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Machui, Zanzibar, Tanzania, East Africa
June 2009
Today 2,000 people have clean water in a small village on the island of Zanzibar. Through efforts of Rotarians in Fairfield and Zanzibar, the village of Machui has year-round water supplies.
Villagers in rural Machui, located in the impoverished East African nation of Tanzania, previously had to walk significant distances to access water. Through the Rotary project, the burden on women and especially children has been greatly reduced.
The project to bring clean drinking water to the village, which cost $26,500 US Dollars, was a collaborative project between the villagers, who provided the labor, Rotarians, and the government of Zanzibar.
Spearheading the project for Fairfield Rotarians was Christopher Johnson who grew up in East Africa and who leads service groups to the region. Johnson said at the dedication ceremony, "clean water equals life in Africa; and this project has given new life to the village of Machui."
Tanzania, located on the eastern edge of the African continent, is perennially one of the poorest nations on earth with a per capita income of less than $2 per day and life expectancies that hover around 52 years.
Clean drinking water is a signature focus for the Rotary International Foundation, which supported this project through its matching grants program. This grant program brought together funds from the US and Zanzibar and matched those with funds from Rotarians all over the world.
The Fairfield Rotary club, which celebrated its 70th anniversary last spring, is one of more than 30,000 Rotary clubs worldwide. More than 1.2 million Rotarians provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.
Johnson, who is also President-Elect of the Fairfield Club, developed this project to celebrate his 40th birthday and solicited contributions from friends and family to fund it. He noted on his return from Tanzania "seeing the joy of the people of Machui (at the water system) is the best gift he could ever have received."
By increasing access to clean drinking water, health improves while also freeing children who were occupied carrying water to attend school.
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