Water Project

Improvement of water supply

Water shortage is an issue in many schools in East Africa. The effects of climate change are clearly noticeable: shortened rainy seasons, more dryness and drought in many regions. Most schools in Tanzania are connected to the public water supply, but not enough water flows from the pipes, especially in the dry seasons. Many schools only get water one or two days a week, and then only for a few hours. Especially at boarding schools, this leads to critical situations with serious threats to health. For girls, access to clean water is particularly important in order to maintain a sufficient level of hygiene during their menstruation.

We are currently in the process of improving the water supply at two secondary schools by drilling wells, at Majengo and Kisomachi Secondary School in the Kilimanjaro region. Well drilling is planned at several other schools. Help us with your donation to supply the schools with sufficient water!

Sanitary Project

Improvement of sanitation

Good sanitary facilities at school are especially important for girls. A lack of toilets and washing facilities prevents many female students from coming to school during their period. This does not fail to have an impact on their learning success and thus on their chances of achieving a higher level of education. Statistics show: Girls who attend school longer earn higher incomes later, marry later and live healthier lives.

Most schools in Tanzania are inadequately equipped with sanitary facilities. Compared to neighboring Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, sanitation in Tanzania is even worse, especially in rural areas.

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Recent Sanitary Project

Fast construction progress on the new sanitary facilities at Mbonea School

The construction of the new sanitary facilities at the Mbonea School in Dar es Salaam has just begun and already the walls are up and the roof is already covered!

The old building with the toilets and showers for the boys in the boarding school was dilapidated and in acute danger of collapse. We are happy that with the support of the TOOLS FOR LIFE Foundation, the state of Hesse and the German partner school, the Markdorf School Association on Lake Constance, we can remedy this situation. A water filter to improve the drinking water supply at the school is also part of the project to better protect the students from infectious diseases.

Recent Water Project

Maintenance of water supply at Mramba Primary School

Water is life - this is also true at school. Children need clean water to drink, for their performance and for their well-being. But water is also needed in the school kitchen, for the school toilets, for science experiments and for cleaning. But many schools in Tanzania do not have enough water. This makes everyday school life much more difficult for children and teachers. This was also the case at Mramba Primary School. The approximately 650 children at the elementary school, including 84 deaf children, had to carry water to school every day in heavy canisters. The pipes, which were in need of repair, meant that there was no longer enough water flowing.

Thanks to a donation from the German partner school, the Engelbert-Humperdinck-School in Frankfurt, as well as some private donations, the entire water system of the school, including the well, the large water tank and all water pipes, could now be repaired. Many thanks to all donors!

Sanitary Project 2022

New school toilets for Imisigiyio Primary School in Kenya

At Imisigiyio Primary School in Kenya, there were only two dilapidated toilet blocks with two latrines for the boys and four for the girls - with more than 400 children at the school. Thanks to the generous support of the Anna-Schmidt-Schule, Frankfurt's partner school of many years, we were able to build a new sanitary building at the elementary school in southern Kenya, with ten toilets, an additional washroom for girls and, above all, water for washing hands.

Water Project 2020

Well drilling at Kiluvya Secondary School

At Kiluvya Secondary School, the water supply was a major challenge - until we drilled a well there. At the large state school on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, with more than 1,500 students, water often just trickled out of the pipe. And on some days, there was no water at all. Then there was not only a lack of drinking water, but also water for the toilets, for washing hands, for cleaning the school and for experiments in the science laboratories. This is now a thing of the past.

Thanks to funding from the " Wasser für die Welt" foundation, we were able to drill a well on the school grounds. New large water storage tanks were purchased, pipes were laid and new water taps were installed. The own well makes the school independent from the unreliable public water supply.

Sanitary Project 2020

New school toilets at two primary schools in Mwanga

In 2020, PROBONO built new school toilets at Mramba and Relijuu Primary School in Mwanga, which were urgently needed at both schools. In total, the project included 28 new toilets for students and also one toilet each for the teachers. Pictograms showing the most important steps for proper hand washing were painted on the walls above the hand-washing sinks at both elementary schools. An important part of the project was also hygiene training by local nurses.

Many thanks to 24guteTaten e.V. for supporting the project at Mramba and Relijuu Primary School!

Water Project 2020

Trainings to strengthen hygiene

In cooperation with local nurses, PROBONO conducts hygiene trainings at schools. The aim of the trainings is to teach children the importance of basic hygiene measures to protect against infectious diseases and to show them how to wash their hands thoroughly so that infections are avoided. The Corona pandemic showed how important the issue is.

Highly visible pictograms explaining how to wash hands thoroughly on the walls of the new school toilets remind the children of the most important steps in hand hygiene and proper hand washing on a daily basis.

Water Project 2018

Collecting rainwater and storing water

A well cannot be drilled at every school to improve water supply. Then rainwater collection systems and large water storage tanks help to save the precious wet into the dry season. For example, PROBONO has supported Irkisongo Secondary School with ten large new water tanks.

The girls' school in northern Tanzania is connected to the public water supply, but even here the water does not flow regularly from the pipe. Particularly during the dry months, the lack of water was a major problem for the more than 1,000 girls at the boarding school.

This project was also supported by the foundation " Wasser für die Welt" - thank you very much!

Water Project 2018

Improvement of water supply at St. Martin's School in Uganda

Providing sufficient drinking water is a major challenge at many schools in East Africa. This was also the case at St. Martin's School in southern Uganda. The secondary boarding school is not connected to the public water network and it does not have its own well. The school meets its water needs solely through rainwater collected in large tanks during the rainy season. However, the rainwater storage capacity was far from sufficient. Thus, in the dry seasons, the students had to walk many kilometers to the nearest water point to carry water to the school in large canisters. This was hard physical work and a lot of time was lost, which was then missed for lessons.

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