NMB Bank on Sunday handed over 3 000 buckets, 3 000 units of Water Guard and 120 000 litres of water to the District Health Office in Glen View to help in the fight against cholera in this Harare suburb.

The bank teamed up with the Harare City Health Department officials who addressed residents in a bid to increase awareness of the dangers of cholera and the preventative measures that should be taken to guard against it. They took time to answer questions from residents about the disease.

Handing over the items to the district medical officer, Dr George Mtahwa, at Tichagarika Shopping Centre in Glen View 3, NMB Bank marketing manager Lindiwe Thebethebe said the decision to come to Glen View with the donation had been prompted by the magnitude of the effects of cholera in the area, coupled with the appreciation of the role the bank has to play in giving back to the community.

"As NMB Bank we are here to help in fighting cholera, which continues to affect many households and has taken many lives," she said.

"We have been coming to Glen View since December last year, going round and educating people about the benefits of operating bank accounts and opening accounts for them.

"This is why, when we heard about the plight of Glen View residents and the need there is in Glen View for clean and safe water, we decided to come back today with 3 000 buckets, 3 000 units of Water Guard and 120 000 litres of water for the people of Glen View," Ms Thebethebe said.

She said the bank was working in collaboration with the district health office in Glen View, which would be responsible for distributing the buckets and Water Guard to 3 000 affected households.

The 120 000 litres of water, she said, would be delivered by NMB Bank, as and when directed by the district health office, to identified water tanks in the area from which residents could fetch the water they need.




Dr Mtahwa thanked NMB for the donation and its help in the fight against cholera, including its support for improving awareness of the disease and what people should do to prevent it spreading.

In his address to residents, he emphasised the importance of personal hygiene.

"We encourage personal hygiene at all times," he said. "There are also ways that we expect food to be handled and cooked at all times whether there is cholera or not. Eat clean food that has been cooked well and eat it whilst hot," he said.

"During this time we also expect people to desist from eating foods such as salads, as their preparation has to be done using clean water to avoid contracting such diarrhoeal diseases as cholera," he said.

He encouraged residents to treat all water regardless of its source.

Dr Mtahwa and his team took time to address the residents in groups and answer their questions about the disease and how to stay safe.
    
He said that in order to combat the disease, a centre to attend to diarrhoeal cases had been opened at Glen View Polyclinic, which is open 24 hours a day, in addition to the other health facilities around the area, all of which were  attending to cases of cholera.

Budiriro Polyclinic is also attending to diarrhoeal cases, although it is not operating 24 hours a day.

NMB Bank cholera Harare
Source: Agencies