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“I dedicated much time in searching for water rather than studying.” -Salma, Kwigema’s grandchild.

Shinyanga region, Tanzania

GPS: -3.681, 33.4271
  • Story
  • Shinyanga, Tanzania
  • FAQ's

Your gift provides a safe water source, health training, and hope to women and children living in Shinyanga.

Life in Shinyanga

August 2022

In Shinyanga, water is scarce. Women and children are responsible for collecting water for household use. The average trip to get water takes about an hour and a half, and it is a trip that must be made multiple times per day. As a result, many children drop out of school to help provide for their families. However, this is entirely preventable.

Water is as good as diamonds in Mwamala ward in Shinyanga. Kwigema Masanga is a 76-year-old living in Mwamala with two of her grandchildren who are 15 and 17. All of her life, Kwigema has felt as if her village has been forgotten when it comes to safe and clean water. Now, her grandchildren bear that burden. 

“Since I was a child, I used to walk long distances searching for water and today the situation is even worse for my grandchildren because they walk a longer distance compared to me,” Kwigema said. 

Because of their long walks to water, Kwigema’s grandchildren are struggling in school. Her oldest granddaughter, Genoveva, spends more than four hours per day getting water. 

“Sometimes I give up with my dream of being a nurse because I spent many hours searching for water, I don’t get enough time to study and am always attacked with illness due to the drinking of contaminated water,” Genoveva said. 

Kwigema’s youngest granddaughter had to give up on her dreams of being a teacher because she failed out of school. This happened as a result of her missing too many classes because she was fetching water and dealing with illnesses that resulted from drinking unsafe water. 

The family is trying to adopt healthy habits like using a latrine and washing their hands, but these are difficult without enough water. 

Kwigema knows that safe water will significantly improve the lives of her grandchildren and those in her community by helping them overcome poverty, keep children in school, and practice good sanitation and hygiene. 

When you give safe water, you give to women like Kwigema and her grandchildren living in Shinyanga. You free women from long journeys to water and allow them to stay in school and achieve their dreams. 

 

About the Region

Shinyanga, Tanzania

In the northern part of Tanzania lies the region of Shinyanga, home to 390,000 people. In Shinyanga, 66 percent of the population drinks unsafe water. 

In Shinyanga, 96 percent of the population relies largely on agriculture and crop cultivation for their income. Nearly one in five people in the area where Lifewater serves have never been to school. 

Gathering water in Shinyanga takes around 90 minutes, with many families relying on unprotected wells or ponds for water. 

Concerningly, 30 percent of children under five years old had diarrhea during the seven days prior to the most recent 2021 survey. Diarrhea is a global leading cause of death in children under the age of five years old, and it’s primarily caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation.

The good news is, this is entirely preventable. Lifewater’s work shows that waterborne illness can be nearly eliminated with basic access to things like safe drinking water, proper sanitation, and washing hands with soap.

Children and families in Shinyanga need your help. Give to Shinyanga today.

Am I sponsoring a specific village?

No. Your gift will help provide safe drinking water and improved sanitation and hygiene for the Shinyanga region rather than one specific village, making it possible for Lifewater to reach families like this as well as their neighbors.

Will I receive updates?

Yes! You can expect regular updates on progress in the Shinyanga region. And, when the communities in the region are transformed with safe water, you’ll receive a story and photos from a family whose life is changed because of your gift.

Can I visit programs and/or my sponsored water project?

Lifewater has local staff that live and serve among the communities and schools where Lifewater works. Our staff know the language and the culture and are best equipped to serve communities. Because we seek to ensure sustainable water projects and community buy in, we do not allow donors to visit the projects they sponsor. However, we do commit to sending real-time updates, photos, and stories from the projects themselves.

Where does Lifewater work?

With more than 45 years’ experience, Lifewater is the longest-running Christian clean water charity in North America. Over those 45 years, Lifewater has worked in more than 45 different countries. Currently, our work is focused in Sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania) and Southeast Asia (Cambodia).

Why these countries and regions?

Lifewater identifies countries and regions that are unreached and underserved with basic water access and sanitation, which means we focus on areas where other organizations are not serving.

Although great strides have been made in the past 20 years to solve the global water crisis, remote and rural populations still remain unreached with adequate water and sanitation. These distant regions are difficult and often costly for governments and NGOs to serve well. Many of these communities feel as though they have been forgotten.

Can I request a water project in a specific country?

Currently, Lifewater has programs in Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Cambodia. You can go to lifewater.org/projects to select a specific water project to help. Because our programs are regionalized and made in partnership with the local governments, we are not able to take requests for specific water projects outside of our existing programs.

What percent of funds go towards programs?

Lifewater budgets 80% of expenditures for programs. The remaining 20% is split between administrative/management and fundraising expenses. This ratio is best in class for nonprofits and is why Lifewater has received the highest rating from Charity Navigator.

Administrative/management expenses are used to ensure that we are effective in managing the funds entrusted to us and include the following types of expenses: accounting personnel, leadership time, professional development of staff, external auditors, legal counsel, government registration expenses in every U.S. state, credit card fees for processing donations, bank fees, database maintenance, and office expenses.

Fundraising expenses generate the income needed to do the work that we set out to do. These include the cost of direct mail appeals and communication, marketing projects, donor relations personnel, and email communication systems. Last year, every dollar invested into Lifewater fundraising efforts resulted in $10 of donation for the organization.

Is Lifewater approved/vetted by 3rd party organizations?

Over our 45 year history, Lifewater has received the highest accreditations from the most respected rating organization in the industry. Lifewater is recognized as one of the top-rated charities in the United States by independent reporting organizations, including:

Charity Navigator (four stars)
Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA)
Guidestar (Platinum)
Great Nonprofits (five star)
Excellence in Giving
Learn more at https://lifewater.org/top-rated-charity.

How does Lifewater integrate faith into its work?

Lifewater’s work is founded on the belief that every person is made in the image of God. It is with this conviction that we seek out the globe’s most unreached, marginalized people groups in need of safe water.

Both nationally and internationally, 100 percent of our staff are Christians. These Christian staff help facilitate Lifewater’s Healthy Church strategy in communities. And, where there are no churches, we work with church planting partners to start new churches.

To create Healthy Churches, Lifewater first trains church leaders in foundational theology. These leaders are equipped with the basic story of the Christian faith and the biblical mandate to love others. Leaders learn that stopping the spread of disease and caring for the vulnerable aligns with our responsibility as Christians to love our neighbor.

Second, Lifewater ensures churches have safe bathrooms on their premises, handwashing stations, clean water nearby, and the education to promote health within their congregations. It’s imperative that churches are early adopters of healthy hygiene practices.

Third, Lifewater encourages churches to help vulnerable households become Healthy Homes. Church leaders undergo a training to become WASH (water access, sanitation, and hygiene) advocates in their communities. These advocates are encouraged to identify widows, child-headed households, the elderly, and the disabled to help them meet the health standards of Lifewater’s programs.

What is Lifewater’s process? What does the organization do, and how does it do it?

Lifewater’s Vision of a Healthy Village strategy is a relationship-first method. This model transforms entire regions house by house, village by village, and school by school. It is among the most intensive household-level work happening in the entire developing world and is closely tracked for progress, sustainability, and overall impact.

We construct custom-engineered safe water sources and teach life-saving health and sanitation practices in local villages and schools in need.

Story

Your gift provides a safe water source, health training, and hope to women and children living in Shinyanga.

Life in Shinyanga

August 2022

In Shinyanga, water is scarce. Women and children are responsible for collecting water for household use. The average trip to get water takes about an hour and a half, and it is a trip that must be made multiple times per day. As a result, many children drop out of school to help provide for their families. However, this is entirely preventable.

Water is as good as diamonds in Mwamala ward in Shinyanga. Kwigema Masanga is a 76-year-old living in Mwamala with two of her grandchildren who are 15 and 17. All of her life, Kwigema has felt as if her village has been forgotten when it comes to safe and clean water. Now, her grandchildren bear that burden. 

“Since I was a child, I used to walk long distances searching for water and today the situation is even worse for my grandchildren because they walk a longer distance compared to me,” Kwigema said. 

Because of their long walks to water, Kwigema’s grandchildren are struggling in school. Her oldest granddaughter, Genoveva, spends more than four hours per day getting water. 

“Sometimes I give up with my dream of being a nurse because I spent many hours searching for water, I don’t get enough time to study and am always attacked with illness due to the drinking of contaminated water,” Genoveva said. 

Kwigema’s youngest granddaughter had to give up on her dreams of being a teacher because she failed out of school. This happened as a result of her missing too many classes because she was fetching water and dealing with illnesses that resulted from drinking unsafe water. 

The family is trying to adopt healthy habits like using a latrine and washing their hands, but these are difficult without enough water. 

Kwigema knows that safe water will significantly improve the lives of her grandchildren and those in her community by helping them overcome poverty, keep children in school, and practice good sanitation and hygiene. 

When you give safe water, you give to women like Kwigema and her grandchildren living in Shinyanga. You free women from long journeys to water and allow them to stay in school and achieve their dreams. 

Shinyanga, Tanzania

 

About the Region

Shinyanga, Tanzania

In the northern part of Tanzania lies the region of Shinyanga, home to 390,000 people. In Shinyanga, 66 percent of the population drinks unsafe water. 

In Shinyanga, 96 percent of the population relies largely on agriculture and crop cultivation for their income. Nearly one in five people in the area where Lifewater serves have never been to school. 

Gathering water in Shinyanga takes around 90 minutes, with many families relying on unprotected wells or ponds for water. 

Concerningly, 30 percent of children under five years old had diarrhea during the seven days prior to the most recent 2021 survey. Diarrhea is a global leading cause of death in children under the age of five years old, and it’s primarily caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation.

The good news is, this is entirely preventable. Lifewater’s work shows that waterborne illness can be nearly eliminated with basic access to things like safe drinking water, proper sanitation, and washing hands with soap.

Children and families in Shinyanga need your help. Give to Shinyanga today.

FAQ's

Am I sponsoring a specific village?

No. Your gift will help provide safe drinking water and improved sanitation and hygiene for the Shinyanga region rather than one specific village, making it possible for Lifewater to reach families like this as well as their neighbors.

Will I receive updates?

Yes! You can expect regular updates on progress in the Shinyanga region. And, when the communities in the region are transformed with safe water, you’ll receive a story and photos from a family whose life is changed because of your gift.

Can I visit programs and/or my sponsored water project?

Lifewater has local staff that live and serve among the communities and schools where Lifewater works. Our staff know the language and the culture and are best equipped to serve communities. Because we seek to ensure sustainable water projects and community buy in, we do not allow donors to visit the projects they sponsor. However, we do commit to sending real-time updates, photos, and stories from the projects themselves.

Where does Lifewater work?

With more than 45 years’ experience, Lifewater is the longest-running Christian clean water charity in North America. Over those 45 years, Lifewater has worked in more than 45 different countries. Currently, our work is focused in Sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania) and Southeast Asia (Cambodia).

Why these countries and regions?

Lifewater identifies countries and regions that are unreached and underserved with basic water access and sanitation, which means we focus on areas where other organizations are not serving.

Although great strides have been made in the past 20 years to solve the global water crisis, remote and rural populations still remain unreached with adequate water and sanitation. These distant regions are difficult and often costly for governments and NGOs to serve well. Many of these communities feel as though they have been forgotten.

Can I request a water project in a specific country?

Currently, Lifewater has programs in Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Cambodia. You can go to lifewater.org/projects to select a specific water project to help. Because our programs are regionalized and made in partnership with the local governments, we are not able to take requests for specific water projects outside of our existing programs.

What percent of funds go towards programs?

Lifewater budgets 80% of expenditures for programs. The remaining 20% is split between administrative/management and fundraising expenses. This ratio is best in class for nonprofits and is why Lifewater has received the highest rating from Charity Navigator.

Administrative/management expenses are used to ensure that we are effective in managing the funds entrusted to us and include the following types of expenses: accounting personnel, leadership time, professional development of staff, external auditors, legal counsel, government registration expenses in every U.S. state, credit card fees for processing donations, bank fees, database maintenance, and office expenses.

Fundraising expenses generate the income needed to do the work that we set out to do. These include the cost of direct mail appeals and communication, marketing projects, donor relations personnel, and email communication systems. Last year, every dollar invested into Lifewater fundraising efforts resulted in $10 of donation for the organization.

Is Lifewater approved/vetted by 3rd party organizations?

Over our 45 year history, Lifewater has received the highest accreditations from the most respected rating organization in the industry. Lifewater is recognized as one of the top-rated charities in the United States by independent reporting organizations, including:

Charity Navigator (four stars)
Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA)
Guidestar (Platinum)
Great Nonprofits (five star)
Excellence in Giving
Learn more at https://lifewater.org/top-rated-charity.

How does Lifewater integrate faith into its work?

Lifewater’s work is founded on the belief that every person is made in the image of God. It is with this conviction that we seek out the globe’s most unreached, marginalized people groups in need of safe water.

Both nationally and internationally, 100 percent of our staff are Christians. These Christian staff help facilitate Lifewater’s Healthy Church strategy in communities. And, where there are no churches, we work with church planting partners to start new churches.

To create Healthy Churches, Lifewater first trains church leaders in foundational theology. These leaders are equipped with the basic story of the Christian faith and the biblical mandate to love others. Leaders learn that stopping the spread of disease and caring for the vulnerable aligns with our responsibility as Christians to love our neighbor.

Second, Lifewater ensures churches have safe bathrooms on their premises, handwashing stations, clean water nearby, and the education to promote health within their congregations. It’s imperative that churches are early adopters of healthy hygiene practices.

Third, Lifewater encourages churches to help vulnerable households become Healthy Homes. Church leaders undergo a training to become WASH (water access, sanitation, and hygiene) advocates in their communities. These advocates are encouraged to identify widows, child-headed households, the elderly, and the disabled to help them meet the health standards of Lifewater’s programs.

What is Lifewater’s process? What does the organization do, and how does it do it?

Lifewater’s Vision of a Healthy Village strategy is a relationship-first method. This model transforms entire regions house by house, village by village, and school by school. It is among the most intensive household-level work happening in the entire developing world and is closely tracked for progress, sustainability, and overall impact.

We construct custom-engineered safe water sources and teach life-saving health and sanitation practices in local villages and schools in need.

Your gift reflects your trust in Lifewater International. We commit to honor your generosity by using your gift to help further the mission and vision of Lifewater International. Your donation is used by Lifewater International according to the project objectives to provide safe drinking water and improved sanitation and hygiene within the specified program area. Lifewater International is a charitable organization as described in 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, registered in the United States. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

Donations are non-refundable. Lifewater International will honor a donor’s request for any pre-approved program or project whenever possible. In rare occasions where this is not possible, gifts will be used where needed, in accordance with the organization’s charitable purpose. In accordance with this policy, donor’s explicitly release Lifewater International from further restriction on such funds.