Mhepai Primary School Rainwater Catchment Project – Tanzania

Location
Village of Mhepai, Songea District, Ruvuma Region, Tanzania

Community Description
Mhepai is a small rural village in the Ruvuma Region of Tanzania. The village has a population of around 1,000 members, with 475 of those attending primary school.

Every year the villagers of Mhepai ready themselves for the three to four months of rain they will receive from December to March in order to plant and harvest the crops they will use as income for the rest of the year.

Mhepai Primary School has its own farm, which the students tend. Once the rains end, work for the students to collect water for several purposes increases tremendously. Because of a lack of nearby water sources, the bathrooms at the school are most often left without water for sanitation purposes, and often girls will even leave school to go home in order to use the bathroom.

In addition, tending to the grounds of the school and its fruit garden require water to be delivered periodically for watering purposes. This errand sends students some distance away to fetch water, often taking up much of the time when they would be in classes.

Project Description
This project is to build a rainwater catchment system at the primary school.

Gutters will be built along both sides of one of the school buildings, using the tin roof to catch water. The water will then be piped to a large 3,000-liter tank on an elevated stand.

Skilled carpenters and masons from the village have been identified to accomplish this project. The price for the work to build the gutters and the stand has been reduced in order the keep the project within budget. This gives the school the ability to purchase a larger tank.

The students of the school will supply the mason with bricks from a local abandoned village building, which they have been given permission to take free of charge, to use for the base.

The gutters and piping, and other materials, as well as the tank itself, will be bought using funds from Water Charity in the nearby town of Songea. They will be transported to the village by the primary school teachers.

Project Impact
This project will provide the 475 students and 4 teachers of the Mhepai Primary School with easy nearby access to water.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Lee Myers-White

Comments
This is an important infrastructure project for the school. It will provide a reliable supply of readily-accessible clean water for sanitation, as well as for the grounds and garden.

Dollar Amount of Project
$555.00

Donations Collected to Date
$555.00 + additional amounts

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 – This project has been fully funded through the generosity of friends and family of Peace Corps Volunteer Lee Myers-White, with additional funds for future projects.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Lee of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Lee and/or those of other PCVs in the country of service.

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.