Chombe drilling’s Dwaine arrives to dowse the new borehole
Lesley Ann and Alistair made their first-ever visit to village BH29 in January of 2025. BH29 lies about 27 km South of Victoria Falls, but with none of the benefits associated with a tourist hot spot.
The villagers constantly thanked us for our support, and great excitement surrounded the arrival of Chombe borehole drilling to divine the best place to drill for water. The multiple fissure-source found will provide year-round ‘true’ water, unaffected by climate conditions.
Village lady and child carry water uphill from the old borehole
The village lies on 2 sides of a steep valley, their existing failing borehole (British, from 1955) sited at the bottom. Women and children spend their days pumping and carrying water back to their homesteads. A new borehole solar-powered system will free them from this exhausting work and allow them time to diversify and thus start to build financial resilience against future crop failures.
Previous rabbit enclosure with roll of new wire to start a rabbit diversification project
We initiated a rabbit keeping enterprise, which will be expanded to other young men in the village, and listened to villagers’ needs and dreams.
Pathways sanitary towels sewing initiative
We set up links with Pathways charity for our ladies to make reusable sanitary towels (freeing young girls to attend school all month) and linked with a UK charity to provide hand-driven sewing machines.
We studied projects run by the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust to improve crop growing and husbandry practices and met possible future funders.
Some the VFA Zimbabwe Team arrives at BH29.
L to R of some of our Team : Brenden Sibanda, Happiness Mnkandla, Gilbert Ncube (front), (Francis – Head man behind), Providence Murewa, Councillor Moyo, Valerie Mpunzi
Our team in Zim welcomed two new members, both professionals who are committed to helping BH29 survive and develop. Our team helped us every day working in the village, buying medical supplies and listening to the villagers’ problems, including difficulties accessing medical help and total lack of any transport. All the difficulties and initiatives suggested will be incorporated into our future plans and fund-raising strategy.
Happiness has organised a team of 6 volunteer supporters to assist our work in the village. Living in Victoria Falls, they have a range of skills; all have knowledge of local husbandry and agricultural skills. Brenden Sibanda is a nurse in Victoria Falls hospital. Gilbert Ncube supported our Food Aid provision through his firm and has founded his own construction firm. He sat on the ward development committee until the end of 2023 and helps finance young people’s schooling. Mitchelle Chiyangwa holds a BSc Honours degree in HR management and has a particular interest in HR policies, procedures, HR Metrics and Change Management. Bernard Phiri is a Court Interpreter, holding a Diploma in Social work. On prison visits and police proceedings, he supports vulnerable survivors of sexual and gender violence. Providence Murewa and Valerie Mpunzi complete our team, working with local women’s organisations.
Khathasile with VFA medical & school supplies_sm
Medical supplies
Whilst in the village, on our first day, we met with Khathasile, who has the responsibility of care in the village and is euphemistically titled ‘the village health worker’. She had no medical supplies and we were able to set her up with necessary requirements, as well as a very large supply of sanitary towels for the ladies and girls of the village. Medical care is regarded as being unobtainable owing to cost. There is no transport for the sick from the village or in an emergency and villagers were unaware of the clinics that are available for cataract treatment. We have put them in touch with the hospital via Brenden, who is a nurse and who will now advise Khathasile on dates for villagers to attend for treatment. The situation emphasised the future need to provide a monthly clinic at the village to monitor health needs in the village and advise on diet and childcare.
My Trees Fuel efficient stove seen in VFWT office
A new way of cooking
Bongani showed us the ‘My Trees’ stoves which cook using an fuel efficient method using a small supply of twigs instead of large broken branches collected from the surrounding bush. This stove which costs from $60 can totally revolutionize the hard work of foraging for firewood and splitting it into sizes suitable for open fire cooking. It can even be used inside in bad weather without risk to lung health. The stove comes in a large variety of sizes.
A community centre
Finally, the elders and villagers emphasised the need for a community centre where the village could meet, work, study and learn, also acting as a centre for church meetings.
Sanitation
Sanitation remains a challenge, but it is clear it is less important than developing efficient and economically viable methods of growing life-sustaining crops and well-managed herds of cattle. The Sanitation project has been downgraded to position 5 after phase 2 of the borehole project, followed by, at 3, diversification projects and training for new husbandry/agricultural methods at 4.
It remains for further discussion with villagers whether, in light of the large and easily-obtained amount of manure resulting from the introduction of overnight cattle bomas, we should continue with the traditional long-drop toilets or change to the more expensive composting toilets.