China's enduring support to Zimbabwe

Beijing has begun to strengthen its assistance on resilience building

HARARE - China has a long history of lending support to Zimbabwe in times of need. It has continued to provide unwavering support to the country in many areas of development including agriculture, energy, water and infrastructure.

But what has been more striking about China's support to Zimbabwe in recent years has been its emphasis on people-centered aid that directly benefits those in disadvantaged rural communities.

Cognizant of the adage "give a man fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime", China, apart from donating food aid to the needy, has begun to strengthen its resilience building assistance in recent years to enhance the capacity of vulnerable communities in Zimbabwe to cope with climate-induced shocks.

One such project that has the potential to alleviate hunger and build sustainable communities is the half-a-million dollars weir, nutrition garden and orchard project that was handed over to the Shauke community in Zvishavane District by the Chinese government in August.

Funded by China, the project is being spearheaded by the United Nations World Food Program in partnership with its implementing local agency, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency Zimbabwe.

According to the WFP, the Shauke project will support improved crop and livestock production and water access by the community in the semiarid Zvishavane district, 340 kilometers south of Harare.

The dam's construction started in June and is set for completion in December.

China's support toward improving the livelihoods of poor, rural communities in Zimbabwe by providing them with easy access to water is one viable way of fighting hunger and poverty in the country.

Worst drought

In 2016, Zimbabwe was hit by its worst drought in 30 years, which left a quarter of the rural population in need of food aid. The El Nino-induced drought devastated harvests, killed thousands of cattle and caused several dams to dry up.

There was a critical shortage of water for people in both urban and rural areas, with the population and small provincial towns being the hardest hit after dams supplying them with water dried up.

In light of this, Chinese firm China Jiangxi International Corporation swiftly responded to the dire situation and intensified borehole drilling in some of the affected areas.

One such area which benefited is Rushinga District north of Harare, one of the driest areas in Zimbabwe.

Rushinga district administrator Hebert Mandizvidza thanked the Chinese government for the assistance, saying the boreholes would alleviate water shortages and help improve access to clean water by people in the district.

"This is so superb, so beautiful," Mandizvidza said as water started gushing out at a borehole site that had just been completed by the Chinese firm.

"As you can see, villagers are quite happy because they will have easy access to clean water for them and their livestock," he said.

Xinhua

(China Daily 11/29/2017 page11)