For the occasion of the World Water Day on the 22nd of March, BTC celebrated together with the Governor of Gaza Province, Mrs. Stella Pinto, and the communities of Tomanine and 7 de Abril the official inauguration of the BTC Water Supply and Sanitation Project.  

The community festivities were preceded by a tour around the premises to demonstrate the accomplishments of the project. Since 2013, BTC is successfully working on different solutions to improve water access in these remote areas and to better the quality of salty and unsafe water. For instance, BTC opted to move away from the manual pumps to install electric pumps which brings the water closer to the population through the construction of elevated water tanks and a water supply network that goes into the target villages. Where the installation of electric pumps and taps were less feasible, the innovative method of a flexible tank provides water in remote places, which is filled by trucks passing by to pick up goods. Furthermore, new water detection techniques allow to assess the quality and saltiness of the water in boreholes. As demonstrated by Governor Pinto and BTC officials, the water provided by the 130 community taps and 4 public fountains is drinkable and safe, accessible at all times and in close proximity to the houses of the local beneficiaries.              

After the official inauguration of the water supply system, the community members invited Governor Pinto and the BTC officials to celebrate World Water Day and the success of the BTC project. The ceremony was highly attended by the residents and included performances by various community groups: young school children sang about World Water Day, high school students presented an act about the importance of drinkable water and women praised the access to water. A women’s group performed a play to demonstrate their life before and after the new water supply system and applauded the comfort of the new water carriers, “the Q-drums”, which enables young and old to draw the carrier instead of lifting the buckets.                                

In her speech, Resident Representative of BTC Mozambique, Mrs. Laurence Janssens, expressed her appreciation to the Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources, the Government of the District and Province, as well as to BTC colleagues and the communities for their hard work and support. She called on them to continue their efforts, as to guarantee the sustainability of the new water supply system. Furthermore, the Resident Representative emphasized that BTC will remain active in the region with the construction of solar pumping systems in the districts of Massangena, Mabalane and Chigubo and with the implementation of desalination projects.
Mrs. Stella Pinto, Governor of Gaza Province, welcomed and thanked the communities and BTC officials for their presence on the inauguration and the celebration of World Water Day. She expressed her gratitude towards BTC and the partners in providing the communities with drinkable water, applauded the progress made by BTC in the last year and counts on the partners to continue their support. Finally, Governor Pinto called upon the community members to use the water rationally, considering the impact of climate change, as well as to take care of the infrastructure in order to ensure that funds go to the construction of new water pumps instead of reparations.  

For the around 9000 residents of these communities this project implies a significant improvement of  the quality of life, as it will reduce health problems related to drinking saline water, facilitate stable access to drinkable water and ensure food and nutrition security. Within the scope of the project, access to drinkable water has already been established for 18.000 people and more than 21% of the rural population (46.000 people) in the districts of Northern Gaza are expected to benefit from the BTC project. Due to its extensive experience in improving access to water in rural Mozambique, BTC has been praised for its innovative approach and has received much appreciation from the local population and the Mozambican partners, including President Filipe Nyusi.