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Although our giving page is no longer active, you can still donate. If you would like to provide any additional support, please make a gift here.
Although our giving page is no longer active, you can still donate. If you would like to provide any additional support, please make a gift here.
We are Ohio State students working with students from the University of Dodoma in Tanzania, to bring water to the remote Tanzanian village of Marwa and in doing so, address the complex development needs of the community. Elephra Mason, Marwa Village Chairman, has shared that “by bringing water to Marwa, our lives will change forever.” We want to continue changing lives, but we need your generous support!
We are a part of the Ohio State Sustainable and Resilient Community - Tanzania Program which is based around community engaged learning and the long-term project is Maji Marwa. (Maji is the Swahili word for water.) Marwa is a rural village, with a predominantly Maasai population, located along the Pangani River in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania. Our long-term goal is to design and facilitate the construction of a water supply and distribution system servicing all four sub-villages of Marwa.
In August 2023, twenty-two engineering students from Civil, Environmental, Mechanical, Biomedical, Ecological, Agricultural and Industrial Systems engineering will travel to Marwa to observe the drilling of a borehole in the subvillage of Njakati and engage with the community on the planning of the power, pumping and distribution system. This is the first of what we hope to be four boreholes for the community.
To raise awareness of the water challenges in Marwa and provide the needed financial support, on August 15th, Michael Hagenberger (CoE Associate Dean, CEGE Professor of Practice), Mark Scott (CoE Director of Facilities), Katie Vatke (CEGE student), Marie Tawfik (BME alum), Kam Fry (MAE alum) and Sam Gisoldi (BME alum) will begin the second leg of the trip to Tanzania, a fundraising climb of Mount Kilimanjaro!
100% of the money raised through this campaign will be used to pay for the materials, equipment, employing local tradespeople and to facilitate the communications and planning for the construction of water systems for Marwa. We are committed to working with the people of Marwa and building their capacity and skills and local government officials so that the contributions we share are sustainable.
Today, Marwa's main source of water is the Pangani River that is supplied by runoff from Mt. Kilimanjaro. The women and young girls of Marwa walk five to seven hours every day to collect water for domestic household and personal use. This includes providing each child that is lucky enough to attend school with at least two liters of water each day to take to school for handwashing, cleaning and meal preparation at the schools. As we bring water to Marwa, we are working to improve the health and education of the children and their families. An elder woman in the community once remarked that she dreams of the day when her daughter will have an easier life and her granddaughter will have a better life. Please consider making a gift today to make her dream a reality!
Marwa is identified as a “progressive Maasai” community for its commitment to empower female residents and to address aspects of their cultural customs that are no longer appropriate. In addition, the community has made the decision to permanently settle in Marwa. The wandering pastoral life of the Maasai is changing and the Marwa village leadership is proactively seeking strategies and partnerships to engage with the modern world on their terms.
Your support will help make a real difference to the lives and future of the people of Marwa. Please embrace this opportunity – if you have any questions or suggestions, please contact any of our project leaders.
Asante sana! (thank you in Swahili)
Ashe oleng! (thank you in Kimaasai)
Follow along on our journey here.
Clean water is vital to good health. Your donation will contribute to providing access to clean water in Marwa Village.
Living in a developed country, we can take access to clean water for granted. Your donation gives hope for clean water to the current and future generations in Marwa Village.
By making this donation, you are taking action to provide primary schools and women's health clinics with access to clean water.
By making this donation, you are contributing to developing sustainable water sources for Marwa Village to improve the health and education of the community.
Providing clean water at the Marwa primary schools will impact children's health which will increase the student attendance rate by reducing the number of sick days.
Access to clean water at health clinics and primary schools will improve the health and education of the women and children of Marwa!
Your donation will support the Marwa Village Council to lead the change they seek to improve the health and education of their children.
Your donation will provide 7,000 liters of water storage to support women's health and the education of the children of Marwa.
Your donation provides funding for the construction of a 35,000-liter storage tank. Enough water to support 150 students for over 100 days in school.
Your donation will provide funding for the drilling of a well that will supply water for an entire subvillage and change the lives of over 1,000 people forever!
