With the help of donations from Switzerland, KOLPING Tanzania built two deep wells in a very dry region of the country at the beginning of 2024. With great effect: the villagers lead much healthier lives – and suddenly have completely new income prospects.
“Kolping changed my life, this well changed my life,” says Veronika Nindura happily, as she places her canister under the village tap, turns on the tap and lets fresh water flow in. ‘’I used to spend a full four hours a day fetching water. I set off on my bike first thing in the morning so I wouldn’t have to wait at the water point so long. There were always long queues there,‘’ she recalls. After that, she had to push the heavy canisters many kilometres on her bicycle. Veronika repeated the exhausting procedure up to six times a day so that she, her husband and their six children would have enough water for drinking, cooking, cleaning and washing clothes.
Once a year, rain
Veronika’s family lives in the small village of Kinampanda near Singida, an extremely dry region in northern Tanzania. It only rains once a year there. So water is a very scarce resource for most of the time. ”During the long dry season, people have to walk long distances to wells or water holes. Or they buy water from tankers that come to the villages sporadically. Unfortunately, rainwater cisterns are not sufficient here,” explains Eustard Shumbusho from KOLPING Tanzania.
Deep wells ensure the water supply
The association was all the more pleased when, with the support of KOLPING Switzerland, it was able to implement the long-held plan for a deep well in the region. The donations were even sufficient for another deep well in a different, nearby village. “We worked with the local authorities to carry out the drilling. The groundwater is pumped up from a depth of 120 metres, which is why it is very pure and does not need to be boiled,” reports Eustard Shumbusho. The water is distributed via a pump tower.
Kolping Family maintains the water system
“In both villages, pipes were laid directly to some households. In addition, there are public taps that are looked after by local Kolping members. For a small fee, anyone in the village can get water there at certain times.” The Kolping Family uses the money earned to maintain the deep well. A 20-litre canister of water costs only 20 Tanzanian shillings at the tap in Kinampanda. An amount that Veronika is happy to pay. “When I bought water from a tanker, it was five times more expensive. In addition, the groundwater is much better than our previous water. Many of us used to have gastrointestinal problems, especially the children. Now hardly anyone gets sick.” That is a huge improvement!
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