By BRIAN HATYOKA-
WOMEN stone crushers in Livingstone’s Ngwenya Township have asked Government and other well-wishers to help them with crushing machines to improve their businesses and ultimately reduce poverty levels in the area.
Gladys Ngoma, who spoke on behalf of other stone crushers, said most women stone crushers were bread winners hence their request to Government and other well wishers to help them with appropriate crushing machines.
Speaking in an interview in Ngwenya Township yesterday, Ms Ngoma said most women usually injured themselves because they were using their bare hands to crush the stones.
“As you have seen here, most stone crushers are women and they are all using bare hands to crush stones.
“We are asking the Government and other well wishers to give us crushing machines so that we empower ourselves economically through stone crushing,” Ms Ngoma said.
Another stone crusher, Brenda Mwileli, said crushing machines would go a long way in improving the lives of women who were already doing something to earn their living.
Ms Mwileli said women did not want to beg for food and hence they were crushing stones to support their families.
She also called for the construction of public toilets in the area as most residents were using the nearby bush to answer the call of nature.
Last week, Livingstone District Commissioner Omar Munsanje handed over the first-ever 20 dry toilets constructed for Ngwenya individual households.
Livingstone Green Initiative, an organisation which also makes bricks from recycled bottles, constructed the toilets.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Mr Munsanje said he was happy that a solution of been found to sanitation problems which were affecting the people of Ngwenya for many years.
“For us as Government, we are happy that the solution has been found to the biggest sanitation problem in Ngwenya Township.
The people of Ngwenya are today proud to see something they have never seen in 50 years and this is a golden jubilee gift to them,” Mr Munsanje said.
He said the Government was working hard to partner with the private sector to address various challenges affecting the community.
Livingstone Green Initiative director Willen Colenbrander said his organisation was committed to alleviating sanitation problems in the area.
Mr Colenbrander said his organisation was prompted to construct dry toilets in the areas after noticing that residents were using the nearby bush to answer the call of nature.