VUSWENI – Grieving relatives at Vusweni waded through waist-deep, rushing water this week, carrying the body of a 10-year-old boy with their bare hands.
The boy is said to have been a resident of the community but passed on at a time when his community had been completely isolated due to the continuous rainfall. With the funeral hearse stranded on the far bank, the family had no choice but to trek over a kilometre through the river, a heartbreaking journey made after relentless rains washed away the last log bridge connecting them to the outside world. This tragic event has turned the famous siSwati phrase ‘longesheya ngu longesheya’ describing a community cut off, into a daily and devastating reality for residents of this northern Hhohho area under Ntfonjeni Inkhundla.
A river which is a tributary of the Mlumati River is now overflowing.
The boy’s death and the family’s ordeal highlighted a crisis far beyond damaged roads and ruined crops, according to some of the residents. As a farming community, residents of Vusweni were excited when the rain started but the continuous rainfall has severed the area, leaving its residents isolated and forcing them into a dangerous daily routine, crossing the river on foot. What was once a minor inconvenience is now a matter of safety, access to essential services and profound dignity.
Mandla Magagula, the Indvuna Yenkhundla of Ntfonjeni Inkhundla, confirmed the distressing incident. He stated that the situation was particularly grave for the bereaved family, who are expected to bury the deceased this weekend. Magagula is hopeful that by the time the body of the deceased boy is returned to the family for burial, they would have at least constructed a more stable bridge. He said this could cost about E5 000, money which must be paid from the family’s own pocket.
“If a temporary bridge is not fixed by then, we will have to carry the body by wading in the river,” Magagula said. He added that the only immediate alternative would be to create another makeshift bridge but noted that even this stop-gap measure would strain the community’s resources. However, he said he was willing to foot the bill as he is also one of the affected residents.
The family’s tragedy is the most acute symptom of an access failure that affects every resident in the community according to the indvuna yenkhundla. He revealed that each day, men, women and children are forced to abandon their vehicles on one side of the swollen river and venture into the water on foot. For some, particularly young children, the water is deep enough to pose a serious risk of being swept away.
Older children hike up their school uniforms, while adults navigate the current with groceries and supplies held aloft.
With schools soon to reopen, this will mean getting to school wet for some of the children, especially the smaller ones. The school is said to be located on the other side of the river.
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… chronic infrastructure deficit
VUSWENI – The crisis reveals a deeper, chronic infrastructure deficit.
Indvuna Magagula confirmed that there is no proper bridge in the community even for vehicles to cross, a fact he lives with daily. He said while the community is eager to get at least a makeshift structure, there is a need for a bridge.
“He said he also has to park his vehicle when going home and leave it on the other side of the river,” the report noted. However, Magagula said not all hope was lost. A permanent solution is in the works through Microprojects, an entity under the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development. Furthermore, a company called Luchwembe Investment, trading as Luchwembe Construction, is building a full-scale bridge at a cost of over E3 million.
In the critical short-term, with schools scheduled to reopen on January 20, Luchwembe Construction, in collaboration with the indvuna yenkhundla, is working to erect a temporary bridge for residents, especially pupils.
The plight of Vusweni is not unique in the global context of rural and remote communities. In regions with similar geography, such as the monsoon-affected areas of Southeast Asia or the floodplains of South Asia, isolated villages face identical crises annually. The international response often hinges on a tiered approach: Immediate deployment of modular, prefabricated bailey bridges by disaster agencies to restore critical access, followed by investment in raised, flood-resilient causeways or bridges as permanent infrastructure.
*Full article available on Pressreader*
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