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Blessings Chidakwa and John Murwira
MORE than 120 farmers from Nyaminyami communal lands, south of Kariba, are set to benefit directly from a dam that is being desilted by the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS). The dam was last used in 2000 before it was silted. ZRCS provincial manager Mr Amon Choba yesterday said desilting of the dam was nearing completion.

“We realised there was a four-hectare farm, which was lying idle 2km away from a nearby dam that was silting and farmers had abandoned the farm,” he said.

“We started desilting the dam and we are currently building walls and laying pipes from the dam to the farm. We hope farmers will start benefiting upon completion of the dam.” Mr Choba said ZRCS was also fencing the dam as there were a lot of animals in the area. “Apart from reconstructing the dam we are also fencing it to protect it from elephants that source water in the area,” he said. ZRCS disaster management officer Mr Decide Mabumbo said the reconstruction of the dam was a three-year community-based resilient project that was set to directly benefit at least 753 people in Nyaminyami area. Mr Mabumbo said to safeguard the lives of people in the area ZRCS was also training locals on disaster response preparedness.

“We are doing first aid trainings, kits skills and contingency plans,” he said. Mr Mabumbo went on to encourage farmers to diversify their crops to avert drought. “Farmers should diversify their crops to alleviate poverty in the area as it is a drought-prone region,” he said. ZRCS is a humanitarian organisation that was enacted through an Act of Parliament 30 of 1981 and it is there to complement Government efforts in alleviating human suffering wherever and however caused.