Chankanga Primary School, Zambia
Chankanga Primary School in the Chipata WPA faced challenges in accessing safe water until Living Water International came to their aid. Dinala Zulu, the head teacher, came to the school in 2019. At that time, the school lacked abundant access to safe water. They used a single borehole for more than 642 students, ten teachers’ households, and more than twenty additional households across the community. The borehole had outlived its lifespan and without regular maintenance, it eventually broke down altogether.
The community compiled enough money to repair the borehole, but despite this effort, it broke down again. The lack of water not only left them thirsty, but also caused other problems for the school. Around the same time, an NGO wanted to start building a kitchen for the school to feed the students. Yet, when the borehole broke down, the NGO had to withdraw their aid because they can only work in communities with access to safe water.
The school made concerted efforts to raise money within the community. They reached their goal and were able to repair the borehole again. This made them eligible for a school kitchen with the NGO. Finally, the school had a kitchen, and things were improving. And then, like a reoccurring nightmare, the borehole broke down again!
It was around this same time, by the providence of God, that the school heard about Living Water International and the work they were doing in other communities. The community leaders made a formal request for the staff to come assess their water situation.
After determining that the community was able to care for a new water point, the staff successfully rehabilitated the same borehole, properly fixing the issue that continually caused malfunctions. Now, both the community and the school can thrive! Thanks to the repaired water point and the community's persistence, the water problems have significantly decreased. To this day, the school has not experienced any further issues with the rehabilitated borehole.
The borehole is now serving 850 students, forty community households, and twenty-two teachers and their households. Dinala Zulu expressed their heartfelt thanks by saying, “Thank you Living Water International for coming to our aid, and may God bless the staff and organization.”
