Joe Sykes' month with eWATER

Week three: the week that's been

My third and final week with eWATER allowed me the opportunity to visit some of the smart taps located in Tabora. This was the first opportunity I had to interact with people who currently had access to the eWATER taps.

Of the many benefits cited by the local people, perhaps the most persistent was how the eWATER taps allowed them to collect water at any time of day, which was not possible under the old system, where water was only available if a merchant was stationed by the tap.

Overall, my time with eWATER in Tanzania has been an unforgettable experience, and I feel as though I’ve emerged with a greater sense of the issues (and possible solutions) to the water crisis in Tanzania

Week two: the week that's been

Week 2 has to taken me into Kiteto, just east of the Capital, Dodoma. Here, I was lucky enough to accompany the amazing eWATER team into the villages of Dosidosi and Nchinila. The conversations with the villagers were tragically revealing - the vast majority of people had no access to clean water, and many only treat dirty water with ammonium sulphate - which can be fatal in high concentrations. It was amazing to see just how receptive the eWATER team was to the villagers needs -?not only by ensuring the upcoming eWATER taps would be suitably close to their households, but also noting any other suggestion/ requirement they may have.

Week one: the week that's been

I’ve had an incredible first few days out here. It was amazing to spend some time with locals in Arusha downtown ( and to try, unsuccessfully, to master a variation of checkers). These conversations really allowed me to get a sense of the issues (water-related or otherwise) faced by urban Tanzanians.But going into a village itself (Ngaramtoni) really evoked an intense emotional response to the levels of deprivation faced by so many Tanzanians. It was inspiring to see how eWATER were helping to tackle these issues, and heartwarming to interact with the amazingly friendly villagers. I’m off to Dodoma as we speak, so im excited to see how different (or not) the capital of the nation will be!

Day one: Flight to Tanzania

Hi there ! I’m Joe, 19 years old. Today my flight leaves to Tanzania, where I’ll be doing some work for eWATER for most of July. I’m very excited to get out there and see how eWATER is helping to tackle the water crisis in Tanzania. Hopefully I can help out with some of the new projects in the pipeline as well, before heading up to Edinburgh for uni in September.