Nacala Logistics brings drinking water to more communities along the Corridor – Press Release

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Nacala Logistics brings drinking water to more communities along the Corridor – Press Release

7:02 CAT | 29 May 2020

Photo: Supplied

Drinking water reaches more communities in the regions of influence of Nacala Logisctics, that is, in the provinces covered by the layout of the railway that gave rise to the Nacala Corridor, aiming to improve the living conditions of the populations. To date, 185 holes have been drilled in Mozambique, which are providing the precious liquid to more than 9,000 families. Of the total sources, 114 are in the province of Nampula, 31 in Niassa and 40 units in the central province of Tete.

In this challenging moment, due to the situation of COVID-19, the availability of water is essential to satisfy the basic needs of personal and collective hygiene. In fact, hand washing several times a day is one of the “weapons” recommended by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation – WHO, to overcome this pandemic.
For many communities along the Corridor, the concern with drinking water is part of the past, since with the boreholes or fountains, families have water close to their homes.

The opening of the fountains close to the communities’ residences, is not only improving living conditions by reducing distances to the search for water, but also avoids the crossing of the railway line in search of the precious liquid, thus preventing railway accidents.

During the round held along the Nacala Corridor to measure closely the impact of Nacala Logistiscs’ social investment, especially at this time when water is essential for the prevention of COVID-19, our report witnessed the transformational impact of this intervention on people’s lives.

Delmácia Francisco Máquina, one of the beneficiaries of the 4 open water holes in one of the resettlements located on the outskirts of the Cuamba municipality, did not hide its satisfaction with the action of Nacala
Living in a safe area and without risk of railway accidents, we found her drawing water from one of the sources that is less than 100 meters from her residence.

In a brief conversation with our team, Delmácia said that before the social investment of Nacala Logistics, daily, she traveled more than 3 km in search of a 20 liter can to satisfy the needs of her 6-person household.

“We now have water available at any time of the day to wash our hands as often as necessary, to prevent coronavirus and other diseases. I call my family’s attention to redouble the care in relation to preventive measures. There are no reasons for the spread of the disease, as long as conditions for prevention exist”, he stressed.

The feeling of joy, too, was manifested by Neves Ernesto. In his speech, he thanked Nacala Logistics for its interventions. “The suffering has passed. Women and children no longer travel long distances with the can over their heads. We are happy with the water supply, especially at this time when it is essential for the prevention of COVI-19. Families already have time to develop other activities”, he guaranteed.

After Cuamba, our report covered 532 km to climb the coastal district of Nacala-à-Velha, in the province of Nampula. In this part of the country, in addition to the communities, our report maintained a conversation with the Director of the District Infrastructure Services, Florentino António da Costa.

Da Costa spoke of the impact of the fountains built in his district, saying that the water sources reduced the distances that were travelled by the people in search of the precious liquid in the Nacala River, with all the risks they ran.
Another yes, the fountains built by Nacala Logistics reduced the pressure and the floods in those that already existed, allowing the communities to have access to water as quickly as possible, leaving time to dedicate themselves to other activities such as: fishing, machamba, commerce, among others.

“In the host village, there are 18,000 people who benefit from quality and quantity water to satisfy their needs. The support of Nacala Logistics prevents the movement of populations from one point to another in search of the precious liquid. Some families use the ducts of the fountains to derive and supply their homes”, he pointed out.

From Nacala, our report went to the Moatize coal district, specifically, in the Chitsita community. In this part of the province of Tete, we find Víctor Compeu Mulenza, a man of few words, but clearly aware of the importance of the availability of water in improving the living conditions for the populations.

“Since Nacala Logistics is providing drinking water, we have seen few cases of diarrheal diseases in the communities. Women and children no longer travel long distances in search of the precise liquid”, underlined Mulenza.

Speaking of social investment along the Nacala Corridor, the Community Relations Manager, Celso Mutadiua, guaranteed that Nacala Logistics will continue to invest in projects like these. “We are committed to the well-being of the communities where we operate. There are more than 14 thousand families that are being covered by our social investment in different areas such as: agriculture, fishing, livestock, beekeeping, creation of infrastructures, education, projects to create sources of income, among others”, he concluded.

Source: Nacala Logistics Corridor / Press Reease