Type of Well: Borehole with Indian Mark II Hand Pump

Approximate Number of People Served: 5000

Location: Kawe Primary School, Tanzania, Africa

Date of Construction: August 6, 2007

Total Depth: 60 meters

Cost: $15,000 USD

Drilling Company Used: Maji Tech/Living Water International

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Water Condition Before the Well: Only 10 households out of hundreds in Kawe had access to the piped water supplied by the government. The pipes were contaminated due to people digging them up, and cutting them to steal the water, so even the households that had access to the water couldn't fully rely on it.

 

Tennille Amor and Alexi Panos first traveled to Tanzania in 2006, through another organization, and stayed with Juliana (Bibi) Mkini at her home in Kawe. The other organization broke their promise to the community, saying that they were going to provide them with a clean water well, which is what inspired Tennille and Alexi to form their own organization, E.P.I.C. (Everyday People Initiating Change). 

 

They asked Bibi if she could take them to meet with different households in the community to learn about where they needed support. Bibi agreed, but she told the girls that if she took them to meet with her neighbors, then they had to really be serious about coming back to help the community. Other people had come from overseas and promised so many things, but after they left, they never came back, putting Bibi's reputation with her community on the line. Tennille and Alexi promised to stay true to their word, and a huge part of why E.P.I.C. is what it is today is because of that conversation with Bibi (who remains the heart and soul of E.P.I.C. to this day). 

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Water Condition After the Well: Remembering their conversation with Bibi, the girls did everything they could over the next year to raise enough money to drill the clean water well that had been promised to the community the following year. The Kawe well is the first well that E.P.I.C. ever drilled, and Tennille and Alexi have since used the water from it on a couple of occasions while staying with Bibi at her home in Kawe, for bathing, cooking, cleaning, and other water needs.

 

The school in Kawe is thriving, and the children's grades all improved since having access to the water. Tennille and Alexi conducted a Hygiene and Sanitation Education Program in the school, to teach about the importance of proper hygiene and sanitation practices, which are still implemented today, and are even more important during the global pandemic.

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Bibi is still a HUGE part of the E.P.I.C. Team, and as the Tanzanian Founder, she plays an important role in the continued running of every project. Her children Kisinda, Irene and Joel are all part of the E.P.I.C. team in Tanzania too, which is what makes E.P.I.C. different from so many other organizations. It is truly a grassroots, family run organization, with heart for the community at the center of each of its projects.  

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