For many years, Limpopo was known to many of the “home of rain”, mainly due to the presence of the legendary Rain Queen.

Things have now changed and a scarcity of water has hit the province. The Greater Giyani Municipality recently partnered the religious community during a ceremony to pray for rain.

“The shortage of rain has contributed towards water scarcity and is affecting the entire municipality. Our two main sources of water, the Nsami and Middle Letaba Dams are at low levels of 0,9% and 22% respectively,” said the Greater Giyani Municipality's spokesperson, Mr Sizeka Mabunda.

He also quoted from the Bible to emphasize the power of prayer and said the community should humble themselves before God.

Thousands of people attended the prayer session, which was conducted by internationally renowned pastor Irine Tshifhiwa of Christian Worship Centre, based at Manini.

Many communities who were getting water from the Middle Letaba Dam are no longer getting any. Villages like Nkurhi, Shihosani, Nhombelani, and Dumela are forced to hire vehicles to travel to places like Malamulele and Vuwani, looking for water.