Life Challenges
57% of rural Tanzanians have no access to sanitation.
Intestinal disease accounts for ⅓ of all deaths.
1 in 2 children under 5 years old have a diarrheal illness.
Where Have We Been?
The average American household consumes approximately 350 gallons of clean water every day. In rural Tanzania the average family has access to only 14 gallons of highly polluted water every day for drinking, cooking and washing. The primary water sources are surface water, ponds, shallow wells; often polluted with fecal matter.
Through research and understanding, Village Life identified access to clean drinking water as one of the the most severe problems affecting Burere, Nyambogo, and Roche communities. Since 2009, over 500 sand filters have been installed to offer access to clean drinking water. While this is an improvement, there are approximately 10,000 families that still have no access to clean water.
Unsafe drinking water leads to sickness, disease, and sometimes even death. To continue working to serve all villagers, Village Life partnered with Engineers Without Borders (EWB) to help combat this issue by installing state-of-the-art water systems that not only provided clean drinking water, but also pumped the water to farther away sub-villages and schools. At this time, over 20 million+ liters of water have been distributed to an estimated 20,000 people across all the water systems. Due to the increased access to clean water, school enrollments have increased and there has been an estimated 40% decrease in a common parasitic disease, Schistosomiasis, in the Burere village near Lake Victoria.
Where Are We Going?
In May 2023, EWB transferred ownership of the Roche water system to the Roche Life Committee members. This means, the Roche Life Committee members have been trained, and will be responsible for, the maintenance and upkeep of the Roche community taps. Sustainability in action. Nyambogo and Burere are still working in partnership with EWB to help maintain, and improve, their water systems. Nyambogo wants to further expand their water system’s reach to other sub-villages in the near future.What Do We Need?
Access to clean drinking water is still an issue. While the burden has been drastically reduced in Burere, Nyambogo, and Roche there is always a need for continued improvement.
EWB-UC continues to fundraise to extend clean water tap stands to all sub-villages in all three partner communities. We are working to fulfill the WHO guideline that no person should be more than 1 kilometer away from a clean water source. EWB-UC consistently works on education initiatives and hopes to develop new technologies that promote sanitation and hygiene, including latrines and hand-washing stations.
CHANGEMAKERS TAKE ACTION
- Keep the Flow Going! – This program sponsors an additional water distribution point to a school.
- Don’t Stop the Flow! – This program buys replacement pumps that are used in the filling tank (lasting on average 2 years) and allows for clean water distribution.
