93.5%

Let’s restore our pride – Keep Bulawayo Clean

Dabane trust therefore has taken the initiative to help educate the communities and to help in the clean up campaign it will improve their living conditions thus becoming sustainable as the communities will realise the benefits of leaving in a dirt free environment.

The targeted area was the Magwegwe North terminus in Bulawayo where public transport operates and where there is a shopping complex with a number of vendors selling fruits and vegetables outside. It was important to clean this area so as to avoid or reduce air and environment pollution. An average number of about 85 people including the youth, the old aged, the working class and the disabled were involved in the clean up. 70% were women and 30% were men.

 Dabane provided hand gloves, disposal bags and a heavy duty truck while the community provided their own tools which included; 5 wheel barrows, 7 racks, 10 shovels, 6 slashers and two picks. These were used to clean the terminus and made the job much quicker. Dabane also provided promotional material of T-shirts and hats that were meant to promote the campaign. The communities sang and danced as they carried on with the clean up.

10 men (mainly youths) were assigned to go and help with the disposal of the refuse at the sanitary landfill site. During the cleanup, health workers, the Bulawayo city council representatives talked to the public about the purpose of the cleanup and the importance of keeping our surroundings clean and saving water.