A critical shortage of water has hit Mambilima Special School in Mwense District, causing authorities to start hiring women from the village to fetch water in buckets for 200 disabled pupils.
And heavy rains have destroyed toilets at the school forcing pupils to resort to using the bush to answer the call of nature.
School Head Teacher, Mr Kayabala Mwewa, confirmed the development to ZANIS yesterday when African Vision and Water Aid officials visited the school.
Mr Mwewa said that the only borehole at the institution has become contaminated owing to lack of maintenance.
He said the contaminated borehole was also being used by patients from Mambilima Hospital and the surrounding villagers.
Mr Mwewa said the shortage of adequate and clean water has contributed to the poor sanitation at the institution.
He said to supply water for pupils to use for their various needs the authorities at the institution are hiring women from the distant villages to start fetching water from the nearby river for use by pupils.
He expressed fear that the school might experience an outbreak of communicable water borne diseases, and has since appealed to government and other well wishers to help improve the water situation at
the institution.
Mr Mwewa disclosed that the school has in the recent past experienced outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as dysentery and cholera, adding that the similar situation is likely to repeat itself this year.
And Mr Mwewa said the school has been running without a toilet forcing pupils to seek refuge from the bush and the teachers’ compound toilets.
He said lack of good toilets at the institution has made the sanitary situation at the school even worse.
“Keeping our children in this sanitary situation is just like risking their health, because dysentery and cholera that have been affecting our institution and can hit us again,” he said.
He said the toilet problem started in January when some toilets became filled up and others later collapsed following heavy rains.
He said even the two toilets that are still standing are on the verge of collapse.
Mr. Mwewa said it is proving difficult to take pupils to long distance toilets especially the ones using wheelchair.
One of the wheelchair bound pupil, Sharon Palata said the two functioning toilet at the institution were a death trap because of the bad state they were in.
Palata said toilets are in a bad state and can fall at any time especially with the heavy rains the area is currently receiving.
She wondered why the disabled have been neglected when they had a right to education and clean water and good sanitation.
She has since appealed to the government to put the plight of the disabled as the first priority when making policies.
“I do not know why us disabled are not considered the way others are considered. There is no way we can be learning with barely any toilet facilities at the school,” she said.
And another pupil Jonathan Mwansa complained that pupils, especially boys, are finding situation without a toilet difficultespecially at night.
Mwansa said pupils who are wheelchair bound are constantly calling upon those who are able to walk to take them to the toilets at night.
Meanwhile Vision Africa in Partnership with Water Aid in Zambia has called on government to prioritize sanitation and water as essential services alongside health and education.
Vision Africa Executive coordinator Jackson Mwenya said it was important that government recognized that access to sanitation and water is a fundamental human right.
Mr Mwenya has also observed that having access to safe clean water and sanitation facilities is important to meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
Africa Vision Partnership with Water Aid submitted a petition of recommendation to Mwense District Commission Benjamin Chama.
The petition is a worldwide demand by campaigners calling on the ministers responsible for water and sanitation in developing countries and Finance ministers from donor countries to take action at the first ever
HighLevel Meeting on sanitation and water crisis scheduled for next month in Washington DC.
ZANIS
RUPIAH is behaving like a ceremonial President, Siavonga UPND member of parliament Douglas Syakalima has observed. This what we are talking about here attending to situation!
Mr. Mwewa, I dont understand which bush are you talking about?. The School is surrounded by Mambilima Hospital on the North , Missionary Houses on the South and big villages on East and West. To reach the bush on the East you have to walk 10Km and the North endless Kms. Beyond the Mission Houses is the Luapula River which is very busy.