The Sustainable and Resilient Tanzanian Community program is every mindful of how our work in Marwa sits within the context of the greater Global need for water. On 22 March we celebrated World Water Day through a training program for some of our students. 

The SRTC was privileged to host Ohio State's Asst. Prof. Audrey Sawyer from Earth Sciences and Dr. Zuzana Bohrerova, Research Specialist and Assoc. Director of the Ohio Water Resources Center, to present and share training on the tools and techniques that will be used in May. Audrey and Zuzana worked with Callia Tellez, Kierra Wiggins, Tyler Sarver, Emma van Dommelen, and CJ Gerber from the Sustainable and Resilient Tanzanian Community’s 2018 water testing team. The time and expertise that Audrey and Zuzana shared is greatly appreciated.

The work that we are doing with the University of Dodoma, the Kilimanjaro Hope Organization and the people of Marwa to address the water needs of the villagers is valued and appreciated by all our stakeholders and partners. It is so important to provide, clean, safe and accessible water. The installations of the rainwater harvesting systems onto the schools will not only provide access to water but also an opportunity to educate the students on health and sanitation practices and importantly lighten the burden of the families, especially the women and girls, to provide a daily water allowance for each student.

In celebration of World Water Day we are sharing a video of the launch of the rainwater harvesting system in June 2017.

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The plans for our May 2018 travel with students from Ohio State and the University of Dodoma are progressing and there is much excitement and focused work. We are very fortunate to have two of our 2017 cohort from Ohio State travelling back to Marwa with us this year – Patrick Sours and Cj Gerber. Both Patrick and Cj undertook the May 2017 student service as part of their Civil engineering capstone and both stayed on in Same/Marwa to be a part of the inaugural SRTC Intern program.

Patrick is now a Grad student doing his Masters’ degree in the College of Food Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and he will be travelling as the assistant resident director to Prof. Hagenberger as well as staying on to undertake 3 weeks of independent research examining the issues surrounding the implementation of new technologies and innovation in the intercultural space. In 2017 his internship focused on documenting and reporting the construction process for the rainwater harvesting system onto the Marwa medical clinic, he then reviewed this process and has identified a range of potential innovations that he will be negotiating/implementing with the local Team in Marwa/Same. He was also a member of the 2017 CEGE capstone design team for the Marwa medical clinic rainwater harvesting system.

Cj is in the final stages of his undergraduate Civil engineering degree and has been an integral member of the Buckeye Funder team as well as very active in the water testing team and the capstone team that is designing the filtration system for the big system that will bring water from the Pangani to each of the four Marwa sub-villages. His internship work focused on reviewing, with recommendations, the location and access for the Same Town market – his 2017 report was critical in assisting the Same District Council to focus their decisions on the future for the market site.

The SRTC is committed to working with our students and the local people of Marwa, Same and Tanzania to build a sustainable and resilient future together. It is through your support that we are able to do this. Please keep updated via: https://www.facebook.com/ourSRTC/

Thanks you! Asante sana! Ashen oleng!

1st photo: Cj (centre) with Kierra (Right) and Ryan (Left) working on he Buckeye Funder

2nd photo: 2017 SRTC interns sharing a break with Kateri from the Kilimanjaro Hope Organizati

3rd photo: Patrick atop the near completed tank for the RWH system in Marwa 2017