Water and Women's Empowerment in Tanzania

One Day’s Wages is partnering with Pastoral Women’s Council to drill two deep-water boreholes, providing clean and accessible water to 3,500 Maasai pastoralist women.

Why Tanzania?

One third of Tanzania is of arid to semi-arid climate, making it very difficult for people to access clean water for their daily use. Climatic variability over the past three years has worsened the situation, and the country has received less than average annual rainfall. According to the 2017 Tanzania Economic Update by the World Bank, Tanzania’s per capita water resources have declined to the extent that it has crossed the threshold into the water-stressed country category. The Ngorongoro district, where Pastoral Women’s Council works, was hit hard by ongoing drought. The situation is exacerbated by the vastness of the district, which is connected by a poor road network, inadequate access to social services, low incomes, and general poverty—especially amongst women who are excluded from controlling livestock, property, and land. Women often have to travel long distances, sometimes over 6 miles, in search of water.

ODW + Pastoral Women’s Council

One Day’s Wages is partnering with Pastoral Women’s Council to drill 2 boreholes for deep wells in the Ngorongoro district of Tanzania. These deep wells will provide a buffer against climate change, such as drought, and their centralized location will increase accessibility. Because the burden of water access falls more heavily on women, new water access points provides hope and empowerment for women. By providing clean and accessible water to the Maasai women living in the district, they no longer have to walk long distances and risk their safety to collect water for their households. The time that women used to spend fetching water can now be used to participate in the community and in Pastoral Women’s Council economic empowerment activities. Water is not only a source of life but also a source of empowerment for Maasai women.

Join us

Join us in empowering 3,500 Maasai women in Tanzania with clean, accessible water from deep wells. The progress bar above includes our intended match amount of $15,000 for a total granting goal of $30,000.