The water shortage is still a very big problem in South Africa, especially in the rural areas. Although Matsila is situated about 45 kilometres out of Louis Trichardt and is the biggest town in the Vhembe district municipality, the community there still struggles to get water.

Although there are taps in the streets, the community say they rarely get water as they access it on certain days per week. Because of this problem, women and young children are forced to do their washing at the Tshikali River.

Some of these children, Mutshidzi Ligege (13) and Caswell Muduvhadzi (11), always go to the Tshikali River to do their washing on weekends, as there is not enough water collected during the week at their homes. The boys, who are pupils at Matsila Primary, say they are aware of the dangers facing their lives when they do washing in a river that is far from their homes.

“There is nothing we can do. Our parents asked us to help them by doing our own washing as there is too much work to do at home. This is no longer a problem to us. We have been doing this for quite some time now. Even other children also do the same, so we are used to it,” says Mutshidzi.

Another community member, Patricia Gezani, said: “It is not as if we do not love our children, but washing at the river is the only solution as we do not have enough water here. Sometimes we can go for a whole week without getting water, which means we must preserve the little water we have for cooking while we rely on river water for washing and bathing. Life is very difficult here. We hope that things will change for the better soon,” said Gezani.

Meanwhile, Dr Nozizwe Makgalemela, the acting Director General of Rural Development and Land Reform, said the launching of the Public Private Partnership on Rural Development Programme in the village of Ha-Matsila on Saturday would solve the problem of water shortage and other challenges in the area. Makgalemela said the department had prioritized rural development, especially in Limpopo, to address issues like water shortage and sanitation in the rural areas.

Makgalemela said: “Although water is a problem in this area, there is enough underground water from the local river that we can use to supply clean water to the community."