Bringing the rain to those in need

It’s common knowledge that water is essential for survival. Lesser known, perhaps, is the multitude of water-related problems faced by people in areas without adequate water supplies such as Tabora. The few shallow wells, lakes and rivers that provide the local population with water are often contaminated with viruses and bacteria that cause deadly diseases such as diarrhoea and typhoid fever. In developing countries such as Tanzania, the second greatest child killer in rural areas is diarrhoea, causing over one and half million deaths each year.

In many cases, families cannot afford supplies to sterilise their water, whether they be water purification tablets, water filtration systems, or stoves and fuel for boiling water. Just as often, they simply don’t understand the importance of sanitation and clean water. This is why one of the main aims of Raincatcher, aside from building rainwater harvesting tanks, is to educate the local population on effective hygiene and sanitation.

Even when municipal water supplies are drinkable, they are often extremely expensive and unaffordable to the majority of the population. Some of the poorest people in Tanzania spend 10% of their income just on buying water at inflated prices.

Aside from the risk of water supplies being unsafe to drink, the sheer time taken to collect water from wells and ground water supplies, often located many miles away from villages, leads to many harmful long-term consequences.

It’s not uncommon for women and children to have to walk several hours every day to collect water from distant supplies. Walk in the day and endure the searing heat of the African sun; walk at night and risk being attacked or sexually assaulted in the darkness.

The hours spent queuing up for water and carrying it home is time that should be spent going to school. It’s time that should be spent taking care of a family. It’s time that should be spent on work, earning money to support a home.

Education is a vital step in breaking the poverty cycle, contributing to the population’s economic sustainability. Proper schooling is seen as one of the most effective methods for combatting HIV and AIDS, as well as for promoting gender equality. Constructing our water tanks near schools has the advantage of giving parents an incentive to send their children to school to receive a decent education.

In short, free and easy access to clean water is of paramount importance in alleviating the water crisis in Tabora – not just by providing drinking water for the local population, but also through the many opportunities that present themselves with the help of an improved water supply.

To find out more about Raincatcher Imperial, or to donate money to us through Virgin Money Giving, visit www.raincatcherimperial.org. Any contribution, however small, will go directly to our project in Tabora!