Empowering Women with Water
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At Energy For All, we are dedicated to alleviating poverty by increasing people’s access to clean water, renewable energy and improved waste-water infrastructure. Our projects support climate resilience, gender equality and economic growth for a cleaner and brighter tomorrow. Please visit energyforall.ca for details about this and past projects.
Energy for All (E4A) is excited to support a new water infrastructure and sanitation project in rural Tanzania. New water infrastructure will serve to supply fresh, clean and safe drinking water to the villages of Msitu wa Tembo and Londoto in the Manyara region, Tanzania. This project will improve water availability and quality and thereby transform the lives of 20,000 men, women and children. Energy for All is collaborating with TATU Project, a Tanzanian non-profit organisation, to install the new water well and water infrastructure within the two villages.
Tanzania, with an estimated 52 million people, is the largest country in East Africa. According to Water Aid, approximately 85% of people living there do not have access to safe drinking water. Yet a report prepared by Tanzania Poverty and Human Development suggests that Tanzania has adequate water resources for every citizen. The Food and Agriculture Organisation determined that in 2007 there was 2,291.2 metres cubed of renewable water resources for every citizen. Tanzanian water shortages occur due to uneven water distribution over time and space, the country’s inadequate natural and artificial water storage capacity and the infancy of national water management institutions.
E4A was approached by TATU Project in 2016 and asked to assess water quality and availability in Msitu wa Tembo and Londoto. TATU Project facilitates sustainable development projects together with the community members of the villages. A preliminary water study conducted by members of the E4A team confirmed difficult water access and poor water quality in the villages. Many people walk for an hour or more to a water source every day. Fetching water is usually the responsibility of women and girls, who carry it in buckets and jugs balanced on their head. This daily routine often keeps women and girls from valuable opportunities such as school and work.
Water sources in the villages contain unacceptable water-fluoride concentrations. Water exceeding 1.5 parts per million (ppm) of fluoride is unfit for human consumption according to the World Health Organisation. 1.5 to 3 ppm fluoride levels will over time cause tooth brittleness known as fluorosis. Concentrations ranging from 4 to 8 ppm will over time result in bone brittleness and deformation called skeletal fluorosis. The fluoride is naturally occurring in much of Tanzania because of mica, apatite and fluorite minerals which make up Tanzania’s geology.
Our Solution
Energy for All, TATU Project and members of the local villages are going to install a water well and related infrastructure which will draw up to 30,000 litres of fresh, clean drinking water in Msitu wa Tembo and Londoto daily. The following is a list of the major material components:
• Bore hole drilled to 150 metres
• Well infrastructure and pump
• 100-watt solar panel
• 12 volt deep cycle batteries
• Electric motor
• Storage tank of 1,000 metres cubed
• Piping to water access points
In addition to assisting with project installation, local technicians within the Water Committee will be trained in the operation and maintenance of the well. This will create local jobs and ensure that the project is self-sustaining in the long term. The project materials will be sourced from local manufacturers in support of the local economy. In conjunction with the new water well, Energy For All and TATU Project will conduct water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) training. The WASH workshops teach locals about a variety of issues including open defecation and water conservation.
Risks and Challenges
Due to Tanzania’s complex geology, it is sometimes difficult to confidently predict where fluoride-free aquifers exist. With the possibility of fluoride in our new water well, E4A is prepared to treat water-fluoride using alum and lime. This will bring water-fluoride concentrations down to acceptable levels for drinking.
To assist in the water well development is Integrated Sustainability. This Calgary-based company has seven year's experience in industrial water infrastructure development in Canada and parts of the United States. They will be providing engineering and geological expertise in Tanzania free of charge for the duration of well installation.
Msitu wa Tembo and Londoto continue to struggle with poverty. TATU Project has a comprehensive approach to community development with a focus on improving five problem areas. These include access to water, health, education, environmental practises and marginalisation of women. As our project unfolds, each of these issues will be addressed. The new water well and the WASH training will improve access to water, health and education and environmental practises in Msitu wa Tembo and Londoto. Perhaps the most significant change will be in lifestyles of women and girls. With a water well in place, many woman and girls will be freed up to partake in work and school activities when they previously spent time gathering water for their households. Further to their empowerment are opportunities to take on water and other civic management roles. TATU Project has worked with local women to facilitate women's empowerment with two key programs—WE Grow and WE Thrive. In WE Grow, women will be empowered toward personal growth in their homes and in their society. In WE Thrive, women are empowered with skills to take on financial independence and foster their entrepreneurial spirit.
We thank every donor for their kind support. Every dollar makes a difference.
Energy for All (E4A) is excited to support a new water infrastructure and sanitation project in rural Tanzania. New water infrastructure will serve to supply fresh, clean and safe drinking water to the villages of Msitu wa Tembo and Londoto in the Manyara region, Tanzania. This project will improve water availability and quality and thereby transform the lives of 20,000 men, women and children. Energy for All is collaborating with TATU Project, a Tanzanian non-profit organisation, to install the new water well and water infrastructure within the two villages.
Tanzania, with an estimated 52 million people, is the largest country in East Africa. According to Water Aid, approximately 85% of people living there do not have access to safe drinking water. Yet a report prepared by Tanzania Poverty and Human Development suggests that Tanzania has adequate water resources for every citizen. The Food and Agriculture Organisation determined that in 2007 there was 2,291.2 metres cubed of renewable water resources for every citizen. Tanzanian water shortages occur due to uneven water distribution over time and space, the country’s inadequate natural and artificial water storage capacity and the infancy of national water management institutions.
E4A was approached by TATU Project in 2016 and asked to assess water quality and availability in Msitu wa Tembo and Londoto. TATU Project facilitates sustainable development projects together with the community members of the villages. A preliminary water study conducted by members of the E4A team confirmed difficult water access and poor water quality in the villages. Many people walk for an hour or more to a water source every day. Fetching water is usually the responsibility of women and girls, who carry it in buckets and jugs balanced on their head. This daily routine often keeps women and girls from valuable opportunities such as school and work.
Water sources in the villages contain unacceptable water-fluoride concentrations. Water exceeding 1.5 parts per million (ppm) of fluoride is unfit for human consumption according to the World Health Organisation. 1.5 to 3 ppm fluoride levels will over time cause tooth brittleness known as fluorosis. Concentrations ranging from 4 to 8 ppm will over time result in bone brittleness and deformation called skeletal fluorosis. The fluoride is naturally occurring in much of Tanzania because of mica, apatite and fluorite minerals which make up Tanzania’s geology.
Our Solution
Energy for All, TATU Project and members of the local villages are going to install a water well and related infrastructure which will draw up to 30,000 litres of fresh, clean drinking water in Msitu wa Tembo and Londoto daily. The following is a list of the major material components:
• Bore hole drilled to 150 metres
• Well infrastructure and pump
• 100-watt solar panel
• 12 volt deep cycle batteries
• Electric motor
• Storage tank of 1,000 metres cubed
• Piping to water access points
In addition to assisting with project installation, local technicians within the Water Committee will be trained in the operation and maintenance of the well. This will create local jobs and ensure that the project is self-sustaining in the long term. The project materials will be sourced from local manufacturers in support of the local economy. In conjunction with the new water well, Energy For All and TATU Project will conduct water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) training. The WASH workshops teach locals about a variety of issues including open defecation and water conservation.
Risks and Challenges
Due to Tanzania’s complex geology, it is sometimes difficult to confidently predict where fluoride-free aquifers exist. With the possibility of fluoride in our new water well, E4A is prepared to treat water-fluoride using alum and lime. This will bring water-fluoride concentrations down to acceptable levels for drinking.
To assist in the water well development is Integrated Sustainability. This Calgary-based company has seven year's experience in industrial water infrastructure development in Canada and parts of the United States. They will be providing engineering and geological expertise in Tanzania free of charge for the duration of well installation.
Msitu wa Tembo and Londoto continue to struggle with poverty. TATU Project has a comprehensive approach to community development with a focus on improving five problem areas. These include access to water, health, education, environmental practises and marginalisation of women. As our project unfolds, each of these issues will be addressed. The new water well and the WASH training will improve access to water, health and education and environmental practises in Msitu wa Tembo and Londoto. Perhaps the most significant change will be in lifestyles of women and girls. With a water well in place, many woman and girls will be freed up to partake in work and school activities when they previously spent time gathering water for their households. Further to their empowerment are opportunities to take on water and other civic management roles. TATU Project has worked with local women to facilitate women's empowerment with two key programs—WE Grow and WE Thrive. In WE Grow, women will be empowered toward personal growth in their homes and in their society. In WE Thrive, women are empowered with skills to take on financial independence and foster their entrepreneurial spirit.
We thank every donor for their kind support. Every dollar makes a difference.
Organizer
Ian Perry
Organizer
Calgary, AB
