Tanzania Water Fund

Story

Imagine waking up in the morning and not being able to turn on the faucet to brush your teeth. Did you know that the average person in the United States uses 80 gallons of water per day? Now imagine having to walk 5 miles, each day, just to fill up a bucket of water. The Tanzania Water Fund was founded by Dean Riesen and has been a part of more than 50 water projects in rural Tanzania, specifically, in the Singida region. In 2016, I had the opportunity to do some off-campus learning "Economic Development in East Africa". In Washington DC, foreign policy experts, US AID leaders and World Vision colleagues shared their perspectives of international development. Then, we learned from political leaders and leaders such as the Minister of Education and the Head of Agriculture in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Finally, we learned from the boots-on-the-ground employees serving in rural Singida, Tanzania. Many of us in class disagreed as to "which was more important?" when it came to education, healthcare and economic development, but we all agreed that WATER is the foundation of everything. For example, if a kid is sick because they don't have access to clean water, then what's the value of the reading initiative? The bottom line is that my eyes were opened and I wanted to help. In 2018, I did my first fundraiser for clean water. I did 1,000 pull-ups, in one day, to raise money for clean water. Why? Because pull-ups are hard. And it sure is hard living without access to clean, running water. Then, others asked to get involved. Now, every November, we take the weekend to raise awareness and money for clean water. Our efforts focus on the Singida region because we have strong, reliable relationships with local leaders. Thus far, our Pull-ups for Tanzania initiatives are impacting 65,000 people!! So join us and do some good - for us, that's helping more people get clean water!