Communities surrounding Mkhuzi health care facility (HCF) in Ntchisi district have been using their own income generating activities in order to fundraise for electricity within the facility.
Maintenance Supervisor for Ntchisi District Health Office (DHO) Olipa Sinkhoza says her department was privileged to have an education visit on WaterAid in Malawi Deliver Life 2 project in Machinga and Zomba which aimed at improving service delivery and health outcomes for 141,000 women and adolescent girls and under-five children living in the low-income rural areas.
At this education visit, Sinkhoza say they learn that at Chikwewo health facility they have an income generating activity whereby the communities employ a guard who keeps bicycles on behalf of patients and guardians at their facility for an amount of K50 kwacha fee for each bicycle every day.
She said, the money is therefore used to help in procuring maintenance equipment’s for the WASH project sustainability.
“In Machinga, we also learn that chiefs are being involved and traditional authority Chikowi is on the forefront. This was advocated here and I understand that chiefs here in Ntchisi were soliciting maize from their subjects.
“This maize was sold and the money was used to procure electricity materials such as wires, switches, sockets and pipes for the facility. And as maintenance team we were engaged to do installation on electricity wiring. At moment, staff houses and the entire facility has wire ring, waiting for ESCOM to install electricity,” says Sinkhoza.
Sinkhoza who is Incharge of Maintenance and Operation works in the sixteen (16) facilities-district hospital inclusive says their role is to oversee infrastructure, medical equipment and water supply.
She, said in each facility operation and maintenance team was chosen to empower the people in order to take the WASH project as their own.
These communities, Sinkhoza said most of them has no plumbing skills but through WaterAid in Malawi they train these communities’ basic skills on how they can take care of the WASH facilities in terms of set-up and repair of things like hand washing taps, sinks, pipes and tanks.
“This has reduced our work and the communities themselves they are able to rectify these. However, as WaterAid is phasing out there is need to intensify supervisions and refresher trainings amongst these communities,” says Sinkhoza.
Speaking at Executive Lodge in Ntchisi during media tour to inspect the Wimbledon Foundation funded projects, Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Reporter Sam Phiri says he is glad to be part of the trip which has been very eye opening.
He says he is delighted by WaterAid’s standards of interventions and was inspired to witness the strong sense of ownership that communities have.“I have seen a number of initiatives amongst the communities aimed at raising funds for management and maintenance of WSH infrastructure. This is very encouraging,” says Phiri.
