Matumelo Lenela, principal of Qholaqhoe Primary school, has no doubt about the driver of the stellar performance of her school in the last few years. "From the time the borehole came the results have improved because the kids are no longer moving around looking for water," Mme Lenela says matterof-factly from her office which also serves as her classroom and storeroom.
Qholaqhoe, set on a slope in the mountains in northwest Lesotho, must rank as one of the country’s poorest schools, housing 131 kids in two concrete built blocks. Because there are not enough buildings, some classes are hosted in a rondavel meant for an evangelist while others use the church building, stoking conflict with parishioners. But by far the school’s biggest problem lay in the lack of a consistent supply of water, says Mme Lenela, who has been at the school for more than a decade. For years the school relied on one water tap which was shared with the community because of persistent droughts in the area.
A 2014 Lesotho Vulnerability Assessment (LVAC) found 86 percent of households in the southern lowlands had no access to clean and safe water, rising to more than 90 percent in the Senqu River Valley in central Lesotho. In most of these areas there are thousands of mostly damaged hand pumps. At Qholaqhoe school, the conflict over water culminated in a physical fight in August 2015 when Mme Lenela says a villager assaulted a pregnant school teacher because he didn’t want her to fetch water from the pump.
"From the time the borehole came the results have improved because the kids are no longer moving around looking for water,"
"We were shocked beyond words," Mme Lenela recalls of the fight which was also witnessed by science and maths teacher Molieho Moneuoa. "The frustration was everywhere," Moneuoa says. The problem also meant the school couldn’t supplement its food allocation and teachers spent large amounts of time looking for water in the village, she says.
The school’s fortunes changed a year later when Zenzele Itereleng funded the construction of a borehole that now provides water as part of its programme to help alleviate hunger and poverty in former labour sending areas in Lesotho.
"We are extremely grateful for what they have done for us as we had children going to fetch water from as far as a kilometre away," said Reverend Motoho Esau Goduka, who oversees the school on behalf of Lesotho Evangelical Church which built the institution in the 1950s.In 2014, ZI targeted the repair of 200 boreholes. By the end of the programme in 2016, 193 pumps had been replaced or repaired with price increases and cost increases accounting for the shortfall, says Mabokang Mxakaza, Thembalethu Development Programmes Coordinator. Five hundred and twenty-four water minders were trained, with 3, 220 people accessing clean water.
In Butha Buthe district, seven new boreholes with new hand pumps were drilled with the overall programme providing safe drinking water for 1,807 learners. At Botha Buthe Camp School, the situation was more dire. With 1,378 pupils and 24 teachers, the Principal Hlompho Mpati, said pupils had to use water from the nearby stream when shortages hit the school during the last drought. Apart from hygiene concerns, the effort took a toll on teachers and students.
"Not only has the borehole saved us money but it has also meant more time in class for teachers and students. We have also revived our garden and now we are able to teach learners practical lessons and supplement our resources because the water from council is very expensive. The borehole has made a huge difference." Zenzele Itereleng’s input has also drawn strong support from the Ministry of Education and Training, which has struggled to fund all the school’s requirements.
"We are very grateful as a Ministry for this support because the roll (enrolment) is very high here. Climate change has affected us badly but we need more than one,"" says Masetla Bocha Klantsi, an inspector based in the Botha Buthe district. "Even now the water isn’t enough." Mpati says what could also help alleviate the situation would be a tank to store the water for distribution around the school.
For now, the best `thank you’ came from a Grade Seven learner at Botha Buthe Camp: "Without water there is no life. You made us priority like a parent."
