A transcript of a speech by the village head of Nalituya in September 2009:

“Thank you very much for visiting us, especially those who have come for the first time. Even those who came before thank you very much for still being willing to see Nalituya. The village thanks Village Water UK and Village Water Mongu [a regional office of Village Water Zambia] for working together, and thank you very much for the help you have done to initiate the Rotary club people to bring water in our village.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. We have done a lot of sanitation activities so that our children and ourselves can stay healthy. We have constructed latrines, we have produced a rota where we have been cleaning the pump surrounding and washing the slab every day. Even us as men have built the shelter you have seen and the fence around the pump. From what you have given us, from what we have learnt from Village Water that is what we have done. And in our households according to the maintenance of our pump we have discussed and agreed we are contributing 2,000 kwacha per household per month so that we can prepare ourselves for the maintenance of the pump.

"Again, the Village Water people they are wonderful. They have initiated the training of two members from our community here to be maintaining our pump whenever there is a break down and we are very, very happy with that activity. Adding to what I just said, last year we initiated a vegetable garden which has so far given us a bit of money which is giving us all the encouragement and the power, even if our pump today, if the seals finish or if the pump breaks down we have money which are having in hand to go to Kaoma and buy spare parts. Since you have empowered us with all the skills of maintaining and using the pump.

"To add on that, we still have a lot activities to do. This year, the year 2009, we are going to plough 3 hectares of rice for the maintenance of our pump, so that this money should not only be for spare parts but it should also help the people who are not able in our village, especially those who are sick, elderly people, those without parents – the orphans – sometimes we buy them books for when they go to school.

"That is what the Nalituya community have done after receiving that wonderful gift. We are really thankful because without this pump we were not going to have all this development we are telling you today. It has even brought us together and taught everyone to work together in all developmental activities. In Nalituya we are number one! With the help of the clean safe water we have forgotten about diarrhea and dysentery cases which we had before. Last month when I went to the rural health centre where we all go from here i checked on the data of my village and it was found out that there was not even one case of diarrhea, so the help of Village Water has really done a tremendous job. We say thank you very much and don’t end here. ”

The head's speech was translated by Albertina, one of the Village Water Zambia community workers. See the video of this speech.