Support to the Hisani Orphanage in Tanzania
Project location: Tanzania
Project start date: May 2019 -
Project end date: April 2020
Project number: 2019-040
Beneficiary: Associazione Filippo Astori
Filippo Astori Association (FAA) was founded in 2005 to keep Filippo's memory alive and carry out what he believed in.
The Association’s mission follows his thoughts and words: “To provide children without financial means the opportunity to study and create a future”.
The organization operates in Tanzania since 2006, supporting Hisani Orphanage located in Buswelu in Mwanza region, in partnership with Hisani Center for Women and Children’s Rights ONG. Both are secular non-profit organizations.
All the activities carried out by the FAA, from the organization of recreational and cultural events, to the participation in various events promoted by the Public Administration for charity, are aimed to awaken people to the issue of solidarity and international cooperation, and to raise funds for the fulfillment of projects and of services in support of the children in Hisani Orphanage.
Specifically, since 2006 the organization is covering food needs, medical expenses (some children are HIV-positive and other come down with malaria), education costs, in addition to facing some structural emergencies, such as the construction of male and female dormitories, a library, a kitchen and a dining hall, as well as renovation of the toilets.
High school in Tanzania is not free, therefore since 2009 the Association supports with scholarships girls and boys who complete the primary school cycle and wish to continue their studies.
Since 2016, the Association has taken steps to regularize performance guaranteed by the “mame” (Tanzanian staff involved in the care of the younger guests of the Orphanage), which resulted in a significant increase of management costs, but which will grant the staff a pension and health care insurance.
The ongoing projects implemented by the Association are three:
- Sponsorships – Tanzania is the 7th poorest country in the world. Malnutrition, diseases and lack of education continue to be serious problems. In 2006 the children hosted at Hisani Orphanage were around 40, currently are about 130. Thanks to this project and to the contribution of supporters the sponsorships activated reached 81 children.
- Health Insurance policies – In Tanzania in addition to the typical childhood diseases, common around the world, there are certain diseases and peculiar physiological state that need constant cares, like malaria, HIV and a genetic anomaly that at those latitudes is particularly insidious: albinism. In Tanzania there is no form of public health care. Recently the Tanzanian government promoted a health insurance policy (www.nhif.org.tz) and starting from 2015 the Association has set up a specific project to ensure adequate health care coverage and now all children are covered by this insurance which has helped to reduce costs.
- Scholarships for higher education – This is the most important project of the Association, the really strategic one and concerns the grant of scholarships to young guests who have completed primary school and who express the desire to complete their education by attending secondary school. The project started in 2009 has so far granted 56 scholarships, thanks also to the grant of Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation, with the following results:
17 students are attending 1st cycle (1-4 year)
5 students are attending 2nd cycle (5-6 year)
20 students are attending University
14 finished school and are working or finding a job
Tanzania is the fourth most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa with about 56 million inhabitants. According to the last World Bank study “The untapped potential of water supply”(see link https://www.openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28435), access to drinking water remains low, despite a steadily growing GDP. In fact 40% of the population (about 21 million inhabitants) does not have access to drinking water sources and more than double (about 46 million inhabitants) has no toilet facilities. In rural areas, however, the situation is even worse with 52% of the population without drinking water and more than 80% without sanitary facilities. In urban areas about 2/3 of users connected to the aqueduct reported interruptions in the supply of at least 1 day in the 2 weeks prior to the search.
These deficiencies in water supply also have an impact on hygiene. In 2017, around 5,000 cases of cholera were recorded with 99 deaths.
The lack of clean water and efficient sanitation causes a block in child development, increasing the risk of intestinal infections and reducing the absorption of essential nutrients.
The study carried out by Howard and Bartram in 2003 “Domestic water quantity, service level and health” (see link https://www.who.int/iris/handle/10665/67884) on page 22 identifies in 50 liters per person per day the amount of water that can ensure a low level of health risk, and satisfy all the requirements of personal hygiene and the environment household.
According to the WHO, the amount of water required to ensure that basic needs are met and health risks reduced, ranges from 50 to 100 liters per person per day (see link https://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/human right to water.html).
In Italy, according to the latest Istat survey in 2011, the average annual per capita consumption of water stood at 64 cubic meters, equal to about 175 liters per day, 11 times higher than the average consumed by an African (see link http://dati.istat.it/index.aspx?DataSetCode=DCCV INDACQDOM#).
Unfortunately, at Hisani Orphanage the water supply from the public aqueduct is largely insufficient and often interrupted. The orphanage is therefore forced to buy extra water tanks at higher costs from Victoria Lake.
The estimated daily requirement of water necessary both for food use and for general cleaning (toilets, laundry etc.) of about 4,500 liters per day, equal to an average of 35 liters per person, an improvement compared to the current 15.
The main objective of this project is to make the orphanage self-reliant in the provision of water for domestic use and electricity, given the discontinuity in public supply and the high costs of supply of water tanks from the Victoria Lake.
This would guarantee a constant level of hygiene, essential for a fragile population such as the guests of the orphanage, whose age ranges between 2 and 18 years. Among them it is of particular concern the presence of children affected by HIV and of girls in menstrual age, who need water for personal hygiene in excess of the average.
The project foresees an initial hydrogeological survey (already carried out), aimed at verifying the presence of water in the area occupied by the orphanage and at what depth (the report attached shows that at about 70 meters there is water).
The phases already carried out are: drilling up to the analyzed depth, analysis of the quality of water taken from the hole, which turned out to be drinkable (results attached), supply of pump.
The phases to be completed are the following: installation of pipes, electric pump (base, cover, electric cables up to the panel and electrical panel), installation of tanks for collection, supply and installation of piping and material from the pump up to the tanks and tanks up to the users, installation of water supply selection valve from aqueduct / tank, installation of photovoltaic system with installation of generator, conversion group and accessories, photovoltaic modules, support structure, connection between modules and inverter, protection panel, meter of produced energy, general framework, including all connections to the electrical panel and utilities. In July 2019 the Pedrollo company gave us the pump for free, so that only shipping and customs charges were to be paid. The pump arrived in August 2019.
The company to which the activities relevant to the drilling and installation of pump, water tanks, stands and canalization to toilets were commissioned is a local company CSR Ltd, that realized similar project in some primary schools visited by FAA's volunteers. As far as photovoltaic system and electrical connection to the pump and appliances are concerned the works were commissioned to Power Providers Co. Ltd, with headquarters in Arusha.
As the works have already been started and are in a good state of progress, the best solution for the photovoltaic system was carefully evaluated by the firm engineers that made a site inspection to correctly size the photovoltaic system for the needs of the orphanage.
The whole project was conceived and prepared by FAA's volunteer engineers who evaluated different solutions and different estimates by opting for the CSR company and the Power Providers Co. that guaranteed greater reliability and precision.
FAA's volunteer engineers are in constant contact with the director of the orphanage and with the company in charge of the work, monitoring all the activities.
The beneficiaries of the project will be about 130 children hosted at the orphanage, joined during school holidays by about 20 boys and girls returning from the colleges where they attend upper secondary school.
Among the beneficiaries, FAA also includes the director and the "mame" (children’s nurses) who take care of the children in turn.
FAA trusts that it can make savings in the provision of water and electricity, savings which could be used for implementing other projects.
The main objective of this project, which received a grant from the Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation, is to make the orphanage self-reliant in the provision of water for domestic use and electricity, given the discontinuity in public supply and the high costs of supply of water tanks from the Victoria Lake.
This would guarantee a constant level of hygiene, essential for a fragile population such as the guests of the orphanage, whose age ranges between 2 and 18 years. Among them it is of particular concern the presence of children affected by HIV and of girls in menstrual age, who need water for personal hygiene in excess of the average.
The project foresees an initial hydrogeological survey (already carried out), aimed at verifying the presence of water in the area occupied by the orphanage and at what depth (the report attached shows that at about 70 meters there is water).
The phases already carried out are: drilling up to the analyzed depth, analysis of the quality of water taken from the hole, which turned out to be drinkable (results attached), supply of pump.
The phases to be completed are the following: installation of pipes, electric pump (base, cover, electric cables up to the panel and electrical panel), installation of tanks for collection, supply and installation of piping and material from the pump up to the tanks and tanks up to the users, installation of water supply selection valve from aqueduct / tank, installation of photovoltaic system with installation of generator, conversion group and accessories, photovoltaic modules, support structure, connection between modules and inverter, protection panel, meter of produced energy, general framework, including all connections to the electrical panel and utilities. In July 2019 the Pedrollo company gave us the pump for free, so that FAA had only to pay shipping and customs charges. The pump arrived in August 2019.
The company to which the activities relevant to the drilling and installation of pump, water tanks, stands and canalization to toilets were commissioned is a local company CSR Ltd, that realized similar project in some primary schools visited by FAA's volunteers. As far as photovoltaic system and electrical connection to the pump and appliances are concerned the works were commissioned to Power Providers Co. Ltd, with headquarters in Arusha.
As the works have already been started and are in a good state of progress, the best solution for the photovoltaic system was carefully evaluated by the firm engineers that made a site inspection to correctly size the photovoltaic system for the needs of the orphanage.
The whole project was conceived and prepared by FAA volunteer engineers who evaluated different solutions and different estimates by opting for the CSR company and the Power Providers Co. that guaranteed greater reliability and precision.
FAA's volunteer engineers are in constant contact with the director of the orphanage and with the company in charge of the work, monitoring all the activities.
The beneficiaries of the project will be about 130 children hosted at the orphanage, joined during school holidays by about 20 boys and girls returning from the colleges where they attend upper secondary school.
Among the beneficiaries, FAA also includes the director and the "mame" (children’s nurses) who take care of the children in turn.
FAA trusts that savings in the provision of water and electricity might be used for implementing other projects.
