Lift up cyclone-devastated families in Mozambique

Peace Winds continues our activities in Cabo Delgado, located in northern part of Mozambique, with the aim of ensuring a stable supply of safe water.

Our support goes beyond the construction of water supply facilities, focusing on their ‘sustainable operation.’ We particularly emphasize on establishing a water management system led by local residents. In Mozambique, there has been a challenge where installed water supply facilities have become unusable due to inadequate management. This issue stems from the lack of knowledge, funding, and organisational structures necessary for maintaining and managing the facilities.

To change this situation, it is important to develop and train local ‘water management committees.’ These committees are composed of local residents and are responsible for the overall operation of the facilities, including daily inspections, management of water usage, requesting repairs when malfunctions occur, and procuring parts. In order to use water sustainably, it is essential to establish a system in which the local community takes responsibility for management.

In the supported areas, a system has been introduced to collect fees from users for water usage. For example, water fees are set at 1 Mozambican Metical (MZN) per bucket or 50 MZN per month, and the collected funds are used for maintenance of water supply facilities, purchasing parts in case of malfunctions, and other operational expenses. The fees are determined based on the actual conditions of the region and are operated with the consent of the residents. We hope that such resident-led initiatives will foster a culture of cherishing water as a shared resource and passing it on to future generations.

One of the key figures in this activity is Mr. Rodriguez, the leader of the Water Management Committee. Together with the committee members, he regularly inspects the facilities to ensure there are no maintenance issues. In case of any issues, he responds promptly to ensure residents can use water safely. He said, ‘Our mission is to ensure that everyone in this region has access to safe water at all times. We will continue to work hard to maintain this facility so that it can be used for a long time.’

Such community-based systems go beyond mere infrastructure development and have the power to change residents' awareness and behaviour. By managing and protecting the resources obtained through support as ‘their own,’ we hope that the benefits will continue even after the support ends. Our goal is to establish such sustainable systems deeply rooted in the community.  

Peace Winds will continue to work alongside local communities, striving to realise a society where everyone has access to clean and safe water.