New Dawn For Kideleko Women As Water Project Takes Shape
Handeni. For years, Ms Mariam Bakari (32), a mother of two children, has endured long walks to fetch water for her family from a hand-dug well located in Msangazini, four kilometres from her homestead in Kideleko—a maize growing ward of Handeni District, Tanga Region.
As a family woman, she shoulders the burden of the water crisis, yet she must attend to her daily chores, look after her children who are in school as well and go to the farm alongside her husband.
Tales such as Ms. Bakari’s are common among women and girls who are disproportionately affected by water scarcity that usually hits the Handeni district in the months of October to January every year.
“I get nightmares whenever I think of the dry season. To me, those are the months when farming is less but more family conflicts and less sleep; all because of water,” she said recently, echoing the narrative of most women in Handeni where domestic violence, education setbacks and reduced social economic activities have been linked to the water scarcity.
Sigh of relief.....
However, Ms. Bakari speaks of her ordeal at a time of high expectations among communities in Kideleko where a natural dam close to her home, which was previously non-functional, is about to be transformed into a reliable source of clean and safe water.
The Dam Rehabilitation Project, targeting women and children, is funded by Serengeti Breweries Limited, implemented by WaterAid Tanzania in collaboration with the Rural Water Supply Authority (RUWASA).
Mr. Dismas Kway, the project’s site Engineer at RUWASA explains that the dams in Handeni have been found to have insufficient storage capacity. Moreover, the water contained in the dams remains unsafe for human consumption.
“This dam has a treatment plant installed. When the project is completed, the dam will produce clean and safe water for over 2,000 people in Kideleko village,’’ he said.
Communities in Kideleko are pinning their hopes on the dam project, located at Kwamaizi village in the district, where residents are beginning to believe that the water scarcity—and the challenges associated with it—could eventually become history.
Mr. Athuman Mkomwa, a local leader in Kampene,foresees the project as a solution to some of the education challenges that have been faced in his village for many years.
“Lack of clean and safe water was seriously affecting the performance and attendance of children in school. Even the best pupils were losing the momentum to continue with school, because they spent a lot of time on their way to fetch water from distant wells,’’ said Mr. Mkomwa.
Ms. Khadija Msonde, a resident of Kampene village is seeing the possibility of the risk of water-borne diseases being reduced as the project kicks off. “Where I live, I can’t say we don’t have water. We have it. We get it from wells. But it’s all brownish water which is too salty and unsafe to drink,’’ she said.
“Now that we are about to start getting[clean and safe water] water through the dam, it feels like a new beginning in our life at my village,” she added.
Only 25% of the population in Kideleko have access to clean and safe water, while in the entire district the access is by 41%, according to a baseline survey on access to WASH services in Handeni District, conducted by WaterAid Tanzania in 2021. The survey indicates further that 40% have access to sanitation and hygiene services in the ward, compared to the district level access which is 30%.
Women at the centre
Ms. Msonde and Ms.Bakari, are the women who have highlighted their predicament—representing the most vulnerable group of people in the ward, who have been empowered to benefit from the Dam Rehabilitation project.
The WASH Group, which comprised 25 women, attended training sessions in Kideleko implemented by WaterAid, focusing on good governance, ethics management, entrepreneurship and the position of women in WASH. They gained hands-on experience by engaging in real-life sanitation marketing and hygiene promotion activities.
According to the trainers, the sessions aimed at enabling the women to apply knowledge and skills to sustain their livelihoods and protect the water sources as part of the project that is designed on a sustainability model, with all water supply and operation services under the Government of Tanzania through the Handeni Trunk Main (HTM) utility.
“We want to ensure that the communities have ownership of the project, through empowering the women who, traditionally, have been the main victims when a water crisis hits the family. Having felt the pinch, we believe they can protect the water sources, and eventually benefit from the immense opportunities that will come with the dam project,’’ said the Community Development Officer of the Handeni Town Council, Mr. Fred Mpondachuma who was among the trainers of the WASH Group.
Through community engagement activities, the project aims at ensuring that women and girls have the same rights and opportunities as men and boys in access to safe and adequate WASH facilities. In the long run, this will increase participation in WASH-related decision-making, and enhance gender equality and social inclusion.