Coca Cola injects US$50 thousand for Bulawayo water project
THE Coca-Cola Company has donated US$50 000 to Bulawayo for the implementation of a water and sanitation project to provide clean and safe water to selected city’s high density suburbs to mitigate rising Covid-19 cases.
Bulawayo has perennial water shortages, which in the past have triggered the outbreak of diarrhoea due to the use of contaminated and unclean water.
With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which requires adherence to strict hygienic standards, there are fears that the prevailing water challenges in the city could habour the disease.
In a statement, the Coca-Cola Company, said through its philanthropic arm, the Coca-Cola Foundation, awarded the US$50 000 to DanChurchAid Zimbabwe to implement the project in Bulawayo’s urban poor in selected high-density suburbs to mitigate rising Covid-19 cases.
“The funding will be used to conduct site surveys, drill six boreholes and equip the solar driven water kiosks that will provide water to families in Bulawayo,” said the company’s country director Mr Milidzani Ncube, during the cheque handover ceremony at DanChurchAid offices in Harare.
“The Coca-Cola Foundation, The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners Schweppes and Delta are proud to be responding to this water crisis that will enable more than 25 000 people to access much needed safe and clean water daily.
“Lack of access to safe water and sanitation services has direct health implications,” he said.
Globally, Mr Ncube said many children die from diarrhoea every year while most of such deaths can be prevented through access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, and good hygiene.
The six months-long project, which is scheduled for completion by June 2021 will be the second within a year after Schweppes Zimbabwe, a manufacturer and distributor of non-carbonated still beverages under licence from The Coca-Cola Company in partnership with DanChurchAid Zimbabwe provided 2 181 families with clean water in Bulawayo as part of their Covid-19 humanitarian support. –-chronicle.co.zw
