Five new wells and rope pumps for 5 schools and villages in rural Tanzania
Thanks to funding from the Network for Social Change, we will bring boreholes and locally made rope pumps to 5 villages and schools in Kasulu, Kigoma, Tanzania. This will benefit over 6000 students who currently carry dirty water from streams and ponds up to 3 km.
Mboni ya Vijana, our local partner in Kasulu, runs a self-help scheme. The local community members provide most of the labour. However, they lack the cash for materials and equipment hire, so this funding covers the cost. The technology (shallow wells with rope hand pumps) is low-cost, simple, and easy to maintain. In fact, there is a proven local project management system run by a local representative who lives nearby, Benedicto Hosea. He assessed the location and estimates the max depth needed to be 30 m.
CHALLENGE
Access to water is a huge issue in many villages in Tanzania. This means that people (usually women) spend many hours a day carrying it many miles, often from dirty ponds shared with animals. This not only has a negative impact on their educational achievement and income, these long walks put girls at risk of attack when they are walking home alone. In addition, using dirty water has many health implications.
SOLUTION
A local representative, Benedicto Hosea, who has lived in this area all his life, has perfected a technique for accessing clean water. This involves local youth using simple equipment to hand drill down to the water table over several days and then install a rope pump they have made themselves. This means the pump can be maintained by the villagers.
“Previously we had to spend a many hours a day carrying water from the stream, we thank God we no longer have to do that and can concentrate better on our studies.”
Grace, student, Kazamwenda School
IMPACT
Bringing water to these villages will allow students, and particularly girls, to spend much more time on their studies, and so improve their educational performance and long term prospects. It will also enable local women to improve their farms and start small businesses with the time they will save. The long term positive impacts on the health are numerous, benefitting over 6,200 people, particularly children who are currently at particular risk of water-borne diseases.
“Having water here has really helped the students and staff, and attendance has risen sharply. We are so grateful for this.”
Headteacher, Murufiti School