Mwanga Well Project

Mwanga Parish of the ELCT (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania), Pare Diocese, and Peace Lutheran Church, Pella, Iowa, of the ELCA, SE Iowa Synod, cooperated in drilling a deep well about seven kilometers northwest of Mwanga, Tanzania. The well is centrally located about 2 1/2 kilometers from three villages that have no water source. In the past, villagers drank contaminated water from a hole dug in the bed of a dry stream and took their cattle ten kilometers to drink. The animals were watered only every other day. The Mwanga Parish secured the land on which the well was drilled, and local residents cleared the land. The well was drilled to 86 meters and has a solar pump and solar panels since there is no electricity in the area. A house for a guard and a storage tank were built, as well as a watering trough for cattle.

Initial planning for this project was done cooperatively by Mwanga Parish and Peace Lutheran Church, and the study to determine the best source for water was done pro bono by the Mwanga District Water Commissioner. The Parish committee secured the drillers and had the well drilled. Peace Lutheran Church paid the cost of drilling and purchased the pump and the solar panels. Outreach Africa installed the pump.  As this project has grown, ETI has agreed to partner with them to help finish the project, which will bring the water through pipes to all three villages, and eventually we envision the land being used for housing AIDS widows and orphans, and for a school for the three villages.