Story by Panashe Nagoli
THE restoration of Matapi Flats in Mbare is at an advanced stage, with residents saying the rehabilitation project has restored their dignity and significantly improved living conditions.
The project, spearheaded by the ED AID1 organisation, began about three weeks ago and is targeting all 14 blocks of the three-storey hostels.
It is aimed at improving safety, sanitation and the quality of life for thousands of residents.
With pit latrines replaced by modern toilets and bathrooms rehabilitated, residents say the transformation has restored their dignity.
“We are very happy with how this project is progressing. Ever since I started living here, I have never seen anything like this. It is truly a marvel. We feel like people again now,” a resident said.
“I just came back from South Africa. I was born here, and when I arrived, I was very happy that our home now looks like this. It is truly commendable,” another resident said.
“I am an old woman, and for years I had to bathe in the full view of young people without any privacy. It was like we were living in jail, but now our dignity has been restored as well as our privacy,” another resident said.
Project Manager at ED AID1, Mr Tinotenda Pande, said the poor state of the plumbing and reticulation systems had slowed progress.
“We really underestimated how dysfunctional systems were at this place; there was literally no reticulation system to rehabilitate. We have also been delayed by the movement of people in and out and, at times, by residents using facilities that have not been fully completed,” he said.
The refurbishment also includes tiling, painting, glazing windows, paving and installing protective window mesh and lighting.
Project Manager at ED AID1, Mr Prince Munangwa, said the remaining works are designed to improve safety and the overall environment.
“We are going to put glaze on all the windows, pave the exterior, tile the interior and install mesh on the windows to protect little children. We are also putting in lights because all that infrastructure was dilapidated,” he said.
The ED AID1 organisation says the project forms part of its broader programme to strengthen communities through job creation, local economic development and targeted social support initiatives in and around Mbare.
