Clean Water: Macha Mission Hospital
About
Water is essential for life. Lack of water is one of the most difficult parts of living and working at Macha Mission Hospital (Macha Hospital).
In Zambia, water is scarce, and over the years, the water table has dropped. Simultaneously, the hospital has expanded; therefore, more people need to share this limited resource. Nearly 100% of our staff list the dearth of clean water as their largest obstacle in providing care.
Currently the hospital receives water from two sources:
- Wells provides clean water for medical procedures, hand washing, drinking. Nearly 50 years ago, one well supplied the hospital’s needs. Today the seven wells drilled for the hospital barely meet the demand for clean water.
- Dam water provides water to flush toilets, clean floors, and the garden. Due to increased sedimentation in the dam, it stores less water today than in the past.
Help us fund a water system effectively delivering clean water to Macha Hospital. With your help, we will drill wells to replace the ones that have gone dry and establish larger storage tanks from which the hospital can obtain water without electricity. Your gift will also help install pipes so that we can water the gardens with dam water rather than clean water designated for the hospital. Finally, through your help, we can de-silt the dam, making its water supply more abundant.
By giving to the Clean Water project, you supply Macha Hospital with clean water to enable life-sustaining care for patients.
Updates
- November 25, 2024
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Distributed: $50,000
Macha Mission Hospital’s water system has received some big updates recently.
More than three miles of water lines are being installed to improve the hospital’s water access. One line will fill the water tower from newly drilled boreholes, ensuring good pressure and water supply throughout the system. The second water line runs directly from the Macha Dam reservoir and will provide gray water to use for laundry, bathhouses, cleaning, and watering gardens. Each new line is made of heat-sealed PVC pipes, a massive improvement from the old asbestos pipes that were prone to cracking in the heat.
Additionally, four well pumps are being converted to hybrid solar and electric power. The hybrid power pumps will continue to run, even if the power grid is overwhelmed and electricity is shut off.
“We are truly grateful to all who have donated to this project as well as the continued ongoing needs of the hospital,” says Dr. Mark Roth, BIC U.S. missionary and Macha Hospital’s medical superintendent. “All have made a huge impact in this community, especially during this time of drought and famine.”
- December 31, 2023
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Read on
In 2023, this project continued to fund crucial updates to Macha Hospital’s aging water system. It is with thanksgiving we share that 2023 was the first year the hospital has reported having 24-hours of running water every day of the year!
- January 1, 2022
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Distributed: $30,969
In 2020 and 2021, Macha Hospital updated their aging water system. Funds from this project covered:
- Three new bore holes
- New water tanks, stands, pumps, and necessary plumbing and electrical upgrades
- Dam water tank conversion into a freshwater reservoir
