BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – The Baphalali Eswatini Red Cross Society (BERCS) announced that it had distributed water tanks to 20 households at Dlume High School in the Ondiyaneni Chiefdom, located within the Hosea Constituency in the Shiselweni Region.
These tanks are intended to benefit approximately 100 individuals residing under the Ondiyaneni chiefdom, and they were provided as part of the preparations for the upcoming commemoration of World Water Day.
The residents of Ondiyaneni are expected to utilise these tanks for their water harvesting efforts, ensuring a consistent water supply in their homes. This year, World Water Day is celebrated under the global theme “Glacier Preservation.” The Red Cross hosted this event in collaboration with the British Red Cross, extending support through the Enhancing Livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa (ELISSA) project, which is funded by the British Red Cross in the Hosea and Sandleni Constituencies.
Lungile Zwane, the ELISSA Project Coordinator, expressed that it was appropriate to celebrate the day with the Ondiyaneni community, who have long endured chronic water shortages. She noted, “Since receiving the tanks in 2024, the community has reported a marked improvement in their ability to harvest water, resulting in an extended water supply and a significant reduction in communicable diseases such as diarrhoea.”
Zwane clarified that the global Water Day commemoration is scheduled for 22 March 2025. She explained that the current event served as a mini commemoration leading up to the national observance of the day. Malangeni Dlamini from the Rural World Water Department in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy indicated that the national commemoration of World Water Day would also take place in the Shiselweni Region.
According to UNESCO, World Water Day is an annual observance established by the United Nations (UN) on 22 March, aimed at highlighting the importance of freshwater. The day advocates for the sustainable management of freshwater resources, focusing each year on themes relevant to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), aligning with the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6. The UN World Water Development Report (WWDR) is released annually around this date.
This year’s theme emphasises the importance of glaciers, which are critical to life as their meltwater is essential for drinking, agriculture, industry, clean energy production, and healthy ecosystems. The United Nations has reported that rapidly melting glaciers are causing uncertainties in water flows, profoundly impacting both people and the planet. They stress that global reductions in carbon emissions, along with local strategies to adapt to the shrinking glaciers, are imperative. This World Water Day, they call for collective efforts to prioritise glacier preservation in our strategies to combat climate change and address the global water crisis.
