By Florence Wesley
The Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM) of the diocese of Mangochi has handed over two boreholes to the communities of Muhara and Ching’oma villages, Traditional Authority Kawinga in Machinga District to ease their access to clean water.
Speaking on 27th September 2022 during the handover ceremony, the Vicar General of the Diocese of Mangochi, Rev. Fr. Davie Mambo remarked that it is the pleasure of the diocese through CADECOM to practice non-discriminating policy based on ethnicity, tribe, religion, creed, sex and gender. He said that the expectation of the diocese is that the beneficiaries of those boreholes should take care of them, knowing how necessary it is to use safe water.
CADECOM Coordinator for the Diocese of Mangochi, Mr. Pieter Nthenda, whose organization facilitated the project under the Resource Rights and Use project funded by Irish AID through TROCAIRE said that their aim is to reach out to the needy people in remote areas and bring different projects that will transform their lives such as irrigation programs, Village Banks and many more. At first, these villagers complained that they were facing big challenges to travel long distance to get water which was not safe as well.
Speaking on behalf the community members, Group Village Head Mnyumwa thanked the Diocese of Mangochi through the CADECOM for the support given to them. He added that people in his villages will now have easily accessed safe water and have immunity from water borne diseases.
The Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM) in the Diocese of Mangochi started in 1970s and works in different communities in this diocese to improve their livelihood in terms of food security and good water supply among others. The Resource Rights and Use project is for five years which started in 2018 and ends in 2022. Eleven million kwacha has been spent to drill and construct these two boreholes and eighty households are expected to use the boreholes. The beneficiary villages are found in St. Mary’s Catholic Parish in the Diocese of Mangochi.