Lack of water

Koma Happiness

Koma Happiness
Moshira village
Limpopo province
Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality
06 June 2024
Lack of water

In Moshira Village we need water. When winter arrives, they always tell us that they will fix
the issue. When the month of May began, we started the month hard without water. We are
living by buying water every time and the water does not last longer, the water doesn’t even
last for a week. Some families are jobless and they can’t afford to buy water, yet we are
leaving next to mines. Others are living on social grant that is paying for school transport,
and they need to buy grocery and go to pay burial societies and also buy water.
Recently these municipalities came with their tricks to give us water, now they still have to
come and let us know what might be happening. The most painful thing is the children who
take care of their families without parents, who are the parents to their own children. We
need to remember that the child is doing matric and comes back from school at six o’clock,
she leaves home at six o’clock in the morning when the sun comes up at 5h30 am. The child
comes back from school and goes to the river to fetch water, and the river is big. The water
can save the community, only if they can talk to the municipality to assist the community by
supplying them with water from the river. The local municipality did not come as it was the
time for votes, we were so sure that they would come and fix this issue. None of that has
happened, and we thought since it was time for votes maybe they would do it soon. All we
see is that our government has discrimination in the communities. The community is
saddened that our country has had many deaths this month.
Interview:
I feel so bad because I don’t have time for books, I have to get up in the morning and go to
the river to fetch water before going to school. All my siblings have to bath and go to school
and I make sure that I cook for them and have enough food for after school. I do that
because there is no one else who can assist and I am the older sister. The water tank is 40
rand each and lasts for a week. The money we have we need to buy food.
Interview:
I am a parent in my family, I am a father and I am a mother. I have to take care of my
children and make sure that they bath and eat. The biggest challenge is water, every year
when it comes to winter we have water challenge. We survive by buying water, they tell us
because our bodies can carry the water. We are old enough to go to the river to fetch water,
the municipality failed to speak to the community. They don’t even want to come near us.
The families in need are forced to buy water to do their jobs. The community thought it was
best to send a ward committee to talk to the municipality about the water issue.
As the community of Moshira village, we need to engage with the municipality and the mine
about the issue of water. Even though they fail us, we are not getting tired of engaging
because we need change in the community.