Mxxxxxx B Borehole Project – Tanzania

This project is made possible through the partnership of WATER CHARITY and the NATIONAL PEACE CORPS ASSOCIATION.

 Location
This project summary has been redacted for security reasons to omit the specific project location.

Mxxxxxx B, Masasi District, Mtwara Region, Tanzania

Community Description
The community of Mxxxxxx consists of two separate villages, Mxxxxxx A and Mxxxxxx B. Within these two villages is a primary school, two shops, and about 900 homes. Most of the community members are subsistence farmers whose yearly income is once a year from cashew sales to the government.

It is an amazing community, where the people gladly help and take care of each other. Most go to the farm around 4:30 in the morning due to the heat of the day. Even with the harsh savanna tropical climate they always find a reason to be cheerful and have fun.

Problem Addressed
The region experiences a fairly short rainy season from December till April. During the remaining 7 months, there is very little rain and the current shallow well does not fulfill the community’s water needs.

Many community members are forced to purchase water from a neighboring village over 10km away at an expensive price. It is very common during the dry season for community members to be passing out due to heat exhaustion and lack of water consumption.

Project Description
This project is to drill a borehole in Mxxxxxx B.

In early October of 2017, the community members of Mxxxxxx had a team of water engineers from the Ruvuma Basin Drilling Company come and use the electric copper wire method for finding water. The data found two locations with an abundance of water that is located 30 yards outside of the village center. Both locations have an estimated drilling depth of 70m.

The engineers have purposed using a DTH (Air Hammer) method for digging. Because of the thickness of the aquifers and main use of the boreholes, the final borehole diameter should be no less than 5”.

The drilling, testing, and installation of the pump will be done by the drilling company, in accordance with the location, depth, and improvements approved by the community.

Purchase/transportation of materials, the building of a concrete water catchment basin, and regular maintenance and upkeep will be done by the community under the direction of Mxxxxxx Water Conservation (MWC), a water conservation group formed in the village.

Project Impact
3,000 people will benefit from the project.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
M. Valenti

Monitoring and Maintenance
The drilling and installation company will conduct a multi-day seminar on proper routine well maintenance as well as help the village create a maintenance schedule.

MWC will be in charge of collecting 50 Tanzanian Shillings per bucket, to be saved for use on the routine maintenance, as well as to have available for repairs. The goal of the money collected is to eventually save enough to build a pump well at the second location.

The community has also taken the lead on planning and fundraising for this project, amounting to about 25% of the project cost, in order to take ownership of the pump. The Shillings will be recorded into a ledger daily that will also be used to show daily well use. The community has also explored several other options about obtaining water and know-how serious of an issue their lack of water is.

Let Girls Learn
The new water pump is located a lot closer than the shallow well or other areas where water is found. The bulk of the water gathering duties, at home and at school, will still fall on the girls. However, the proximity of the well and the abundance of water will allow the girls to spend more time in the classroom.

Fundraising Target
$5,600

Funds raised in excess of the project amount will be allocated to other projects in the country.

Donations Collected to Date
$0

ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF THE PROJECT

Donations of any amount will be appreciated. The full amount will give you “naming rights”, if that is something you would like.

Dollar Amount Needed
$5,600