School children in Vhembe wake up at 4:30am to fetch water. Water is not reaching households despite millions of rands spent on water projects.
Before going to school, learners wake up as early as 4:30am to fetch water in Mabilingwe village in north-east Limpopo. They pull up to six 25-litre containers on trolleys along the D3708 road to a borehole, a round trip of up to ten kilometres. Only then can they bath and prepare for school.
In 2021, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) reported how villagers, like those in Mabilingwe, were struggling to get water because various water projects were failing to deliver water in the Vhembe district.
The SAHRC revisited the area last month. “We are not happy about the situation,” said Victor Mavhidula, the commission’s Limpopo manager.
