Habari!
Pendo Massawe, Partnership Account Manager, welcomes you to Tanzania to meet some of the people you’ve helped empower with lasting access to safe water or sanitation.
Welcome to Tanzania
Here in Tanzania, 88% of the population lack access to safe water. This means millions of people, particularly women and girls, spend hours of their days traveling long distances to collect the water their families need. By forming local partnerships with financial institutions that understand the water and sanitation needs of their communities, we are helping families overcome the water crisis. We’ve changed more than 411,000 lives in Tanzania with lasting access to safe water or toilets.
With courage and a small loan, Amina created lasting change for her family and community.
Amina brings a wellspring of hope to her community
From just outside of the former capital of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Amina’s days once began with a burden. As a mother of four, she left home before dawn to collect water for her children, and the water source was thirty minutes away. A small loan for a water solution changed this. Amina worked with one of our local financial partners to secure funds and resources for the construction of a water well on her property. This solved her water crisis.
After repaying that small loan, Amina used another loan to fund a water storage system that serves as an affordable safe water source subscribed to by more than 150 families, many of whom are her friends. Amina’s initiative gives her family safe water, creates a more sustainable source of income, and brings a lasting solution to her village’s water crisis.
From dust to abundance, Amina's family now thrives
From Dar es Salaam we travel east to introduce you to another Amina whose life was also transformed by safe water. Amina and her husband reside on the island of Zanzibar where, despite the ocean water that surrounds the region, the couple once considered their property a desert. Their land was dusty and their crops were bare due to their lack of access to water for farming, drinking, and washing.
Amina and her husband secured a small, affordable loan through our financial partner in Zanzibar to pay for a safe water connection and sanitation solution at home. Now their health, family, and land flourish. Their banana trees grow abundant crops to sell while their chickens provide enough eggs for the family to eat each day. In describing her life now, Amina shared, “I have total peace of mind...water is truly everything.”
Amina is thankful for the safe water that now flows in her home, “When everyone sees the transformation in my life, they realize that water truly is everything.”
Thanks to your support and her determination, Salma secured a lasting source of safe water for her family.
Health and happiness flow in Salma's Zanzibar home
While we’re here in Zanzibar, meet Salma who proudly shares, "We are happily living in peace in our home now..." This peace started with a small loan from our local partner bank. With it, Salma connected her home to the water utility, bringing safe, running water indoors for the first time. It was a life-changing upgrade that improved her family’s health and daily comfort.
That same loan also made it possible for Salma to fund the construction of a sewage system, solving a long-standing sanitation challenge. Now, with safe water and sanitation in place, Salma’s home is a source of pride and a symbol of how access to safe water and sanitation unlocks health and hope for families in need.
Water for Hamid's family and his friends
Before we head west, back to the mainland to sign off, we want to introduce you to Hamid and his family who now enjoy a peaceful life in Zanzibar, too. Prior to getting a safe water solution on his property, Hamid spent up to two hours a day on water collection. This meant less time for work, school, and family. Hamid explained, “Not having water readily available had many negative effects.”
Thanks to your support, Hamid transformed life for his family. He solved their water crisis, and, in the generous spirit of Tanzania, Hamid also made a source of safe water available to his neighbors in need.
Hamid's story is a powerful example of how one small loan for a safe water solution can replace hours of daily struggle with time, health, and hope for families in need.
Our local staff and partners are changing lives in their own communities
Back in Dar es Salaam we head to the offices of our local staff. From here our local team work alongside financial partners across Tanzania to implement our solutions that help empower families in need with affordable access to safe water and sanitation solutions. We provide expert training and technical assistance to our partners to develop loan portfolios that scale impact.
Thank you for helping change lives in Tanzania
Our journey ends in the northern region of Tanzania at the base of the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro, where we’re working to bring schools and families the safe water and sanitation solutions they need to thrive. We look forward to sharing more updates from our work in Tanzania soon. Until then, thank you for traveling with us to the eastern coast of Africa, and thank you for supporting the work of Water.org, here and around the world.
