Project Umoja is a tax-excempt 501 (c)(3) non profit organization founded 2010 by Josephat Mboyi, a native Tanzanian and his friend Ted Johns to help people of Nyamuswa and its surrounding villages to raise standard of living.
Project Umoja’s mission is to bring clean drinking water and improved medical services to Nyamuswa area, Tanzania.
Access to clean water and medical services is the foundation for other forms of development in any country. Without easy access to water, households are forced to spend countless hours collecting water that is safe to drink. Household income is spent on purchasing water and medical treatment of water-borne diseases. These factors contribute to keeping people trapped in poverty.
Nyamuswa, like many villages in Tanzania, faces poverty which hinders progress in many sectors. Many people in Nyamuswa live on less than a dollar a day. The majority lack access to safe water and medical services because of poverty.
Clean Water
-Many people suffer from water-borne diseases caused by unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. Diseases like diarrhea are a direct result of drinking contaminated water. Children, the weakest members of society, suffer the most. Clean water and good sanitation is essential in the fight against poverty and disease (United Nations Development Program -2006).
-At Nyamuswa and surrounding villages, it is women who collect water. They walk long distances and wait for many hours to get water. They wake up very early or go out very late to gather water, especially in the dry season. The water that they spend so much time collecting is sometimes polluted and not safe to drink. Women who are trapped in this situation have little time to take good care of their children or spend time in productive work. They have very few options and it ends up reinforcing poverty and lowering their income.
Medical Services
In order to have a strong community, people need to access to good medical care when they need it. Preventative programs are an important part of quality medical care.
Nyamuswa has only one dispensary, the equivalent of an outpost aid station, to provide services for it and four other surrounding villages. The dispensary lacks the necessary tools to provide proper care and services for the many villagers who need care.
There are many aspects of care in this dispensary that must be improved.
It needs a good, properly equipped, lab to assist in diagnosis. Many with more complicated or advanced sicknesses die prematurely because of the lack of advanced and rapid diagnosis.
If a woman is faced with a difficult pregnancy, they and their child are in severe danger. They don’t have access to advanced medical care or transportation to take them to the nearest hospital.
Patients sometimes have to be carried on bicycles or stretchers to bring them to the dispensary. If for one reason or another, patients are referred to Bunda Health Center or Musoma Hospital, they have to find their own transportation, and valuable time is wasted. An ambulance for the dispensary will do wonders for Nyamuswa and the surrounding villages.
You Can Help!
–Donate: Your donation will help the people of Nyamuswa and the surrounding villages. Together we can provide access to clean water, provide medical assistance and through all of this we can stop poverty in its tracks.
-Volunteer: You can give your time and skills to help. If you are a medical provider, we need to talk! We can make arrangements to travel to this village dispensary to volunteer. You will work with other medical professionals there to help save people lives. Send me at email if you’re interested in volunteering.
-Sponsor: You can sponsor clean water well at the village. Or maybe sponsor an education for midwives who will help to deliver babies at the local villages. Send me at email if you’re interested in sponsoring.
-Spread the Word: Tell people about Project Umoja. We can fight poverty together. Do you have a birthday party? Involve your friends. We can help improve medical services at Nyamuswa. We can bring clean drinking water to Nyamuswa. Join together with us…!