VBS 2019 Mission Project
Water For Tanzania
Villagers in Tanzania sometimes travel miles to bring water back to their community. The water is dirty and can cause serious diseases. With your help, we want to drill 15 wells throughout Tanzania in 2019 to bring clean water to our brothers and sisters in the east African country.
Our Goal
With your help, we want to partner with Empowering Lives International (ELI) to drill 15 wells to bring clean water to our brothers and sisters throughout Tanzania in 2019.
Make Water for Tanzania your VBS Mission Project this year.
Set a fundraising goal.
Use our Free Resources to lead a daily mission moment in your VBS Rotations. Use this time to help your kids get close to the story unfolding in Tanzania and enlist them to give towards your goal.
Collect Donations
With your donations, Empowering Lives International can help more villages get clean water wells close to home! That means healthier families, more kids in school, and hope for a better future - from God's people for God's people.
To help Empowering Lives International meet their goals for 2019, Concordia Supply has agreed to cover all overhead costs so that 100% of your donations go to water well projects.
$10 = Clean water for 1 person
Free Resources
Download these free resources to help you get the word out about Water for Tanzania and incorporate it into your VBS!
Where is Tanzania?
Uhuru na Umoja
Freedom and Unity
The largest country in Eastern Africa, Tanzania lies between the African Great Lakes and the Indian Ocean, covering 365,756 square miles and home to Africa’s lowest point, Lake Tanganyika and the highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro. Over one third of Tanzania’s land is set aside for protected conservation areas, made up primarily of 16 national parks. The national language is Swahili, but 100 other languages are also spoken, the most linguistically diverse in East Africa.
Despite the diverse beauty of its landscape, approximately 44.9 million of its 51.8 million citizens live on less than $2 a day. Tanzania ranks No. 151 out of 188 countries on the 2017 Human Development Index report, which measures life expectancy, education and per capita income indicators to determine the development of a country.
2.1
2.1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe water at home.
32%
32 percent of the world's population — 2.4 billion people — lack improved sanitation facilities.
62%
Women bear 62 percent of the responsibility of collecting water in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Water Crisis in Tanzania
Maji Ni Uhai: Water Is Life
Tanzania is home to over 51 million people, with 70% of its residents living in rural areas and only 44% of rural residents with access to an improved water source.
Nearly half the population of Tanzania, 23 million people, do not have access to safe water. 44 million people lack access to appropriate sanitation causing over 3,000 deaths per year from waterborne illness in children under five.
The global water crisis claims 3.4 million lives each year. To us, it’s not just a statistic. It’s 3.4 million people with names, families, hopes and dreams. When confronted with this reality, we must respond. This is not someone else’s crisis…it’s all of ours.
Sustainability Crisis
Did you know that more than $1.2 billion worth of water infrastructure investment has been wasted over the last 20 years on water wells that sit broken today? Charity alone will never solve the water crisis. Charity is effective when it’s used to empower local people with the opportunity to solve their own problems in ways that can be self-sustained locally.
How Can We Solve This?
Empowering Lives International works to raise up World Changers. The water crisis will not be solved with charity alone. It will only be solved by locking arms with the people affected and empowering them to continue the work we start together.
1. Approach poverty with a holistic view
2. Address poverty with a holistic approach like Jesus did
- Physical: Water drilling & Hygeine WASH Training
- Emotional: Trauma Healing Groups
- Social Water Committees
- Spiritual: Discovery Bible Study Groups
Our Partner: Empowering Lives International (ELI)
For the past 4 years, ELI has been drilling water wells in the dry, rural areas of the Mara region of northern Tanzania. The ground is too rocky and the water is too deep for local hand dug wells or small machine drilling in this part of the country. Most communities rely on existing water sources that are far from their homes. These sources contain bacteria and are parasite-ridden. The cost of coal prevents people from being able to boil the water every day, and as a result many die from preventable, water-related illnesses.
ELI Tanzania Team
Andrew Belko, left | Tanzania Country Liaison
Yakobo Sembo, right | Director, ELI Tanzania
Fred Otieno | Tanzania Country Coordinator
Andrew Belko
Andrew is currently building leadership capacity within the well drilling team. For six years he lived in both Kenya and Tanzania while working with ELI to empower lives. He is a catalyst for the well drilling projects in Tanzania.
Yakobo Sembo
Yakobo is a diligent and passionate servant of God in Tanzania. God has used Yakobo to build relationships with countless people throughout the country. Yakobo manages the Training Center based in Kalemela, Tanzania (near Bunda), and leads well drilling projects. He has been with ELI for over 25 years.
Fred Otieno
Fred is a new addition to the team and was brought on to more deeply engage and empower local community leaders. Fred is from Kenya but has been living in Tanzania as a missionary for 12 years. Fred's passion is emotional and spiritual healing.
The Mighty Men Well Drillers
Making Water Wells Happen in Tanzania
Together this team of men are making water wells happen in Tanzania. The current team of Mighty Men consists of Kisula Dotto, Mashiku Philipo, Ibrahim Shuka, Lawrence Sangija, Philip Ngosha, Joshua Yakobo and Grace Nyirenda along with Andrew and Yakobo. Also photographed (center) Steve Belko, Concordia Supply President & CEO.
Before & After: Mercy's Story
Sasa Uko Safi!!! (Now you are clean)
Mercy tried her best to prevent the smil curling up on her face, but the gigles could not be stopped as the song came to a close. She was not used to seeing her third grade classmates jumping up and down in that way before. It certainly wasn't typical of her shy personality
This routine morning received quite the interruption at her school in Isuka Village in northern Tanzania. A few unexpected visitors returned to their school. "The water drillers are back!" the students excitedly whispered. They wondered why they would be back.
"Maybe the water pump is broken," one of her friends chimed in. But Mercy's mother fetched a bucket of the fresh clean water that very morning, and no other clean water source exists within several miles. "Maybe they are drilling another well?" a young boy pondered. But there was no giant loud truck, so that couldn't be it. They waited in anticipation under the big acacia tree.
"Greetings! Today we're here for a WASH traning!" said a young woman with the drillers.
Throughout the day Mercy learned that clean water alone is not enough and healthy habits such as washing hands are essential to staying healthy.
She learned to make a Tippy Tap and a hand washing song in her local language of Swahili. This song was the source of many giggles. Mercy still smiles each time she washes her hands while humming the song.
Finally, the visitors shared about a man named Jesus who can help wash away the dirt from our lives. Mercy was shocked to hear that Jesus even once washed his friends' dirty feet. This Jesus must be a different kind of teacher, she thought while trying to imagine her teacher washing her feet. Mercy couldn't wait to go home and share what she had learned with her entire family.
*In developing countries, it is estimated that regular hand washing with soap reduces common sickness by up to 50%.
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