Women carrying water containers on their heads are pictured in Wedza District, Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe, March 20, 2025. (Xinhua/Tafara Mugwara)
HARARE, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Before a China-aided borehole was drilled in her village, 56-year-old Hilda Mutangadura walked over two hours to fetch clean water, carrying a 20-liter container.
Despite her household's daily water needs exceeding 80 liters, she had to make do with a single 20-liter bucket -- the most she could carry in one trip.
"We used to walk for two hours to fetch water. Now it's much better because there is a borehole nearby. In just five minutes, I can get my water and return home to cook for my children," she told Xinhua in a recent interview.
A subsistence farmer from Chirinda village in Wedza District, Mashonaland East Province, Mutangadura said the long hours spent fetching water had cost her valuable economic opportunities.
The new borehole in her village is part of a China-aided project to drill 300 boreholes across four Zimbabwean provinces. It now provides clean water to nearly 140 households across three villages.
Despite clean water being a basic human right, Mutangadura said it had long been a scarce and precious commodity in her community.
With reliable water access, she and other women can now focus on income-generating activities such as crop farming and poultry rearing without the constant worry of where to find their next bucket of water.
The impact of the borehole has rippled through her household. With clean water readily available, even her livestock is thriving.
"Our livestock now drinks clean water. In the past, we gave them dirty water -- what was left after washing clothes or dishes. Now, they get borehole water, and they are much healthier," she said.
Providing her free-range chickens with clean water has also reduced mortality and improved their health. "I am healthy, my chickens are healthy, and we are all healthy," Mutangadura said.
In many rural areas, water shortages have worsened due to climate change, which has disrupted rainfall patterns and made the search for water even harder, especially during the dry season that peaks around October.
Monica Maruta, 58, noted that when water is scarce, the burden falls primarily on women, who are responsible for water collection and management. Beyond health concerns, water shortages also impact food security.
"During the cropping season, we used to wake up early to fetch water -- at a time when we should have been in the fields before the heat set in. By the time we finished collecting water, we were too exhausted for other productive work. That's why we are so happy with the borehole," she said.
Itayi Ndudzo, minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Mashonaland East Province, said the borehole initiative aligns with Zimbabwe's national development agenda of ensuring inclusive access to water, sanitation, and sustainable growth.
"This latest development assistance is yet another testament to China's unwavering commitment to supporting Zimbabwe's socio-economic development. Through this China-aided initiative, we will reach some of the most remote communities in Mashonaland East," Ndudzo said during the unveiling of the borehole in Chirinda village on Thursday.
Over the past decade, China has drilled more than 1,000 boreholes across Zimbabwe, benefiting nearly 400,000 people, most of them in rural areas.
"We are grateful to the Chinese for helping us. We used to see them going about their business, but now that they have helped us. It has forged a lifelong bond," Maruta said. ■
