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Women and Water
It is usually the duty of the women to fetch and carry water for their
families. The daily journey can take several hours and crowded water
sources often have long queues, sometimes of up to 5 hours. The demands
on time this causes leave little time for women to earn an income or
spend with their children, the latter often being left alone or with an
older sibling whilst their mother goes out to find water. Pregnant
women sometimes continue to carry water until the day they give birth.
Girls as young as 10 can often bear the responsibility for the family's
water supply. Not only is this physically stressful but also results in
girls often being unable to attend school.
Women are key participants of successful projects: they are keen to
learn how they can better their own and their family's health. Many
become health promoters and continue the work that the health educators
start. A survey in 1999 of the Dodoma Region found 80% of hygiene
promoters to be female.
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Children and Water
Children, particularly girls, are often responsible for the collection
of water. Each litre of water is equivalent in weight to one kilogram
and the carrying of such heavy weights, already damaging to adult
women, can have even more serious side-effects for children. There can
be damage to the head, neck and spine, and for girls, deformity of the
spine can lead to complications in pregnancy and childbirth.
The time consuming nature of water collection means that many children
are not enrolled in primary school and often will drop out of school
after one or two years of education. If the parents are to be free to
work, children are needed at home for domestic tasks or farming and
hence have little time for play. Many accidents occur from children
left unsupervised or with just an older sibling whilst their mother
works or collects water.
Children are often more open to discuss and change hygiene habits than
adults and emphasis is placed on the education of good hygiene
behaviour in schools. The 'Child-to-Child' campaign in Tanzania
recognises that children are often responsible for younger brothers and
sisters and teaches them to become health educators for their friends,
families and ultimately for the whole community.
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Health Education
Local health educators are responsible for teaching vital health
messages to villages and slum areas benefiting from new provisions. The
information is taught to children in schools, who at a young age can
mature with good hygiene practices and pass information on to their
parents. Women work as health motivators when NGO health educators are
no longer in the villages.
In Chessa village, Tabora, Ashura Kayungilo spent five days training to
be a health promoter and now visits five homesteads once a week.
Posters stimulate ideas and discussion, including the causes of
diarrhoea and how it is spread, the safe storage of food and water,
keeping the home environment clean and washing fruit in clean, safe
water.
Health and hygiene education is an important necessity when providing
water and sanitation services. It is important that villagers are aware
and learn the importance of cleanliness and non-polluting practices so
the most can be made of the new or improved facilities. In this way
safe water and sanitation will remain sustainable, in a future free
from ill health and disease.
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Tanzania - Country Profile
The United Republic of Tanzania is the largest country in East Africa.
It is also one of the poorest in the world. The population of some 33
million people, has seen enormous increases, almost tripling from 12.3
million in 1967 to 30 million in 1999. Yet unlike many other African
Nations, Tanzania has few exportable minerals.
Since its foundation in 1964, the country of Tanzania has enjoyed
political stability, sparing it from the political strife which has
affected many of the neighbouring lands. In 1967, Tanzania's first
president, Julius Nyerere, issued the Arusha Declaration, reforming the
primitive agricultural system in an attempt at self-sufficiency through
farming co-operatives and the nationalisation of factories, banks,
plantations and private companies. Despite technical and financial aid
from the World Bank and overseas supporters, the project had collapsed
a decade later, with allegations of corruption, combined with
inefficiency, lack of community co-operation and rising petroleum
prices.
Following Nyerere's resignation in 1985, the new president, Ali Hassan
Mwinyi began dismantling the government control over the economy in an
attempt to attract foreign investment and raise productivity. This
policy continues under the current president, Benjamin Mkapa, though
Tanzania remains heavily dependant on foreign aid.
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WaterAid in Tanzania
WaterAid first started supporting projects in Tanzania in 1983 in the
Dodoma Region. Since 1990, it has been working closely with the
Government departments of health, water and community development, as
well as NG0s in the WAMMA partnership. The aim of this project was to
support the implementation of integrated water, hygiene education and
sanitation projects. Each year, WaterAid and its partners deliver
integrated projects to over 60,000 people.
The key aspect to WaterAid's approach to water and sanitation projects
involves firstly placing the benefiting communities at the centre of
all actions, fully involving them in planning, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation. of their projects. Rather than focusing on
one aspect alone, it is judged best to fully integrate water supply,
sanitation and hygiene education into the project plan, thus realising
the full benefits of improvements to health and living standards.
All WaterAid projects are carried out by local partner organisations.
The ultimate aim is a situation in which the local partners can work
effectively and independently, without WaterAid support.
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Project Details
To continue to work towards the completion of existing borehole
projects.
To continue to focus on gender, equality and livelihood issues in the
implementation of WaterAid's project work.
To continue work on hygiene promotion and sanitation in villages in
which work has already started and start hygiene promotion and
sanitation in additional villages.
To focus on good management and financial transparency at village level.
To continue supporting an effective pump engine maintenance scheme.
WaterAid Contribution
WaterAid will provide project funding for technical inputs, and for
materials purchased and installed.
Local Contribution
Cash and labour contribution by communities and administration support
by
WaterAid partner organisations.
Your support will
make a real difference to this programme. For information,
please contact
us.
Thank you for your valuable help.
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