Water for Tanzania

Women carrying water on their heads -- photo snapped as we drove by them. We saw countless women and children involved in this daily task.

One of the greatest needs in Tanzania is access to clean water for those living in poverty, including urban and rural dwellers.  Rural village women & children walk from 2 to 5 miles each day fetching water.  No time is left for these women to seek gainful employment or pursue entrepeneurial income-producing endeavors.  And, many children are kept out of school because they're needed to help with this daily water task.

This is not a mere problem of inconvenience. The impact of  access to fresh, clean water is enormous, beyond survival and disease prevention. When water is readily available, children can attend school, and women can contribute to improving the economic status of their families.

Individual travelers to Tanzania have found it costs surprisingly little to bring water to remote villages, as in the case of Jackson's client (see post: Village Water Story)  

There are also organizations such as Water Aid that do what they can to raise funds for this cause.  
There's more to this story, and Water Aid's website puts it all into persepective very well!

Our Etsy store, Jambo Creations, is our attempt to raise funds for this cause.

On a personal note, I was annoyed the other day when my microwave blew a fuse. How inconvenient! I now had to heat my soup in a pot on the stove, and then wash the pot.  As I rinsed the pot and put it in the dishwasher,  I pictured ladies in Tanzania with buckets on their heads.  It made me laugh and feel embarrassed at the same time. We take so much for granted.

Safari Day 2: Makuyuni Primary School

Jambo Creations was born at the breakfast table as Karen and I chatted about how much impact small investments can have in cultures such as Tanzania's.  Karen was particularly impressed with how Jackson's "Village Water Project" had enabled children to attend school.

Given that education is the primary force behind individual achievement and lifting third world economies out of poverty, we were keen to see a typical school on our way to today's
destination, Lake Manyara National Park.  

Child helping his family instead of attending school.

So, as we jumped into the Land Cruiser and made our request, Clamian proposed to visit Makayuni Primary School.  Located in the countryside miles out of Arusha, it serves poor village communities, mostly Masai but a bit of a melting pot that reflects the unified tribal cultures of Tanzania.  Most of all, it reflects the dedication of the teachers as well as the genuine desire of families to give their children the tools to improve their futures.

Clamian greeted by personnel of school

Samwel Sarikikyu, headmaster. We chat with him about the challenges facing his school.

The kids greet us. They sit 3 to a desk.

 

Samwel explains the shortage of textbooks

One textbook is shared by 3-4 desks

Samwel knows how to hold the kids attention



Karen confers with Samwel



Lou & Clamian look on



Smaller kids sit 4 to a desk

One textbook shared by 8-12 students

There's no money to repair these desks

Kids swarm around us to see their faces in our cameras, shrieking and giggling with delight.

Safari Day 1: Village Water Story

Our safari tour in Tanzania began with a day trip to the Arusha National Park. Our foursome piled into Warrior Trails Land Cruiser with Jackson at the wheel.

Our ride

The gorgeous park scenery and wildlife gave us a taste of what was to come in the following days. 

We were also intrigued by glimpses of daily life & culture we saw along the roads. 

Beautiful Masai boy 

One thing that caught our eye was the countless women and many children transporting water in buckets, either carried on their heads or in donkey-powered carts. 

We queried our guide, Jackson, about it while picnicking at lunchtime.

Jackson telling us Village Water Story. From left: Bob, Karen, Lou, Jackson

He explained that fetching water was a daily task for most village and low-income women & children. Until 5 years ago, this included his own mother who lives in the village where he grew up. Thanks to a client who didn't like that Jackson's mom walked miles daily for water, the woman funded a contract to provide running water to the entire village.  The impact was huge: Not only did it make life easier, but it freed up the village kids to attend school. I asked Jackson what the project cost. He told me it totaled $5000.00 US dollars.  Our minds reeled that such a small monetary investment could so dramatically improve lives & futures of an entire village.

Jet-lagged and restless that night, I pondered Jackson's story. Perhaps I could apply my artistic & online marketing skills to create an income stream for high-impact projects like this "Village Water Project."  Sharing the idea with Karen over breakfast, she immediately committed to partnering up with me to make this happen.

Breakfast at Arumero River Lodge

As we set out for day 2 of our safari tour, Clamian joined Jackson in the front seat of the Land Cruiser,

Clamian Kitesho, founder of Warrior Trails Safari Tour

and we asked if we could stop by a public school to drop off a gift of sports equipment the Schrey's had brought with them.  This visit fueled our passion for our new endeavor.   

School headmaster, Sanyo, is flanked by my husband Lou (left) on the other side by

 Bob, me, & Karen 

I'll detail that visit to Makayuni Primary School in my next post.