A day in the life of...

Wilhelmina Malima, WaterAid's Urban Programme Manager,
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Wilhelmina Malima WaterAid's Urban Programme Manager, Dar es Salaam.

Credit: WaterAid / Jane Scobie

I get up early in the morning at 5am to prepare my children for school, give them breakfast and take them to the school bus. I live 22 kilometres from the WaterAid office in Dar es Salaam so I get two Dala Dalas (public mini bus) from my home to the office at 6.30am and arrive at 7.30. There is always lots of traffic on the roads and the buses are full. You don't always get a seat and it's really difficult to squeeze in - sometimes you are holding on with one arm or leg!

After a couple of meetings at the WaterAid office with the Dar urban team I set off go to visit the project in Jumuiya Ya Watumiaji Maji Kilakala which is an unplanned settlement in Dar es Salaam where 15,000 people live.

In urban areas we face a lot of challenges as communities are less cohesive than in rural areas and they are often forced to live in unplanned settlements without basic services like running water or toilets.

Typhoid and cholera are big problems in Dar's unplanned settlements as people often drink river water polluted with faecal matter - either direct from the river or sold as clean water from unscrupulous vendors.

The initial WaterAid funded project in Kilakala was completed a year and a half ago. Before then people were using river water to drink and wash in and low quality traditional pit latrines.

Community demand for the project was really high as their latrines would overflow into the river and onto the street, especially in the wet season. WaterAid has funded the construction of 12 water points and communal latrines and the community has really flourished since getting a safe supply of clean water and sanitation.

Many people still have to collect their water from unprotected sources like this open well...

Credit: WaterAid / Jane Scobie

Some water points have just been opened but there is a problem as the Water Committee did not want to flush the water tank properly after its construction because they have to pay for the electricity they use and it is expensive. I collected a sample of water to test and it was contaminated with a chemical used during construction. This is a problem as we hand over the water point to the community, having explained how to maintain the water source. To address this the WaterAid technical team will now review the construction and then we will help the community invest in flushing the well which will clear the chemical.

In the original project we used the child to child approach in the community school. This is a technique in which WaterAid and our partners educate children and teachers about the importance of good hygiene and sanitation practices such as washing your hands after defecation, through plays, songs and dances. Older children teach younger ones and all are encouraged to take the messages home to educate their families.

...But two new water tanks have been built as part of the Kilakala project, providing clean water for many more people.

Credit: WaterAid / Jane Scobie

In the school in Kilakala we are now funding the installation of water points in the grounds. I met the teacher who tells me that he is going to work in another school and will take the child to child approach there too. I tell him that our partner, Waheco, will train the staff which means that the messages will reach more children and their families in other communities. This is very exciting and encouraging.

I then visit the public toilets and shower rooms which are next to the food sellers in the market. The toilet attendants tell me that people are not using the latrines because they have friends who live nearby and would rather use their latrines than pay for the communal latrines. However the toilets must have a cash flow so they can be maintained and so I suggest that the food sellers manage the toilets as they have a regular supply of customers who can use them.

I also suggest that they could have an open market which will bring people from outside the community to the area. The people who come would not only use the latrines and so help with their upkeep but also return home knowing what good sanitation is. This is working well in Ferry in Dar es Salaam, where the communal latrines are on the road where people regularly pass through.

I like going to see the project work because I can make the final decisions and sort things out for the community quickly. When the community ask me to see them I must stop what I am doing and go. That way they know we will not fail them. I go back to the office for meetings and try to leave the office by 6pm. I get home at 8pm and I am tired but I cook dinner and get my children ready for bed. There is no way you will get a seat on the return Dala Dala - no way!

Interview by Jane Scobie, WaterAid's Programme Officer, East Africa.