Three weeks ago, members of the Kitwe North Rotary Club visited the site with the contractor and met the staff of the Health Center and the Chief in the area.
Chief Lumpuma requested the provision of water and sanitation and the rehabilitation of the mothers' shelter at Lumpuma Health Clinic in his chiefdom.
The assessment of the needs resulted in the following findings:
- The Health Clinic is situated about 45 km from Kitwe, the location of the Kitwe North Rotary Club.
- There are about 12,000 to 15,000 people spread out in a radius of approximately 50 km.
- The Health Clinic is the only center with facilities to admit patients in the area.
- It has the following wards – Maternity, Children, Female, Male, and Outpatient.
- Deliveries are done at this Health Center.
- It has a staff establishment of 5 nurses, 2 doctors, and 3 health assistants. In reality, though, there are only 3 nurses, 1 doctor, and 1 health assistant.
- Water and sanitation are a serious challenge for the Center.
- There’s an existing borehole that is not functional but can be rehabilitated; a wate tank stand without a water tank on it; and basic piping and distribution network for water which are clogged.
- There is electricity supplied from the national grid.
What the grant is designed to do is:
- Rehabilitate or sink a fresh borehole with a submissive pump; install a new 10,000-liter water tank.
- Replace galvanized clogged distribution pipes with PVC pipes for water distribution.
- Replace taps in all the wards, and replace toilets and sink basins in all wards.
- Complete the mothers' shelter and provide toilets with running water.
- Provide a power distribution center for powering the submissive pump or provide solar panels to power the submissive pump.
Funding for this project was approved by the Rotary Foundation in November 2022. These funds were provided by:
- District 6040 - $15,000
- 80% match by the Foundation - 12,000
- District 9210 - 5,000
- 80% match by the Foundation - 4,000
- Total $36,000
As of June 11, 2023, the project is ready to commence. It was delayed because of the heavy rains, and the engineers advised them not to sink a borehole during the heavy rains. The
ground was weak and porous, and the sunk whole would easily cave in. The rains are now over. The project will take about 3 months to complete. The project and reporting requirements will still be completed before the deadline.