Water woes haunt school 40 years on

MAWANKE Primary School in Gwanda rural has been running without water for close to 40
years, a situation that has made life difficult for both learners and staff at the institution.
In an interview, Mawanke Primary School Development Committee chairperson, Washington
Ndlovu, confirmed the dire situation and said something needed to be done soon.
He revealed that pupils and teachers walk for almost two kilometers to the nearest water
source.
It is sad that I grew up here and attended my primary education here 40 years ago and I'm
now old and now the chairman of the SDC, but the school still has no water, which affects the
development of the school.
“As of now the school has five female teachers of which it is difficult for them to walk more
than a kilometer in search of water. Some teachers even refuse to come and work here
because of these conditions,” said Ndlovu. 
The village head Simeone Mbangeni also lamented the situation.
Our school has no water and that is the major concern, school children go around begging
for water from nearby homesteads and teachers’ cottages, which is not good.
“In this Covid-19 era, it cannot be over emphasised how important water is,” said the village
head. 
He pleaded with the Government and other stakeholders to help on the issue.
I urge all stakeholders to help dig or drill boreholes to help change the dire water situation
here,” he added.