27/07/2026
Eboleni Community Garden | Ward 16, Nkayi
Named after one of Nkayi's beloved indigenous trees, Eboleni is one of HEFO's most promising community centres, and its story of transformation is just beginning.
For years, the women of Eboleni walked between 2 and 3km to Dakamela Hospital borehole, balancing 20-litre buckets on their heads, twice a day. Others braved the steep banks of the Shangani River. Even after all that effort, there was still never quite enough water for their homes.
Today, that story has changed.
A newly installed solar-powered borehole now serves 56 garden participants, and the impact is already visible in daily life:
"Now I can fetch as much water as I need, bathe more than once a day, and still have time to focus on my baking income-generating project," says Ms Barbara Sibanda, smiling with gratitude.
What makes Eboleni truly special is the spirit behind it. This wasn't handed to the community, it was built with them. Residents contributed their own funds for cables, cement, and materials to protect the solar pump. They've since launched a community livelihood garden and are now digging a 200m pipeline to livestock troughs and a 500m pipeline to the nearest homestead, extending water access even further.
And it doesn't stop at infrastructure.
Pictured above, HEFO Field Officer Nkosilathi "Thamu" Chinhara trains the Eboleni Water and Garden Committee on water management and governance, building the local knowledge that will keep this resource thriving for generations.
This is what happens when communities are trusted with resources and ownership: real, lasting transformation.
Eboleni is proof of what's possible, and a glimpse of what more communities across Nkayi could achieve with continued support.
