Thursday, May 26, 2011

Miss Zim embarks on water, sanitation project

Reigning Miss Zimbabwe, Malaika Mushandu, has embarked on a water and sanitation project which will see her training schoolchildren on hygiene issues and also facilitating drilling of water pumps to assist the water situation in the country.

Mushandu told NewsDay that she was trying to help improve the water and sanitation situation in Zimbabwe.

“It is my aim as Miss Zimbabwe to see to the well-being of Zimbabweans therefore I am going to drill boreholes around the country so as to assist those without water in their areas,” said Mushandu.

She has already been given three bush pumps by V&W Engineering, a local manufacturer of bush pumps, to help kick-start her project.

Vino Solanki, owner of V&W Engineering, said his company was also going to drill the bush pumps for free to assist the national beauty queen.

“Our company has always been involved in charity work. Once in a while we identify places such as rural areas, schools and clinics that are in need of water which we visit and drill the pumps for them,” said Solanki.

He added that they were going to assist Mushandu as sanitation was critical to human life.

“Statistics show that mortality improves if people have proper water and sanitation. We are going to work with Malaika to try and reduce the country’s mortality rates,” said Solanki.

Mushandu said she was driven to work on the water and sanitation project as it was no secret that at a certain stage, cholera, dysentery and water-borne diseases hindered the growth of the tourism sector in Zimbabwe.