Capital Projects Supported by Friends of Huruma
Friends of Huruma and the leadership of the Huruma Centre share the goal of maintaining and improving the Centre facility. Working closely with the Centre Director, Pastor Joyce Ngandango, and with leaders in the Iringa Diocese, over the past five years, together we have completed several essential projects. You can read about those projects here. The most recent was the Well Project.
Project 2020 - The Well Project
Although we referred to it as The Well Project, this project was really an upgrade of the entire Centre water system. The Well Project depended on generous, faithful funding from Friends of Huruma supporters and was only completed through broad collaboration among several partners.
After the existing well at the Centre failed, leaders, staff, and children there got along for many months with municipal water provided by the City of Iringa. But the cost of water was unsustainable, adding close to $5,000 US to the Centre's annual expenses. In the fall of 2019, it became clear that a solution was required. Enter St. Paul Partners, another affiliate of Bega Kwa Bega.
St. Paul Partners (SPP) has drilled more than 100 wells and developed water distribution systems in the Iringa region of southwest Tanzania. They became a welcome partner in addressing the water needs at the Huruma Centre. SPP leaders in the US and staff in Iringa worked together to analyze present and future water needs, identify the type of well and depth to be drilled, and develop a complete plan for augmenting the water distribution system at the Centre. Then SPP executed the plan with great skill.
While SPP was planning and working, fundraising for the well project began. Here also, collaboration was essential. Three donor partners provided gifts to seed a matching fund. Once word went out, within a few months, 25 partner households and partner congregations not only from the Saint Paul Area Synod but also from across the country gave generously and the match was met! SPP also provided support and their funding partner H2O for Life stepped up to play a critical part in raising funds. A grant from the Foundation of Christ the King Lutheran Church, New Brighton, Minnesota, provided the final piece of essential funding.
The well project was completed, and the dedication took place in November 2020, one year from the time the project began. Everyone who planned, advised, or gave played important roles, from Centre Director, Pastor Joyce Mgandango, to leaders and staff of St. Paul Partners, to every single organization and person who made a financial commitment. It is hard to estimate how many people were involved as collaborators, but the number must be many hundreds.
After the existing well at the Centre failed, leaders, staff, and children there got along for many months with municipal water provided by the City of Iringa. But the cost of water was unsustainable, adding close to $5,000 US to the Centre's annual expenses. In the fall of 2019, it became clear that a solution was required. Enter St. Paul Partners, another affiliate of Bega Kwa Bega.
St. Paul Partners (SPP) has drilled more than 100 wells and developed water distribution systems in the Iringa region of southwest Tanzania. They became a welcome partner in addressing the water needs at the Huruma Centre. SPP leaders in the US and staff in Iringa worked together to analyze present and future water needs, identify the type of well and depth to be drilled, and develop a complete plan for augmenting the water distribution system at the Centre. Then SPP executed the plan with great skill.
While SPP was planning and working, fundraising for the well project began. Here also, collaboration was essential. Three donor partners provided gifts to seed a matching fund. Once word went out, within a few months, 25 partner households and partner congregations not only from the Saint Paul Area Synod but also from across the country gave generously and the match was met! SPP also provided support and their funding partner H2O for Life stepped up to play a critical part in raising funds. A grant from the Foundation of Christ the King Lutheran Church, New Brighton, Minnesota, provided the final piece of essential funding.
The well project was completed, and the dedication took place in November 2020, one year from the time the project began. Everyone who planned, advised, or gave played important roles, from Centre Director, Pastor Joyce Mgandango, to leaders and staff of St. Paul Partners, to every single organization and person who made a financial commitment. It is hard to estimate how many people were involved as collaborators, but the number must be many hundreds.
The well-drilling rig begins work on a new well at the Huruma Centre
|
Different colors indicate the different types of stone that were drilled through to reach water
|
The drill strikes abundant water!
|
Above and below: The well head of the new water supply system at the Huruma Centre (completed late 2020)
|
Above, right, and below: The dedication of the new well after completion in late 2020
|
|
Future Projects
Since the charter for the Huruma Centre was expanded two years ago to include all children ages birth to 18, the demand for the services provided by the Huruma Centre has been growing. The Iringa Diocese, Centre Director Pastor Joyce Ngandango, and Friends of Huruma continue to be in conversation about the implications of this growth. At this time, it is expected that a new dormitory may be needed to accommodate the youngest children at the Centre, infants and children up to age 5.