The Kesari Dam Reconstruction, Irrigation and Clean Water Project
The Kesari Dam Reconstruction, Irrigation and Clean Water project has now been completed. The Zimbabwe Medical project partnered in a Rotary Foundation Global Grant under the sponsorship of US Rotary Clubs of Knoxville, Morristown Noon, Rogersville, Morristown Breakfast, Jefferson City and Rotary Club of Bulawayo South along with Rotary Districts 6780 and 6170 (East Tennessee and Arkansas) and multiple individual private donors.
Climate change has intensified both the the severity and duration of the cyclical rainfall patterns in Central Africa and leaves individual villages and families extremely vulnerable to the food insecurity and famines associated with drought. This project was approved in 2015 and completed in 2020. The dam now provides desperately needed water for livestock and domestic use and has provided water to enable to a large irrigation scheme below the dam. The new capacity of the dam has beeen increased to 86 000 m3 by raising the dam wall over a metre and the size of the irrigation scheme is 12500 m2. A newly renovated borehole below the dam provides clean potable water for drinking from a solar powered borehole . The community took an active part in identifying and surveying the irrigation site and in clearing the dam wall of the facing rock prior to reconstruction and replacing the rock on the upstream wall after reconstruction of the wall. A community project committee that was actively involved in the planning and execution of the dam renovation is continuing to monitor and oversee the subsequent upkeep of the dam and irrigation area. A new brick making operation has been established next to the dam using water from the dam to make bricks that are being used in reconstruction of the nearby clinic. The residents of Manyane village in Matobo District comprise a total of 380 adults and 1020 children.
