Petroleum Importers Limited (PIL) has donated a solar water pump worth K3 million at Mpamantha Health Centre in Nkhotakota to restore hope for the communities to successfully fight against cholera.
Speaking during the donation of the solar pump in Nkhotakota on Thursday, PIL Finance and Administration Manager Kambani Mchiela said the donation is part of their corporate social responsibility activities which will help the facility to access potable water.
“The health sector is one of the sectors that we help as we realize that only healthy people can contribute positively to the socio-economic development of this country. When we heard that the hospital has stayed for about nine months without clean water after the previous solar pump was stolen, we thought it was important for us to intervene especially during this time when we have a cholera outbreak in the country,” said Mchiela.
Senior medical officer in-charge at the facility, Thokozani Tambulasi conceded that it has not been easy without potable water as they recorded 16 cases of cholera and one death at the facility.
“The donation by PIL will help us in ensuring that our facility is always cleaned. We will also have enough water used for dissolving chlorine and washing beddings. The situation was dire not only because of cholera, but even at the maternity ward. Guardians were forced to go fetch water from other sources which are far from the facility,” said Tambulasi.
Chairperson of the health advisory committee (HAC) at the facility Charity Gwaluka, also commended PIL for the intervention saying it was becoming costly for guardians as they had to pay for the water from other sources around the community.
“Imagine a guardian spending much time at the borehole fetching for water than being with a patient. The boreholes are also a distance making the guardians tired and not providing the real care to their patients. Now we can do that comfortably within the hospital premises,” she said.
Group Village Headman Kaulungu urged the members of the community to take care of the new pump which serves over 22,000 people across the lakeshore district.
PIL is a consortium of four oil marketing companies namely Vivo, Total, Puma and Petroda.
