On 31 October 2017, the Ambassador of Japan, H.E. Mr Toshiyuki Iwado, today officially handed over new boreholes and a piped water scheme to ten schools in Makonde. These were provided through the Project for Supplying Safe Water at Educational Institutions in Makonde District. The Government of Japan extended a grant of over USD 90,000 to a local NGO, Farm Community Trust of Zimbabwe (FCTZ), for this project in March 2016.

Through this project, the schools and surrounding communities, with a total of around 6,000 people, now have access to clean drinking water at school. Nine of the ten schools (seven primary schools and two secondary schools) have new boreholes. The other school, Matoranjera Primary School, is now receiving water piped from a borehole situated at a nearby clinic.

Previously, the children and staff at the school would get their drinking water from distant and unsafe sources. As a result, many of the children would become ill with diseases such as diarrhoea and bilharzia. They would also spend a long time fetching water, taking time from their schoolwork.

Speaking to the children and members of the community at the handover ceremony held at Tendera Primary School, Ambassador Iwado expressed his hope that with clean water now available right at their schools, they would be healthier and study harder.