THIRSTY LAND: THE BATTLE FOR WATER SECURITY IN MULA VILLAGE

 In Chilowa area TA Chadza, a small community (Mula village) surrounding Bunda but has been grappling with the age-old challenges of water scarcity. For many years the resident has been struggling to access clean and safe water with a tap located very far from the village being the only source of water. “We were just drawing a single bucket of water in a day because of the distance, a lady said.” As they had been carrying the buckets of water on the head. The water from the tap located very far were for drinking whereas water for other home chores they were drawing in wells which were primarily constructed for irrigation purpose although its’ not suitable for drinking and other household chores. The situation was extremely serious, the community members had been drawing water from these wells which is also unreliable and insufficient to meet the needs of the community, leading to competition over the limited water resources as the whole community relied on the same water resources and still up to date people fetch water from these wells.

                                                  A tap located very far (Bunda Primary)

The challenges of water security in Mula village are numerus and severe. The limited water supply in the community, makes the quality of water questionable, leading to health concerns to the resident. For instance, the well which were constructed for irrigation, its water cannot be treated in the same way as the water from wells which were dug as source of water for drinking, the water borne disease can be common in this area. water is very important in everyday life that is why there is say, “water is life”. Most times areas where there is access to clean and safe water they are always clean and can experience very few cases of waterborne diseases such cholera, imagine in a community only very few privileged people who afford to dig their own wells and also few having access to piped water and most of these people who owns piped water and wells are only those who have private accommodation (hostels) for students while the rest relied on drawing water from shared well primarily  for irrigation and a single tap which is also very far from the village.

In significant turn of events, a tap which has been installed at a place called Mabalani close to a small market called BB now stands as a symbol of progress and hope of residents in Mula village. This is because the installation of this communal water source (tap) has revolutionized the way people access water though it’s a single tap but as long as people are accessing quality and the distance to get water has been shortened as the tap is close to some houses. With this new found access of clean and safe water, the village can now be able to address water security challenges though the battle is too far from over because some household still find it hard to reach where the tap is and a single tap cannot be enough for the whole Mula village, but the presence of the tap represent a significant step to a more sustainable and secure future for all residents.

Additionally, there is an urgent need to address water security challenges in Mula village. The community, local authorities and other relevant stakeholders specializing in water management need to take an action and come up with innovative solutions which will help in addressing the challenge in the village, that’s recognizing the urgent need of a sustainable source of water. The community engagement and awareness of the importance of access to clean and safe water will increase involvement in developments activities, so working together in the fight of water security challenge will help to create a sense of shared responsibilities. For examples the community working with the local authorities and other stake holders in water developments activities such as installation of additional communal taps and boreholes in strategic location to ensure more residents can have access to clean water. The other way this water security challenge can be addressed is through corporate social responsibility where by the corporate social organization specializing in water management projects, those having some projects in Mitundu or Bunda can initiate these water projects and through those projects people can benefit the water resources  or they can just do a pro bono by drilling boreholes just to help the Mula village to have access to clean and safe water.

In conclusion, access to clean water is fundamental human right and the installation of additional taps and boreholes can have an impact to the community. For instance health and hygiene conditions will be improved since the villagers will have access of clean water for drinking cooking and sanitation. This will contribute to overall well-being of the community. The other impact which can be caused to the community if the boreholes and the taps developments can be initiated in the village is that the villagers will no longer be burdened by the daily struggle for water, no walking along distance to fetch water, time will be saved, and much effort will be utilized for other productive activities.