The Maasai women of Ngabolo, a small village in Tanzania’s Kiteto District, welcomed the WaterCan Climb for Life team with traditional song and dance.
After a short stop at Kibaya's local government offices, we received a warm welcome in Ngabolo, a small Maasai village of just under 1,300 people. Due to increasing pressures such as climate change and immigration, traditionally pastoralist communities like Ngabolo are facing challenges with permanent settlements, often finding their homes invaded by farmers when they return to their villages with their livestock for the wet seasons.
Permanency is also difficult because there is often no reliable source of safe water for families and their livestock.
Following speeches of welcome, we set out on the 20-minute walk to Ngabolo’s only water source—a steep 200-feet deep pit with a few tree branches guarding the entrance from predators (both human and non-). Other than the branches, there are no natural barriers to provide even a first level of defense against contaminants such as natural sediments and the plentiful cow feces that surrounds the ditch. At the bottom of the trench, there is a small pool of murky (and likely pathogen-rich) water.
Considering the factors that make this pit unsafe alongside the community’s desperate need for water brought Fela Kuti’s 1975 anthem “Water No Get Enemy” to mind. The pit is a paradox. While its water may temporarily sustain the villagers and their livestock, it is likely also the source of debilitating waterborne disease.
If villagers do get sick, there are not many places to turn. Ngabolo has a fully stocked—but padlocked—health clinic. Close by sits a half-finished school. Both are out of operation because these facilities are next to useless without a reliable source of clean and safe water. In reflection, one of our team members remarked that it’s one thing for charities to build a school and quite another to ensure that the school can be properly used. Same goes for clinics.
While WaterCan is not yet working with Ngabolo, executive director George Yap made a promise to investigate when the community formally requested our help with their water situation. It was a quiet drive to our next destination.
More from the trip soon.