Mahove, day #1

Azuberi Mhema at the water tap outside Mahove chapel

I spent three blessed days of my trip in Mahove, the Maasai village that was the site of our water project of the past year. 

Day #1 was for a meeting with members of the water committee.  Maasai village elders plus leaders from the neighboring communities of Kisilwa, Mahuninga and Makifu who share this water system were in attendance.

Our vehicle pulled to a stop just outside the chapel, just steps away from this water tap.  I can't describe the joy and relief I felt, seeing the water flow.

In the shade, chairs were set up and people started assembling about an hour after the announced start time.  Throughout the day, as the sun and shade moved, the chairs did too.

Mahove is a Maasai village, its neighbors are primarily from the Hehe tribe. The neighboring communities have used this water system for about thirty years before it was extended to the village of Mahove. The water committee will oversee maintenance of the whole system. It appeared that all the water committee members who were present that day are from the Hehe tribe and the originally served villages. I have a feeling that may change.

Shepherd of the Valley had arranged to have Tanzanian staff from St Paul Partners come to Mahove for these conversations and for sanitation training.  St Paul Partners is an organization that grew out of the partnership between Saint Paul Area Synod and the Iringa Diocese, with a focus on drilling wells and improving water quality and sanitation in the region.  Members of the Minnesota organization had been instrumental in providing advice and expertise as we planned this project with our partners, and a member of their Tanzanian staff had previously been to Mahove.

Heute (above left) was the main presenter for the day, assisted by Upendo, a community development student at Tumaini University, and introduced by Pastor Naftal (left).  Heute's husband Charles came along as driver and photographer.

Heute (pronounced 'hyoot') hung her poster board from a tree branch, got out her marker, and explained that we'd be talking about three things today -- water policy, sustainability, and sanitation.

I had the wonderful assistance of Pastor John Mhekwa as my translator throughout the day.

Heute talked about how the Tanzanian government supports communities developing their own sources of safe water. In the case of Mahove, people moved to this area six to eight years ago.  There was no water available and no government plan to make it so.  The decision to extend the piping system came from the community itself, which also came up with the funding plan (SOTV partnership) to make it happen.

A big part of this discussion was addressng the reality that ongoing maintenance of the system will be the responsibility of the communities who are served by the system.  The communities have agreed to charge a fee of 2400 Tanzanian Shillings (TSH) per person per year.  That amounts to about $1.53 in US dollars.

These contributions will cover ongoing expenses, such as replacing parts.

I was sitting in on the conversation as a representative of Shepherd of the Valley, and Heute would frequently refer to me in this discussion.  Exhorting them to care for the system diligently, she would add, "So Mama Kirsten sees in years to come that the project is still okay."  Warning them that the project would be their responsibility to maintain, she would say, "The project belongs to you and not to Mama Kirsten; it's your responsibility to maintain.  If you find a leak, you can't go to Mama Kirsten to fix it."

There was a lot of very interesting, healthy questions from the Maasai elders.  Is the 2400 TSH enough?  What if later on we need to extend the pipes further or to more homes?  Who is keeping the contributions?  Will we receive income and expense reports?  What are the consequences if a person or family does not contribute to the fund?

These were great questions, and the discussion was lively.  There was really very little resistance to paying the small fee, especially after Heute mentioned that in Iringa she pays 24,000 TSH  per month.  There was a lot of discussion about the pros and cons of opening a bank account in Iringa (which would cost 36,000 in travel expenses every time the committee needed to deposit or withdraw funds) verses using the Tungamalenga SACCOs as its fund holder.  There was also insistence on transparency and accountability, with general agreement that the committee should provide financial reports every three months.  There was also discussion about what amount should be charged in fines for nonpayment, but no consensus.

All good conversations to have.  The members of the water committee seemed a little on the defensive from all these questions and challenges.  We spoke briefly about how, if they are faithful in their duties, and if they keep good and accurate records of the financial transactions, then the reporting requirements are a protection for them, as well.  With good records and documentation they will always be able to show that they have been good stewards of the community's contributions.

Heute got the conversation going again, addressing issues around protecting the water source.  Each tap (there are six in Mahove) has a circle of concrete surrounding the tap, with a release ramp leading excess water downhill.  Animals will frequently congregate around the tap, so it's important to fence the tap circle.  The community also needs to protect the intake area, keeping cultivation and animals away.

And that was the end of the "water policy" part of the discussion.  Up next, sustainability.

There was a lot of overlapping discussion, but this part of the presentation emphasized cooperation, writing specific rules and consequences for water users, developing subcommittees to monitor different parts of the system, good communication, lines of responsibility so that everyone in a village knows how to report a leak, and the encouragement toward avoiding dependency.  Again, "Don't expect to go to Mama Kirsten with small problems like a leak."

Finally, the third part of the presentation was sanitation training.  This entails a lot more than just the warning to boil water before drinking it.  (By the way, that's the rule in all of Tanzania, from the big cities to the rural villages.  We are told that only about a third of the population actually follows this advice.)

Additional instructions included building a choo (pronounced "choh" and meaning outhouse), educating communities about washing hands, keeping animals away from the taps.

Heute showed pictures of what she called a "tip tap," an ingenius invention that allows you to wash hands without touching a tap handle.

You step on a stick that's connected by a rope to a jug of water suspended from a tree branch.  The jug tips, you wash your hands.  Simple, and no germs on the tap handles.

I must have walked away to use the choo at this point in the conversation, and when I got back it had all evolved into a discussion of gender roles.  Heute was encouraging men to help the women around the home.  If she's cooking, he can keep the baby out of trouble.  If she's caring for the children, he could help cook.  Amid much laughing and good humor, one Maasai Mama observed, "the Maasai men do not help with such things; the baby can be crying, dinner is there to cook and cattle to be milked."  An old Maasai man returned, "when the Maasai men cook, the women refuse to eat." One younger Maasai man admitted, "I will help with cooking and washing, but I will never wash the baby's bottom."

Evangelist Petro summed up the day:  "I didn't think we'd ever sit around like this and talk about these things.  This church is a blessing to our community. Thank you for this teaching."