Uberhunis and Khoro-Aus receive a lifeline from the Korea funded project
Its three o’clock in the afternoon and the sun is set high as its rays glare upon the vast barren ground that stretches west of the small mining town of Uis in the Erongo region. Apart from a few bushes and patches of lush green camelthorn trees along a few ephemeral rivers, no evidence of life exists in this bone-dry area.
On account of the severe drought, dead carcases of goats and cows are scattered across the sandy terrain, a grim indication of just how tough the past few years have been for the residents of Uberhunis, a small outpost located within the Tsiseb conservancy near the Omaruru River.
“This area is one of the hardest hit by the drought situation in the country, and hasn’t received much rainfall over the past five to seven years or so,” said Frieda Shaanika, Civil Artisan in the Directorate of Water Supply and Sanitation Coordination (DWSSC) within the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (MAWLR).
Rehabilitated borehole improves life in Uberhunis
Frieda and her team of fellow artisans worked weeks on end to rehabilitate the once dilapidated community borehole at Uberhunis through the Korea funded project. “The borehole you see before us now was highly unsafe and unreliable to use prior to its rehabilitation a few months ago,” explained Frieda.
Now a shadow of its former self, the borehole is fully equipped with a solar system that helps pump water to two large tanks positioned a few metres away from it and now has a watering trough for livestock to drink from.
Ms. Gorthartine Shinavene, a small-stock farmer who has lived in Uberhunis all her life, expressed her joy when probed on how she felt about the intervention that has allowed for the safe, affordable and reliable provision of water in her community.
“I am very appreciative of this project because before the borehole was rehabilitated it was a major challenge to get water for our livestock,” she explained. “Back then we used our own personal means to acquire water, which made a huge dent in our pockets,” noted Gorthartine, while pointing to an old rusty generator that the community previously used to pump water from the borehole.
Over the prolonged drought period, Gorthartine has lost two-thirds of her livestock due to a combined challenge of a lack of grazing and access to adequate water. “Had it not been for the rehabilitation of this borehole, by now I would have likely lost all my goats and cattle,” she said.
Gorthartine is now hopeful that she and her family of five children can survive much easier because of the newly rehabilitated borehole. “I am thinking of starting a garden since the borehole is just a few meters away from us and hopefully from the garden produce I can feed my family and earn an extra income,” she said with a confident smile on her face.
Around 10 households in Uberhunis draw benefits from the newly rehabilitated borehole, with many farmers now able to maintain their remaining livestock. Besides using the clean and consumable water for everyday household chores such as cooking and cleaning, community members are thinking of other ways to make full use of the improved water situation such as establishing vegetable gardens and producing fodder to supplement their livestock’s forage needs. A far cry from the drought condition which had threatened to wipe out their livelihoods.
Residents in Khoro-Aus express their relief
Similarly just a few kilometres on the outskirts of Uis, in Khoro-Aus lies another rehabilitated borehole that has proved to be a great deal of help to the residents within that community, and especially the farmers.
Once an open well that posed a danger to both humans and livestock within the area, Government made efforts to transform it into a borehole but over the years it became dilapidated and unsafe to use. However, thanks to the interventions of the Korea funded project, it is now safely covered up.
Simon Amunyela, a small-stock farmer in the area, gave a grim account of how precarious the previous borehole was. “Before this borehole was rehabilitated we faced challenges to provide water to our animals because it was extremely unsafe and difficult to draw water from,” he said.
Simon further explained that the nearest alternative borehole in the area has overly salty water which is unbearable for both animal and human consumption.
“That was the only safest borehole in this community, but unfortunately the water turned too salty for the animals to drink so we were forced to settle for the unsafe option,” Simon said, as his flock of goats and sheep approached the watering trough in a frenzy to quench their thirst.
Simon noted that despite the poor grazing situation, he was very happy that at least one problem had been resolved. “It’s one less burden to carry in terms of access to water and I am very thankful for such an intervention, God bless all the agencies that played a role in assisting us,” he concluded.
The prolonged drought situation in Namibia
The protracted drought situation in Namibia has had a severe negative impact on grazing and left many communities with a critical water shortage, translating into a significant loss of livestock and reduced crop yield for thousands of farmers – leading to a worse food insecurity situation in the country.
Following the declaration of the State of Emergency in 2016 by the Namibian Government as a result of the prolonged drought situation in the country, numerous relief projects were initiated to help lessen the impact of drougth on vulnerable communities.
One such project titled “Improving water access in the drought-affected regions of Namibia” was initiated on the generosity of the Government of the Republic of Korea which availed U$200 000 (N$3 million) towards funding the project. The project aimed at supporting the rehabilitation of boreholes and hand-dug wells along strategic drought-induced livestock and pastoral migration routes in the Erongo, Kunene and Omusati regions. Uberhunis, Khoro-Aus, Khoro-Aus Pos and Doeie-See, in Erongo region were the villages that benefited from the project.
Through this intervention, MAWLR through DWSSC drew on its stock on hand (for some construction materials), as well as its own pool of artisans, to rehabilitate eight boreholes (four each in Erongo and Kunene) as well as to upgrade (to solar powered water pumping systems) four hand-dug wells in Omusati. The rehabilitation of the water points was made possible through the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with the generous financial contribution from the Government of the Republic of Korea.