In our earlier blog post this month, we talked about water in rural Zambia. More specifically, we shared how difficult it is to access safe, clean drinking water unless a village is one of the fortunate few who have a borehole. Lesley Kalonga and the village of Muzenje used to be excluded from that short, fortunate list until 2020 when everything changed.
Lesley Kalonga is a teacher at the Mfuwe Day Secondary School, in Mfuwe, Zambia. She has been associated with Dazzle Africa for more than five years and has helped us develop a locally made crafts shop called Hands Over Zambia with the students of her school. When she learned that Dazzle Africa would be drilling a borehole in her village, she and the others in the community were beyond happy. With the generous funding from our friend and past safari guest Bill Malesich, and our Clean Water partner Bushcamp Company, Kalonga has seen ‘great improvements’ resulting from the borehole.
As a teacher, she has seen the impact on students first-hand. Because students no longer have to travel to different villages in order to find water, they are showing up regularly and on-time for classes. Instead of waiting at a nearby school for their chance to receive water, they can fetch water from the borehole just a few steps away. These changes differ significantly from the high drop-out rates that result from not having access to sanitary water. However, it is not just the students who benefit from the borehole. Because a borehole serves about 300 people a day, Kalonga and others have more time to perform other duties and no longer have to risk an encounter with a wild animal on their trips to fetch water.
From Kalonga’s insight, we can see how valuable even one borehole can be; it can change the lives of an entire community. It’s especially astounding when you consider the fact that the borehole has only been supplying water since 2020. Because boreholes last nearly 30 years, we can expect the benefits of the borehole to continue for many generations to come. Years of precious time will be saved; hundreds of cases of infections and child stunting may be prevented now that the village no longer has to use unsanitary water many kilometers away.
Would you like to help make the world more equitable by providing access to clean water? You can follow in Bill’s footsteps and join one of our beautiful African safaris that create partnerships with those in Zambia as showcased in this story. The modern safari experience combines the best safari for you and positive change for the world. You can also donate to Dazzle Africa and be a part of our mission to change lives. One borehole is $7,000. You can donate one yourself or donate a smaller amount. Thank you for sharing your wealth and distributing the gift of clean water.
Priscila Bautista, Dazzle Africa Intern