On our 7th day in Tanzania, we began the big and somewhat complicated project of drilling a borehole for a water well on the Mdori school’s property in between the primary and secondary school which will service 800 kids in total (but even more if you consider how they will be able to take water home to their families during lunch and after school).
ROAM Humanitarian was lucky enough to get a private donation in order to facilitate the well. While there were a lot of moving parts in this process, we worked with Africompassion and the Village Drill to dig this huge crater into the ground where a water well now sits! A water filtration system is always the first attainable step, but a well is the ultimate, most long-lasting and impactful end goal for long-term access to clean water.
We had our expedition volunteers experience what it’s like to take the daily long walk to water when a well isn’t available. It is a hot, dusty, long (and sometimes dangerous for the girls) walk. When you arrive at the source (in this case, a small spring) digging is an essential component to reaching deep enough to get to the water; one must dig, dig, dig, then wait as the water wells up enough to fill part of a jug. This process is slow and requires a lot of time to fill just one bucket or jug, and unfortunately, the water is still murky and dirty at best.
This day was also special because we got to do a Days for Girls curriculum training for the Mdori school girls and distribute feminine hygiene kits that will enable them to continue to attend school (instead of missing a week every month) when they’re on their cycle. Education is so crucial for these young girls, and missing 25% of it per month as they have been, is detrimental.
We won’t long forget this particular day where so much long-term, directly impactful good was done! Thank you to everyone who was a part of it.
