Water and Sanitation Programmes in Tanzania

pproximately 26,500 Tanzanians, including 18,500 children under five, die each year from diarrheal disease from poor Water and Sanitation habits. (According to World Bank’s data, 2018).

Habitat for Humanity has been working since 1986 on improving the standard of living of low-income families in the country. This has been done via the construction of decent homes with proper water and sanitation facilities.

Sangara Village

Can you imagine that there are only eight hand water pumps in your district? And you need to fetch fresh water for cleaning and cooking because there is no water tap in your house? Can you imagine walking five kilometers across a hilly village to get to the nearest water point? – Only to frequently wait in large queues before carrying a full bucket on your head all the way back home?

This used to be the everyday reality for the Sangara village residents in Tanzania. That was, until they decided to pioneer a new solution that would allow them to expand their water network.

“Before, we used to fetch water at our neighbour’s place which was 400 meters from school premises. Depending on the queues at the water source, it took about 30 minutes to one hour to fetch water.” Hashimu Hamis, Head Teacher, Sangara Chini, Babati.

Habitat for Humanity worked with partners and developed a project to bring safe water to Sangara residents.

Before, access to water in Sangara was less than 20%. Out of eight hand pumps used by 2000 people, only six were working. To cover both the maintenance and construction of new modern water points pumped by solar technology, the project combined a prepay system, a grant and a loan that residents can afford.

The loan model, which was proposed by Habitat for Humanity, is based on a revolving fund mechanism. Whereby, the revenue collected by people purchasing water is reinvested in the same community.

The community can then decide to invest this fund into improving its housing conditions or other infrastructure elements.

Click on the video below to find out how life changed for the residents in Sangara.

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