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Masivi community gets access to water

The Namibia Water Corporation Ltd (NamWater) and the U.S. Embassy on Wednesday celebrated the launch of a water supply system for the village of Masivi in the Kavango Region.

The Masivi scheme had been in the process of implementation for approximately one year, following the receipt of Environmental Clearance Certificate from the Namibian Department of Environmental Affairs in January 2014.
The scheme is estimated to supply water to approximately 3,500 people in the Masivi Community just south west of Rundu and is the result of long-term collaboration between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), NamWater, community construction teams, local Councillors, DWSSC and the UK Agency for International Development.
U.S. Ambassador Thomas Daughton in his key note address said, “this is the result of cooperation between the United States and Namibia to help Masivi residents gain access to the water needed to maintain healthy, productive lives.”
He noted that the collaboration of the U.S. government with Namibia and regional governments will help to improve the management of the Okavango River Basin and thus, the health and livelihoods of people who depend on it. Speakers at the event also included the Regional Director for Kavango of the Directorate of Water Supply and Sanitation Coordination (DWSSC) Moses Mpareke, Kavango Area Manager for NamWater John Muremi, Southern Africa Regional Environmental Program (SAREP) Water Supply and Sanitation Coordinator Robyn Tompkins, the Kavango Regional Councilwoman Frida Siwomba, and the Masivi Village Head woman Regina Handcock.
The scheme’s water source will originate from the Kavango River through the main Rundu Treatment works. The scheme will comprise of eight standpipes on either side of the B8 road.
Notably, the pipe-laying and backfilling have been done entirely by a team of community members who were trained by SAREP engineers to undertake these tasks. SAREP designed two phases of the scheme, the first phase in Masivi; the second phase will be implemented in future by NamWater, and thus supply water by main pipeline for an additional 6 km.
Meanwhile SAREP has been working with NamWater for the past three years, starting at Karutci Community, to develop water supply schemes in the Kavango Region of Namibia. The team has developed a truly collaborative partnership with NamWater, local community construction teams, local councillors, DWSSC and the UK AID Climate Resilient Infrastructure Development Facility (CRIDF) program to undertake the construction of the large-scale water supply schemes.

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