Water Blogged

Mawambala Secondary School is a government school located in Mawambala village in the Kilolo district of Iringa, Tanzania. The school has a total of 507 students, made up of 306 girls and 201 boys, along with 19 teachers and staff members. As with many villages and schools in Iringa, the lack of safe water for Mawambala School was a major problem. Before the installation of this borehole well, the students wasted a lot of time fetching water for domestic uses, including drinking, cleaning, and cooking.

Students at Mawambala were tasked to bring water to school each morning. They fetched this water from various sources that are shared with livestock and very polluted, including old hand-dug wells and shallow creeks and streams on the way to school. In addition, the students used to waste countless class hours later in the day fetching water, which negatively impacted their school performance. Students were spending more time fetching water and recovering from waterborne illnesses than they were studying.

The overall objective of this project was to provide access to clean water for the students at Mawambala Secondary School. Our implementing partner, St. Paul Partners (SSP), successfully installed a borehole well on the school grounds! This will ensure students have access to enough safe water, which will lead to more time in the classroom studying. Plentiful, safe water will also have a significant impact on the health of the students, teachers and neighbors around the village.

SSP representatives worked with the school administration to identify a suitable location for a borehole well that would have a hand pump. This 30M deep well was drilled, flushed, and tested to the standards of St. Paul Partners. The project included the furnishing of all materials, labor and supervision required during drilling. To ensure the project’s sustainability, WASH training was conducted at the Mawambala School. Students and staff were trained to use the hand pump and ensure its sustainability. This training aimed to strengthen the schools’ and villages’ sense of ownership towards the project. The school leaders promise to take good care of the well for many years.

Thanks to The Giolas Foundation for supporting this project!

“I would like to thanks the management of Mawambala Secondary school, School administration and the village local government for their participation and support throughout the project. Also, I would like to thank H2O for Life for sponsoring this project. Finally, I would like to acknowledge Maintenance Group for drilling the well to the standards of Saint Paul Partners. God bless you all. ”
– Onno Mella, St Paul Partners