Blue Peter return to Nala

The women of Nala can now collect safe, clean water at their new water point.

Credit: WaterAid / Gavin David White

In 2002 BBC Blue Peter launched their WaterWorks Appeal in aid of WaterAid. In just a few months an amazing £1.5 million was raised through Bring and Buy sales for our work in Tanzania and Uganda.

The Blue Peter team were so inspired by the people they met and the stories they heard, that they recently re-visited Nala in Tanzania to see the difference the water project has made to the community.

Here Kez Margrie, Series Producer for Blue Peter, describes their visit.

"When we heard that Joyce had opened a cafe in the village of Nala, Tanzania, we just couldn't resist going back to see how she was getting on.

I remember when I first met Joyce in October 2002. Back then there was no water supply in the village and the women had to walk for five hours a day to collect water.

They took us to the 'well' they were using at the time. In reality it was a deep, dangerous hole and the colour of the water that came out was brown. One of Joyce's children had recently died of diarrhoea.

Now, two years on I hardly recognized Joyce, in fact everyone in the village seems so well. Our arrival was met by some fantastic dancing and singing. "What are they singing?" I whispered to Pauline, who works with WaterAid in Dodoma and is one of the best organisers I have ever met. "They are saying welcome Mama! Now we have clean water."

We had an amazing two days - Joyce really put Blue Peter presenter Matt to work as her assistant chef - making chapattis, cutting up vegetables and of course going to collect fresh, clean water from the tap only paces away from her cafe.

Joyce had loads of customers - partly because a big road is being built right through Nala and the workers down tools for breakfast. The road construction company are buying water from the village which has meant they can afford to start building a secondary school in the village - so already everyone is benefiting in more ways than we could ever have imagined."