Tanzania Water Project

UNICEF Ambassadors Gareth and Jo Morgan are supporting a UNICEF water project in Tanzania.

This project will take clean water to thousands of children and their families in 3 districts of Tanzania. With access to clean water children will no longer get sick from waterborne diseases, mothers will not be away for long periods of time in search of water, and girls will be able to go to school instead of staying home to look after their siblings. Find out more >>

Donate to our Tanzania water project now and double your impact for children!

Gareth & Jo Morgan have pledged to match your donation dollar-for-dollar. You can become a Tanzania Global Parent or make a one-off donation online now.

Gareth and Jo visited the project to see for themselves the work UNICEF is doing. These are their impressions:

"The work UNICEF is doing in Tanzania is extraordinarily successful - we know because we've seen it first hand."

Every morning from about 4.30am, thousands of woman and girls start their daily trek to fetch water, trudging as far as 9 km to the pond or waterhole. The journey back is slow because the pail of water they're carrying weighs as much as a small fridge, and the sun is blistering hot. It's tremendously exhausting.

The saddest part is that the water they fetch is seriously contaminated. As a result, all the mothers see is their children wasting away through constant diarrhoea, the effects of water-borne parasites and other horrific illnesses.

It's a tragic cycle that can so easily be sorted through relatively simple measures: building wells and education.

In villages where UNICEF has built wells and educated communities about basic hygiene we see pride, sustainable agriculture, and healthy, bright-eyed children. We are absolutely convinced about the work UNICEF is doing. It changes the lives of everyone in a village, almost overnight.

The signs of success.

In villages throughout the Magu district of Northern Tanzania, 57% of people now have access to clean water thanks to UNICEF and their partners. Sickness and mortality rates among the children have plummeted, and villages have flourished through improved agriculture. Freed from the daily task of collecting water from distant rivers or waterholes, women are able to be more productive growing food and caring for their children. Young girls are able to attend school.

A long-term solution.

A critically important aspect of the UNICEF initiatives in Tanzania is ensuring that local villagers take ownership of the projects and take responsibility for keeping the wells in good working order. Village committees are formed and people are trained in maintaining the wells. Families in the village contribute a small amount of money if they can, to help with the upkeep. Equally important is training in basic personal hygiene - washing hands before preparing food and after going to the toilet. These measures mean that aid money is not just used for short-term relief, but in providing a genuine, long-term solution to sickness and poverty.

Please support this vital project today. We have pledged to match your donation dollar-for-dollar to get this project completed.

With your help, this project can be completed, bringing clean water to the remaining 43% of the people in Magu and to children and their families in the Makete and Pemba districts. With your support, these three districts will have clean water by the end of 2009. While the need is urgent, the results will be long lasting. And, it's been calculated that every dollar spent on water and sanitation projects can yield as much as $35 in positive value for children in places like Magu.

Please, donate now or sign up to become a Tanzania Global Parent.

Gareth and Jo Morgan
UNICEF NZ Ambassadors