Rotary Club of Arusha President Ralph Williams.
BY THE ARUSHA NEWS REPORTER
The Rotary Club of Arusha recently marked two major milestones in its continued drive to improve access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene in schools and communities across northern Tanzania.
In Arusha City, the club, together with the Arusha Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (AUWSA) and Arusha City Council (ACC), opened its 48th School Water, Sanitation and Hygiene project at Levolosi Primary School.
The project brings Arusha to within five schools of achieving full WASH coverage in all government primary schools. If completed as planned, Arusha is expected to become the first city in East Africa where every government primary school has adequate water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.
Launched in 2019 at Kambi ya Maziwa Primary School, the initiative has grown far beyond its original target of ten schools.
To date, 48 schools have benefited from improved toilets, handwashing stations, reliable water connections, hygiene education and sanitation awareness, reaching about 90,000 pupils, teachers and staff in Arusha and Mwanza.
Beyond the city, Rotary also handed over a 400,000-litre rainwater harvesting project at Ole Sokoine Secondary School in Monduli Juu. Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Arusha and the Rotary Club of Kingston, New York, the project includes forty 10,000-litre tanks installed on classrooms, dormitories and teachers’ houses.
Rotary Club of Arusha President Ralph Williams said the club hopes to expand the system by adding 50 more tanks.
With support from 48 Rotary Clubs and nine Rotary Districts worldwide, the initiative is expected to surpass 100,000 beneficiaries across 65 schools backed by an investment of about USD 1.6 million.
