The women leading change in Kigoma

Water problems in Kigoma Region’s Kasimbu, Kipamba, and Kagera wards are now history, thanks to efforts by community changemakers known as Waraghbishi.

About four years ago, residents of these wards used to walk long distances (up to four hours) to fetch water. Today, most houses have running water, and for those that don’t, the precious liquid is easily accessible at water tank points built by the government.

Easy access to water has enabled residents of these wards to have time to engage in other economic activities, hence improving their family incomes. Today, many are able to cultivate vegetables for their families, something that wasn’t possible before.

Magreth Laurent, a resident of Kagera ward, for instance, says the availability of water in her neighbourhood has enabled her to start a home vegetable garden.

The 35-year-old mother of two says since she can access water at a nearby point at a cheap price, she spends her free time in the garden. She no longer buys vegetables for her family. She sells some to her neighbours too.

“Previously, it was not easy to even think of having a small garden, as walking a long distance to fetch water was a burden. We thank the community changemakers for making it possible,” says Magreth.

Community changemakers, known as Waraghbishi in Swahili, is a global concept whose aim is to remind policymakers of the development plans and promises made by the government to its people at the right time in a more open way.

In Tanzania, the concept is supported by different non-governmental organisations and so far it is operational in various regions.

Mwamvua Hussein, 38, a tailor, is a community changemaker in Kasimbu Ward. She is among the 14 community changemakers in the region, who have recorded several achievements in their respective wards.

Narrating how she became a community changemaker, Mwamvua says it all started at a village meeting that was organised by the local government in her area to discuss the importance of having community changemakers.

“I was among the water problem victims. I did not have enough time to do my tailoring work, so my relationship with my customers was affected. I could not deliver on time as I spent a lot of time fetching water,” says Mwamvua.

This made her volunteer to be among the development champions in her community. She and others underwent training by Twaweza, an NGO that works on enabling citizens to question agencies and governments to be more open and responsive.

According to John Edward, the chairman of the community changemakers in Kigoma, Twaweza has been working with local government leaders in the region by equipping citizens and leaders for different local projects. Edward says 17 community changemakers from different wards in the region attended the 10-day Twaweza training.

The training centred on how to engage community members so they are free to talk about personal and community challenges. The trainees designed a calendar of the season’s challenges in their respective areas. They include water challenges, women’s land rights, human rights, gender-based violence, and the protection of water sources and open spaces, among others.

Mwamvua (the tailor) and her team members started with efforts to get water closer to the households in their ward. Three years down the line, they are now enjoying the fruits of their labour.

“We worked closely with the local government officials to remind leaders at the district level to get us water-selling points. The water points were put in place, but there was no water for about three years. We made it an agenda item in each development meeting in our ward, and finally, we got the water,” Mwamvua says proudly.

Furaha Bakari, 38, a community changemaker from Kipamba ward, says the training helped her build a close relationship with the local authorities with whom she works to bring change to her community. In collaboration with the ward officials, for example, she helped save a 12-year-old girl from child labour.

The girl’s mother had left her in the care of her mother (the girl’s grandmother), but she could not let her get enrolled in school after Furaha approached the girl’s grandmother.

“When the girl’s mother learnt about this, she sent her daughter to work as a housemaid in a nearby village. I followed up on the girl and realised she was being mistreated and overworked by her employer,” says Furaha.

In collaboration with the ward office, Furaha and the grandmother managed to enroll the girl in school.

In Kagera Ward, 48-year-old Ashura Nassibu and colleagues have for the past three years been pushing for the construction of a bridge at the Ruiche River as well as a tax waiver on subsistence crops.

The river has been a challenge for years, and crossing to the other side for social services like schools, hospitals, and milling machines gets hard during the rainy seasons.

In February, four pupils died when crossing the river by canoe on their way to school.

“Over the years, we have been reminding the government to get us a bridge to make our lives easy. We are still waiting. However, we thank the government for the tax waiver on food crops made possible through the community changemakers,” says Ashura.

Magera Ruta, a farmer at Mgumile village in Kagera Ward says the lack of good roads and a bridge is a punishment for them. “When it rains, the river overflows, disrupting all the activities. We are usually forced to wait for at least two days for things to get back to normal,” he says. According to Ruta, the school and dispensary in the village were destroyed by floodwaters three years ago and are no longer operational.

Commenting on the tax waiver on food crops, Filberta Nyanyungu, a resident of Mlole village, says she used to pay Sh30,000 in tax for between 15 and 20 sacks of maize after harvesting. She is happy that this is no longer the case.

The Kagera ward chairman, Amani Yugi, says small-scale farmers’ crops should not be taxed as they are mostly meant for consumption. He appreciates the good work of the community changemakers in his ward, as they have contributed to the crops tax waiver and easy access to water.

Another resident of Rutale village, Riziki Mlindwa, 31, is happy to be part of the winning team in Kipamba ward. She says that through collective efforts, they have managed to champion the availability of water, whose sources are now owned and managed by the villagers.

Previously, the water sources were under the government, and so the money collected as payment for the utility went to the government.

“We requested ownership of the water sources, and the money collected has helped us build four classrooms at Kipamba Secondary School,” says Riziki.

Kigoma Regional Commissioner, Thobias Andengenye applauds the community changemakers for finding local solutions to local problems. He says the concept is good as it aims to make positive change in the community.