Monduli District Water Harvesting Project¶
About our Cause:¶
The Maasai are a Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting northern, central, and southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are among the best-known local populations internationally due to their residence near the many game parks of the African Great Lakes and their distinctive customs and dress. The Maasai speak the Maa language. Except for some elders living in rural areas, most Maasai people also speak the official languages of Kenya and Tanzania, Swahili and English.
The Maasai tribe is known for its proud identity and long-preserved culture. As one of the oldest tribes in the world, the Maasai have a rich culture and language. The tribe in Monduli in Arusha lives a nomadic life. The women walk nearly 9 hours daily to fetch water, and the children often sacrifice due to the social stigma around education in their community and a necessity for survival. Instead of schooling, most Maasai children will tend to cattle while their mothers collect water. This community's lack of clean, accessible water is a huge bottleneck.
The premise of this project is to mitigate or solve the lack of accessible and clean water for everyone in the Monduli District. This project will benefit 50,000+ Maasai and allow them easy access to clean and accessible water. Through this project, we can help the Maasai of Arusha grow economically and educationally. By reducing the effort of survival, this project will open up more doors of opportunity to the Maasai.
Our Goal:¶
The goal this year: raise $30k to build a second water harvesting unit.
The next few years' goal is to raise funds to build 10 water wells tanks and create treatment infrastructure units for ten villages (~55K people) - at least one tank per village.
Fundraising Team School students¶
A number of high schoolers Bay Area, North Carolina, and Singapore are helping support the fund raising. 100% of the funds raised will be invested into the project. In addition, to fund raising the team will be executing local programs and conducting on-ground research that will help future programs for the Maasai community.
Students Involved¶
-tx- | -------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | Adam Barycza | Arhaan Gupta | Eduardo Tapper | | Kanishk Pandey | Kashi Pandey | Palmer Avery | | Rishan Rastogi | Roshan Taneja | Yuvraj Taneja |
What's Happening This Year:¶
8 Students from across the world will:¶
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Fundraise and raise awareness about the project.
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Arrive in Tanzania in December 2022.
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research the impact of the current harvesting unit.
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Kickstart the building of the second water harvesting unit.
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Plan and execute education, science, and technology projects with the Maasai.
Organizations Involved:¶
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Maji Wells Foundation
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Vijana Inspires Foundation
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Karimu Foundation [karimufoundation.org]
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Project FUEL [projectfuel.in]
How to Donate:¶
Every donation helps us reach our goal of $30,000!
The funds donated will strictly be used for the building of the water harvesting unit. In addition, Karimu is a 501C charity, and any donations given to the cause can be recorded for tax benefits.
The first water harvesting unit was implemented in July of 2022; it contains 100k liters of sanitized and accessible water for over 4000 people in Losimingori. The goal for December 2022: Raise $30k - 40k to build a second water harvesting unit.
Maasai Gathering water from nearby flood lakes where the water is hazardous and unhealthy.
Current Water Harvesting Unit (June 2022) being used to collect, store and distribute clean water.
Impact of providing clean, accessible water¶
Several other projects in the Karimu foundation are also centered around water distribution.
DataStudio: The Karimu Water Project
Ayalagaya Water System Maintenance
Each of these projects has shown how by reducing the necessity of water collection, many families in Tanzania can use their extra time to go to school, make jewelry or tend to their livestock or agriculture. These projects also show that we can create a working infrastructure around the water harvesting unit to ensure that it remains perpetually productive and valuable for the community.
Created: June 5, 2023