HOW MZIZIMA LIONS CLUB’S SCHOOL WATER PROGRAM HAS HONOURED JPM’S INITIATIVES

Mnazi Mmoja primary pupils seen drinking water from a water dispenser constructed by Lions Club of Dar es Salaam - Mzizima through their school water program. On the right is technician Mr. Bakari and the water program coordinator, Mr Akash Chudasama. ALL PHOTOS/DOTTO MWAIBALE.

 ·        The Club adheres to SDG 6 by saving out 40,000 Dar students

·        Constructed boreholes in 21 primary and secondary schools in the region

·        Schools have turned premises into beautiful gardens to fight climate change

·        No longer students go to school with water gallons

By Daniel Mbega

Dar es Salaam

AS I entered the scene of the Minazi Mirefu Primary School at Ukonga-Banana, I was greeted by a ringing bell. Suddenly I am startled by the noise of students coming out of classrooms and rushing to the water dispenser located in front of one of the school buildings for drinking water.

Then I found out that it was 10:00 am, the break after the first class sessions ended.

Some of the students are seen fetching water and watering flowers and trees planted in good order at the school and making the environment enjoyable while the breeze is blowing.Many placards with different messages are placed in different places emphasizing the importance of preserving the environment, with the names given to the various national parks.

10 years ago this school was not in the environment as it seems now, as there was no guarantee of access to water, thanks to the Lions Club in Dar es Salaam-Mzizima school water program.

"We are truly grateful to these donors Lions Club Dar es Salaam - Mzizima who have provided us with a guaranteed well that serves two schools - Minazi Mirefu and our neighbours Air Wing Primary School," says Assistant Head Teacher, Mchumila Hamisi Mchumila.

Mchumila says, with a total of 3,028 pupils present at the school (among them 1,539 boys and 1,489 girls) the hygiene situation at the school was worse due to lack of reliable water.

Many students, he says, had been instructed to go with water gallons to school, but the procedure is now non-existent.

 Water tanks at Majani ya Chai Primary School.

Water tanks serving four school - Umoja, Mwale, Yombo and Bwawani at Yombo-Kiwalani in Dar es Salaam.

Since 2013 when the Lions Club Dar es Salaam - Mzizima provided such a reliable service, even the school environment has changed.

Once you enter the school grounds you are welcomed by the fragrant breeze from the many trees and flowers planted.

"We are really grateful to these donors although the only challenge we have is the lack of water dispensers due to the large number of students," she says.

The project was officially launched by retired Prime Minister Edward Lowassa in 2013 when it was possible to supply water to from the nearby Air Wing Primary School where a borehole is drilled with a 5,000-liter tank placed as well as distributed pipeline and water dispenser infrastructure.

Mr Fatihuba Karata, Assistant Head Teacher of Air Wing Primary School, says despite having a well drilled by former Ukonga MP, Dr Milton Makongoro Mahanga, but the well was defunct.

The Army's efforts by the Air Force Base (who are the guardian of the school located within the military area) to dig the trench and place water pipe also helped to a degree, though the water did not always flow continuously.

"The challenge to access to water was officially stopped in 2004 after the advent of the project brought by the Lions Club in Dar es Salaam - Mzizima, now no student is coming home with a jar of water," she says.

She says that sanitation has continued to improve with the planting of trees and flowers for the school.

Fortunately, this school with 2007 pupils and 46 teachers has two water dispensers - one for the younger children including elementary education and the other for older ones.

"Right now even all the toilets have enough water," adds Ms. Karata.

But the Lions Club school water project has brought another revolution at Karakata Primary School with 1,258 students and 32 teachers.

A neat environment is also present at Msimbazi Mseto Primary School, where Mr Allen Mwakalinga says the Lions Club project has also reduced the cost of paying for DAWASA water which often goes out.

The school has 1,207 children, including children with a stunted brain, and 35 teachers.

Honouring SDG 6

Lions Club has adhered to the Fifth Phase Government under President Dr. John Magufuli which has left no-one behind to putting the water sector to work for inclusive growth and sustainable industrialisation.

To be realistic, Lions Club has its focus on the central role of water management in realising Tanzania’s ambition of inclusive growth to become a semi-industrialised, middle-income country by 2025.

According to Tanzania Water Sector Equity Report of March 2019, healthy people and with access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene will be the drivers of economic growth.

“As well as improving health, wellbeing and educational standards, improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) can save the economy TSh521 billion per year, or 1 percent of GDP of lost productivity related to waterborne disease,” says the report.

Of course, around 60% of Tanzanians now have access to improved water, although levels of access vary. Over 50% face collection times of over 30 minutes, time that could be spent in school or work. Only 60% of water points are functional.

Other persistent problems include water quality, reliability and affordability: Tanzanians typically spend 5% of their household expenditure on water compared to the global norm of 2%.

Improvements in access to sanitation in rural and urban areas are promising, though access to proper handwashing facilities is still only at 50% for rural and 72% for urban population.

Lions Club of Dar es Salaam – Mzizima has proved to be one of key players in the WASH program, which lies in line with the National Sanitation Campaign, Water and Sanitation Development Program (WSDP II) and the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Number 6.

Thinking beyond

Asha Duma, Assistant Head Teacher of the school, says that, instead of planting shade trees and flowers, they have now decided to plant fruit trees and vegetables.

“We were introduced to this project in 2013, but by 2016 we decided to change our thinking by planting fruit trees and now we are planting vegetables.

"By doing this we not only teach students about environmental management, but we also teach them agriculture, even though our area is small," she says, adding that the water project is serving 1,258 students and 32 teachers.

Their neighbours at Mogo Primary School with 1,212 students and 27 teachers, continue to improve their environment through the water service.

Charles Bukagile, Head Master of Majani ya Chai Secondary School in Dar es Salaam, says the advent of a water project introduced by the Lions Club in 2007 has helped to avoid his school from outbreaks.

He says, although it has never happened, but for the 1,662 students at his school who were struggling to find water, the situation could have been worse when the outbreaks and waterborne diseases, especially cholera.

"Before the students used the water from local wells, sometimes they drew from neighbors where the water was salty," he says.

The only cost they incur is the cost of electricity, since the repair of the wells is done by the Lions Club themselves who regularly visit and fix the defects, including the flushing of the wells.

Benigna Kapinga, Head Teacher of Majani ya Chai Primary School, says that the project has been very rewarding as it is sustainable because the donors continue to manage it on a regular basis.

"Many donors tend to send the project to the community and let the community manage it, but the situation is different for the Lions Club who not only continue to manage it, but even when the cork is damaged they are the ones buying it, let alone the water pump," says Kapinga.

The only challenge at the school with 2,100 students and 38 teachers is the lack of a wall fence, which not only risks the project from being exploited by non-nationals, but even other school resources may be in doubt.

The fencing challenge is also facing schools in Mwanagati (Primary and Secondary) and Tanks B, which have also been successful in accessing the water project.

Mnazi Mmoja Secondary School Head Mistress, Stara Mussa Amlima, says the Lions Club water project has saved her students from the danger of road accidents.

"Before this project there was a well dug by donors from Kuwait, but it was dug up. The children were crossing the street in search of water, it was very dangerous,” she said.

At the school with 1,161 students and 33 teachers the project started in 2009.

A similar challenge was encountering students at Mnazi Mmoja Primary School, which currently has 602 children and 30 teachers.

Fredrick Mutasa, Assistant Headmaster, says although there are DAWASA pipes, but they have not been providing water for many years even though the authorities were sending them monthly bills.

DAWASA were paying bills every month, so now we told them, how do you bring bills when we don't get service? ” he questioned.

However, Mutasa says, their biggest challenge right now is the electricity meter for the well, since it is six years since TANESCO removed the existing meter with details that they were going to replace it, but have not restored it.

"When we want to pump water from the tanks we have to push cables from the windows to the classrooms, this is dangerous because an electric shot can occur," he says.

Other schools that were awarded the water project with the number of pupils and teachers included in the brackets are Zimbili (1,200 students and 37 teachers), Umoja (1,612 students and 22 teachers), Yombo (1,104 students and 23 teachers), Mwale (993 students and 21 teachers) and Bwawani (1,026 students and 27 teachers).

Umoja, Mwale, Yombo and Bawawani schools located in the same area, have dug one well and closed 18,000 liters of water.

Other schools are Unubini (850 students and 24 teachers), Halisi Secondary (1,248 students and 37 teachers), Child Under Sun (80 students), and one well has been dug in Bagamoyo Mosque serving 3,000 residents since 2011.

Mr. Tayab Mohammed Jafferji, a member of Lions Club of Dar es Salaam – Mzizima, says what they are doing to the people, especially students, it is only a charity for the community.

"We have to use patriotism and a sense of commitment for the community, especially the needy including students, waiting for the Government to do everything is not a good thing," he says.

Adequate WASH in our communities, health facilities and schools are a bellweather of progress.

By prioritising improved WASH for the poorest communities, in schools and HCFs the water sector can play a leading role in delivering sustainable and inclusive development.

With the sixth fastest rate of urban growth anywhere on earth, Tanzania’s economic wellbeing will be determined by how well we can meet the water security needs of our growing towns and cities.

Unreliable access to water poses serious problem households. It interrupts daily activities, school and work, and means walking long distances, ill-health, poor hygiene and extra costs.

Sanitation can be a problem for as many as two thirds of households in some wards, causing pollution, disease and nuisance.

In Dar es Salaam 57% of human excreta is discharged untreated to the environment and 2164 cubic meters of raw sewage are discharged into Dar’s waters each day, enough to fill a ten-story building. Such grim statistics contribute to the costly waterborne disease burden in Tanzania where since August 2015 at least 33,421 cases and 542 deaths from cholera were reported.

These problems impact on livelihoods, income generation and education and are disproportionately felt by the poor who face ‘hydraulic exclusion’: paying as much as 5 times more for water services than those in more affluent parts of town.

GLOBAL GOAL 6 TARGETS

·        By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.

·        By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations.

·        By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.

·        By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity.

·        By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate.

·        By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes.

·        By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies.

·        Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management.