Madutle village water and sanitation project

Madutle village has a population of 842 people. Few live through subsistence farming, some are women whose men work in neighboring towns, others are elderly dependent on pensions. The people and their livestock shared water from a single source. The villagers, mostly children, had to walk 1.2 km to fetch water. The water was exposed to pollution creating an unhealthy situation aggravated by poor sanitation. The objective was the provision of easily accessible water and acceptable sanitation. There was a need to overcome the culture of non-payment for services adopted during the apartheid era which attitude is continuing. It was imperative that the community took ownership of the asset, pay for the operation and maintenance of the water system and maintain the VIPs provided.