The Mtitu Foundation was set up to raise money for
the village of Mtitu in South-West Tanzania. Mtitu
is a poor village with around 3000 inhabitants
living in abject poverty. The village is mostly
made up from the Hehe tribe, speaking the Kihehe
and Swahili languages.
The residents of Mtitu are adamant that they do not want to change their traditional way of life, which is hard and physical but satisfying. They fetch and carry all their water and fuel and grow crops on small-scale subsistence farming. They say that their life is a hard life, a simple life, but a good life.
A typical village house & small-scale subsistence farming
However the aspect of life that they desperately want to change is that they would like freedom from illness. Disease and illness affects much of the village, with water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid, insect-borne diseases such as malaria and human contact illnesses such as HIV/AIDS. Even relatively minor illness can be catastrophic, because if you can’t work because you’re ill, you can’t grow food and your family will starve.
To combat illness the village needs clean, safe water, education, medical facilities and money. The Mtitu Foundation is working on these projects.
Two-year-old Mwamuzi will grow up to benefit from our projects!
Mtitu Clean Water Project
Water is drawn from two wells in the village as well as the river. The village of Mtitu is named after the Mtitu River. Mtitu means ‘black’ – a reference to the colour of the water!
The Mtitu River & one of the two wells in the village
The water is not clean and even after boiling has the potential of contamination.
The Mtitu Foundation is raising money to purchase a HYDRAM – a hydraulic ram pump which will pump water from the river to a holding tank in the village. Once the water is in a tank, it can be filtered and treated.
The ongoing cost of maintenance and treatment will be met by the villagers paying a fraction of a penny for each bucket of clean water that they draw from the tank.
The HYDRAM system together with pipework and a holding tank, treatment works and a filtration system, will cost in the region of £1000.
Mtitu Secondary School Project
Mtitu has a primary school – with over 600 children and just 14 teachers. However when children leave primary there is no secondary school for them to attend. Those who can afford it can send their children to secondary boarding school, but this is beyond the means of many. There is also no adult education in the village.
Pictures of Mtitu Primary School
The Mtitu Foundation is raising money to build a secondary school in the village. As at the end of November 2007, we had raised £2,500, which has built the school up to the level of the top of the walls. There is a long way to go – the total cost of the school including legal setup fees, initial staffing and resources as well as building materials, is estimated to be £15,000.
As well as the obvious advantages of education a secondary school would provide jobs and keep families together in the village.
Discussing progress outside the new school building
Existing buildings will be renovated to make a science lab and admin block.
Mtitu Medical Facilities Project
Mtitu has no clinic or doctors surgery. The nearest is 8km away and has to be reached on foot. Many people die en route to the clinic, especially women in childbirth. Even when they reach the clinic there is one medical officer – not even a doctor – dealing with a region of 15,000 people.
HIV/AIDS is a big problem with over a third of the population affected. Antiretroviral drugs are available and work well, but are expensive.
Women bring their babies to be weighed at an existing meeting place.
The Mtitu Foundation is raising money to help build, equip and staff the clinic.
The Tanzanian Government has donated 80% of the cost of building a clinic in the village, and building is underway. However the remaining 20% - around £3000 – must be raised by the villagers. They must also pay for treatment once the new clinic opens – no NHS in Tanzania!
The clinic building at the end of November 2007
The clinic will also provide education such as this sanitation workshop
Mtitu Microloan Project
In order to secure a better future for themselves the villagers need to increase their earning power and set up small businesses to generate income.
Currently almost the only income is from growing and selling crops.
Crops are planted and harvested by hand, and irrigation has to be provided by a laborious hand pump or by carrying buckets of water.
The Mtitu Foundation has set up a ‘microloan’ scheme where villagers can take out an interest free loan to enable them to start up new small businesses and repay the capital once the business is up and running.
Adelina plans to use her loan to buy chicks to raise and sell for meat at the local market
Some of the village women have learned to knit and will use their loans to buy wool and will sell the finished garments.
All profits from this stall go to the Mtitu Foundation.
You can be sure that your donation is going straight to where it is needed. We pay all donations directly into the Mtitu Community Development Fund bank account set up by the villagers themselves.
A committee of 14 people, headed by the village chief, prioritise the spending of funds raised, across the various projects in the village.
Mtitu Community Development Committee
Would you like to visit Mtitu?
Come and see the real Africa!
Stay with a family in Mtitu and experience the real African life for yourself.
It will be hard – no running water or electricity, no modern toilets, no medical facilities, a plain and simple diet. No 5 star luxury here!
But the people are among the friendliest and most joyful on earth and you will be assured that the word you will hear most often is KARIBU – WELCOME!
Please ask if you would be interested in joining a group to visit Mtitu in 2008 or 2009. The cost is likely to be around £500 for two weeks full board, plus flights.
You could stay with a family like the Kilale family, pictured above!
The residents of Mtitu are adamant that they do not want to change their traditional way of life, which is hard and physical but satisfying. They fetch and carry all their water and fuel and grow crops on small-scale subsistence farming. They say that their life is a hard life, a simple life, but a good life.
A typical village house & small-scale subsistence farming
However the aspect of life that they desperately want to change is that they would like freedom from illness. Disease and illness affects much of the village, with water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid, insect-borne diseases such as malaria and human contact illnesses such as HIV/AIDS. Even relatively minor illness can be catastrophic, because if you can’t work because you’re ill, you can’t grow food and your family will starve.
To combat illness the village needs clean, safe water, education, medical facilities and money. The Mtitu Foundation is working on these projects.
Two-year-old Mwamuzi will grow up to benefit from our projects!
Mtitu Clean Water Project
Water is drawn from two wells in the village as well as the river. The village of Mtitu is named after the Mtitu River. Mtitu means ‘black’ – a reference to the colour of the water!
The Mtitu River & one of the two wells in the village
The water is not clean and even after boiling has the potential of contamination.
The Mtitu Foundation is raising money to purchase a HYDRAM – a hydraulic ram pump which will pump water from the river to a holding tank in the village. Once the water is in a tank, it can be filtered and treated.
The ongoing cost of maintenance and treatment will be met by the villagers paying a fraction of a penny for each bucket of clean water that they draw from the tank.
The HYDRAM system together with pipework and a holding tank, treatment works and a filtration system, will cost in the region of £1000.
Mtitu Secondary School Project
Mtitu has a primary school – with over 600 children and just 14 teachers. However when children leave primary there is no secondary school for them to attend. Those who can afford it can send their children to secondary boarding school, but this is beyond the means of many. There is also no adult education in the village.
Pictures of Mtitu Primary School
The Mtitu Foundation is raising money to build a secondary school in the village. As at the end of November 2007, we had raised £2,500, which has built the school up to the level of the top of the walls. There is a long way to go – the total cost of the school including legal setup fees, initial staffing and resources as well as building materials, is estimated to be £15,000.
As well as the obvious advantages of education a secondary school would provide jobs and keep families together in the village.
Discussing progress outside the new school building
Existing buildings will be renovated to make a science lab and admin block.
Mtitu Medical Facilities Project
Mtitu has no clinic or doctors surgery. The nearest is 8km away and has to be reached on foot. Many people die en route to the clinic, especially women in childbirth. Even when they reach the clinic there is one medical officer – not even a doctor – dealing with a region of 15,000 people.
HIV/AIDS is a big problem with over a third of the population affected. Antiretroviral drugs are available and work well, but are expensive.
Women bring their babies to be weighed at an existing meeting place.
The Mtitu Foundation is raising money to help build, equip and staff the clinic.
The Tanzanian Government has donated 80% of the cost of building a clinic in the village, and building is underway. However the remaining 20% - around £3000 – must be raised by the villagers. They must also pay for treatment once the new clinic opens – no NHS in Tanzania!
The clinic building at the end of November 2007
The clinic will also provide education such as this sanitation workshop
Mtitu Microloan Project
In order to secure a better future for themselves the villagers need to increase their earning power and set up small businesses to generate income.
Currently almost the only income is from growing and selling crops.
Crops are planted and harvested by hand, and irrigation has to be provided by a laborious hand pump or by carrying buckets of water.
The Mtitu Foundation has set up a ‘microloan’ scheme where villagers can take out an interest free loan to enable them to start up new small businesses and repay the capital once the business is up and running.
Adelina plans to use her loan to buy chicks to raise and sell for meat at the local market
Some of the village women have learned to knit and will use their loans to buy wool and will sell the finished garments.
All profits from this stall go to the Mtitu Foundation.
You can be sure that your donation is going straight to where it is needed. We pay all donations directly into the Mtitu Community Development Fund bank account set up by the villagers themselves.
A committee of 14 people, headed by the village chief, prioritise the spending of funds raised, across the various projects in the village.
Mtitu Community Development Committee
Would you like to visit Mtitu?
Come and see the real Africa!
Stay with a family in Mtitu and experience the real African life for yourself.
It will be hard – no running water or electricity, no modern toilets, no medical facilities, a plain and simple diet. No 5 star luxury here!
But the people are among the friendliest and most joyful on earth and you will be assured that the word you will hear most often is KARIBU – WELCOME!
Please ask if you would be interested in joining a group to visit Mtitu in 2008 or 2009. The cost is likely to be around £500 for two weeks full board, plus flights.
You could stay with a family like the Kilale family, pictured above!