New water supply brings hope to informal settlement near Marloth
There were cheers and tears of joy when a drilling company struck water in an informal settlement near Marloth Park last Friday. A German church sponsored the new borehole and pump to give the residents a stable water supply.
MARLOTH PARK – While parts of the country are living under water restrictions, residents of an informal settlement next to Makarios are rejoicing over finally getting their own water supply.
The settlement is home to between 500 and 1 000 people, most of whom work in Marloth Park and on nearby farms. They reportedly have not had any water supplied to the settlement since September.
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Thanks to a church in Germany, the settlement will now finally have an uninterrupted water supply after a borehole was drilled and a pump installed.
Uwe Schoenwald, the driving force behind the project, as well as other local volunteers and a group of curious community members got teary eyed and cheered when the drill struck water on Friday afternoon.
Schoenwald lives in Germany and was invited to visit Marloth Park by a European friend who has a house here.
In 2013, he and his wife were called by God to help residents of the large informal settlement on land reportedly belonging to Mjejane. It’s situated next to Makarios. They started by working with the kids, then developed toilets and even had a one-room structure built for the children’s use. A generator was also bought and electric connections will soon be installed.
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Schoenwald visits Marloth Park three to four times a year and last visited in November. It was then that he realised that the settlement desperately needed its own water supply. They usually received water from a nearby farm on Sundays, but this stopped in September.
Members of his church gave a 10th of their income as a donation to this cause, and Schoenwald called Marloth resident Joachim Schulz for help in contracting a drilling company. Schulz found ML Drilling’s contact details in Corridor Gazette and the company was happy to be of service.
ML Drilling contributed part of its services free of charge in aid of the good cause.
The search for water started on Friday morning and they tried getting a good source close to the children’s building. A spot was found right next to the building and drilling commenced.
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Schoenwald said he was extremely nervous whether they would find a stable supply, and it was a special moment when the drill struck water.
Children gathered closer and residents lifted their hands in joy and danced.
Schoenwald and other local organisations and volunteers are positive that this new development will go a long way to improving living conditions for the settlement’s residents. They are committed to continuing their work and hope to help these people even more in future.
