Water purification system at secondary school in Tanzania

Finally, the installation of the water purification system is complete and everything is working the way it’s supposed to. That means that the pump and all filters are put in the wooden box that has been made to keep the system in place. The solar panels and the batteries are installed and all the electricity is connected to the system.

After testing the system it was time for the next round of water samples. In the beginning of the project, similar water samples were made with the water from the water tanks and they showed contamination of the water by high numbers of coliform bacteria. The new water samples were perfect and showed that no bacteria was in the water coming from the water tap after the filters, and that also meant the water was perfectly drinkable.

The next step was to have an opening ceremony at the school and celebrate that the project is finished. On this ceremony, the volunteers cut a ribbon together with the headmaster of the school before handing over the keys to the system and with that also the responsibility of the system. Clean water was handed out to teachers and students, and seeing their happiness meant all the hard work carried out both from Sweden during the previous year, and these two months in Tanzania was worth it.

To make sure that the teachers at the school would use the system properly, a book with instructions regarding everything from how to operate the system, how to fix errors and leaking as well as maintaining the filters properly, has been written and left at the school. By using these instructions we are educating a number of teachers and students that have been chosen as responsible for the purification system and they are learning very fast. That means we are hopeful that everything will work the way it is supposed to when we leave the school and go back to Sweden.

We have also finished the education and workshops with all students at the school, where we have continued to discuss the importance of clean water and good hygiene.

Wind Power for Tanzania

After 9 months of planning/working in Sweden and 2 weeks in Tanzania, the wind turbine is finally finished. There is now light in both the boys' and the girls' dormitories.

With the addition of four solar panels, we also brought power to 3 classrooms and the teachers' office. Now, the installation of computers is possible in the office and students can comfortably study even in the evening hours.

We would like to thank all of you for the support and especially, our three sponsors Sandvik, Wallenstam and Proplate.

Water purification system at secondary school in Tanzania

For the last weeks two volunteers from EWB have been working on a water purification system for a secondary school in Karagwe region in northwest Tanzania. The project has to this date made good progress and we are almost ready to start the big installation at the school with the materials we now have ready.

This means that we have solar panel and battery that will supply the system with the required electricity. We have all the pipes and fittings needed to drain the water from the tank, through the system and finally to the tap. We have with the good help of a local carpenter designed the wooden box that will fit the entire purification system and this work is now finished.

In addition to this we have also started with the workshops/education programs about water management, health risk related to water and hygiene, which is an associated part of the project. We have had one workshop together with the teachers at the school where we focused on discussions about usages of water and how risks in different contexts are avoided in the best possible way. We have also had interactive lecture with the students where we ask questions and let the students answer as well as ask their own questions. Through this course, we want to raise awareness about water issues. It also gives us volunteers a good insight into different problems you find here in Tanzania regarding water.

The weeks ahead of us involves instalment of the water purification system along with solar panels and battery. We will make sure everything works as we intended and we will also continue education with more students. There will also be a separate workshop on how to use and maintain the purification system with those responsible at the school.

Engineers on their way - Care to join

Engineers on their way-Care to join” is an exhibition with the aim to inform and inspire engineering student by showing how engineering skills are needed and used to help refugees. The exhibition has been created with the engineer in mind, presenting five different initiatives in which engineering plays a key role in helping displaced people. For each initiative, the need and the requirements in the specific case are stated, followed by the solution provided by the initiator. By acknowledging different aspects of displacement and by showing a wide spectrum of engineering being applied, the exhibition informs and hopefully inspires engineers, future engineers and others to contribute to a better world.

The exhibition was an initiative from the EWB Linköping where it has also been exhibited during the spring. The exhibition is intended to be long-lived and used elsewhere and will go on a tour to other EWB groups. During the fall, it will be shown at Uppsala University and Chalmers University and the exhibition will hopefully continue to other universities.

A new rainwater tank for Rukole Primary school in Tanzania was financed through crowdfunding (swish).

Thanks to your donations a rainwater tank is now being built at Rukole Primary School.

The tank will provide drinking water for the over 1300 students. The rainwater tank collects water during the rainy season and provides the school with drinking water during the dry season.  The donated money goes directly to the construction of the tank with local volunteers (some parents of the school children) and local workers. All work by members of Engineers Without Borders is volunteer work. 

Work as a volunteer for 9 months?
If you have the possibility to work as a volunteer for a long time it will surely be an experience you will never forget. Engineers Without Borders needs experienced engineers in many tasks. To stay abroad as a volunteer for 3-12 months is a good way to use your engineering skills to help others. One of our volunteers, Marianne Grauers is currently staying in Karagwe district in Tanzania for 9 months. There she is working with many different projects like for example providing clean water in villages and schools. If you are interested contact: marianne.grauers@ewb-swe.org