CHURCH communities in Tanzania have become “experts” in water-tank construction, as the decades-long partnership between the Anglican Church there and the UK charity Christian Engineers in Development (CED) has evolved to meet funding challenges in the region.
Mike Beresford, a churchwarden and authorised lay minister of St Matthew’s, Naburn, in York diocese, is a member of CED. He reports that the partnership, which began in the diocese of Ruaha in 1999 with funding from the European Union, delivered several water-infrastructure projects costing more than £1.4 million. Clean water has since been supplied to more than 35,000 people in rural communities.
Today, however, global cuts to overseas aid have caused project funds to dry up, Mr Beresford has found, and a leaner approach has been taken.
Church-led teams from Biharamulo, Kagera, and Lweru dioceses are now visiting rural churches and schools to build either 5000- or 10,000-litre communal tanks. Smaller 1000-litre household tanks are being constructed for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged families in the community.
“A group of women and men methodically assemble a metal cage,” Mr Beresford said. “This forms a pumpkin-shaped skeleton, over which a skin of sackcloth is stitched, before a layer of chicken wire is stretched and tied around the outside. The tank is then covered with thin layers of cement rendering that form the tank’s walls.
“Once the cement has set, the inner frame is removed, leaving a large water tank. It will harvest rainwater via gutters and provide clean water in all but the driest periods.
“Water is such a precious commodity in countries like Tanzania. Having easy access to water for drinking, cooking, and washing makes such a difference, particularly to women and children who, sadly, still bear the lion’s share of household water collection.”
One recipient told him: “Before we had a tank, my days were consumed fetching water. If I decided to go to get water, that was my day — nothing else got done. The tank changed our lives. I can now focus on other things, like taking care of my hearing- and sight-impaired husband and disabled daughter. The tank didn’t just provide convenience: it brought a profound sense of security and freedom.”
The United Nations reports that more than 700 million people globally still lack access to clean water.
Mr Beresford said that the teams have the human resources and knowledge needed to build the tanks, but that funds are lacking. CED provides grants to cover 75 per cent of the cost of the larger tanks, and fully funds the household tanks, which cost about £140 each. CED has introduced a tap-twinning programme to expand the initiative, so that the teams can help more communities in Tanzania.
