PICTURES From top left, clockwise: 1. A major street in Dodoma, the administrative capital of Tanzania. Yes, it is a bit like the Wild Wild West but without horses. 2. The Chairperson of Ntyukwa village inspecting a latrine (urinal) for the school boys - this is new for this community. Note he is wearing his political party hat, as there is an election tomorrow. 3. The managing Director of Maji de Maendeleo, Mr Matthew Halla, in his office. He speaks Swahili, English, Russian, French and his local village language. 4. This is me walking towards a drinking source for the Chumwino Village primary school, constructed by Maji de Maendeleo for only US$1000 funded by a Japanese town. 5. Latrines (toilets) constructed in Ntyukwa Village 6. Lunch in a Dodoma cafe. Mr Halla had chicken and chips (a usual Tanzanian lunch) whilst I had tomato stew on rice with chicken.

About Today

Today I met with staff of Maji de Maendeleo, an organisation that helps local communities in the Dodoma District (approximately 500 villages) with access to safe drinking water. They do this by supplying wells that use underground water; creating drinking points that tap water from the local dam; building latrines, so that cross-contamination of drinking water with human waste is avoided; educating communities about safe drinking; and building capacities of communities and schools to manage their water facilities. I met with Mr Matthew Halla, Managing Director; Mr Augustine, a program manager; and Mr Semu Nassari, program manager.

This is an impressive organisation, and clearly committed to their vision. They partner with a range of overseas NGOs as well as the World Bank and World Food Program. Today, they took me on a tour of 2 of their projects.

One, which is completed, was to construct a well for drinking water in Ntyuka Village near Dodoma city. They also took me to visit the village chairperson (who is facing an fiercely contested election tomorrow!) and the village doctor and his medical dispensary... they are very lucky to have a doctor, but he lacks adequate supplies including a delivery bed, and Rapid Testing Kits and microscope for testing for malaria, HIV and other blood-borne diseases.

The second project is much bigger and based in Chumwino Village primary school - the village is more rural than Ntyuka. This project has 4 phases:

(a) Build 8 latrines (toilets). This is because currently, the school of 3500 pupils is served by just 4 toilets, and 2 for teachers. This means children are often forced to go in the bushes, and in the wet season this is dangerous as the waste can be swept into the local water supply, causing parasitic disease.

(b) Extend the current water source to these new toilets, so that students can easily (and remember to) wash their hands

(c) Teach the children about hygeine through simple diagrams, and through games (often, through sport).

(d) Build the capacity of teh school to maintain the resources. Parents are happy to contribute to this effort so that it is all sustainable.