A Catholic diocese in Zimbabwe has rebuilt its own dam as part of faith-based responses to water challenges brought by climate change.Bishop Rudolf Nyandoro of the Catholic Diocese of Gweru in Zimbabwe inspects the Holy Cross Dam in a February 2024 photo. A Catholic diocese in Zimbabwe has rebuilt its own dam as part of faith-based responses to water challenges brought by climate change.
Gweru is in Midlands, one of the country’s 10 provinces that have, in recent years, experienced below average rainfall, sending agriculture production into a tailspin that has left thousands of households threatened by hunger. The government sees dams as a way to power the country’s vast irrigation infrastructure, with Mthuli Ncube, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, telling state media, “When it comes to investment in irrigation, we are going to accelerate investments now that we have the water bodies. We have to impound water. So, it’s an ongoing programme to complete dams under construction.”
“ was damaged by floods in 2008. The dam was the source of livelihood for the whole community as there was irrigation for the community, but it was no longer functional,” said Fr Kudakwashe Musvevereki, the Gweru Diocese pastoral director.