About us
The situation in Africa
Currently, over 30% of residents in Africa do not have access to clean water. They drink dirty water and wash themselves in it. As a result, they fall ill and die. For example, blindness caused by conjunctivitis (trachoma, which also occurs in Poland) is widespread, triggered by bacteria that can be avoided simply by washing hands and face upon returning home. Diarrheal diseases are also common.
Among the remaining nearly 60% of residents who do have access to clean water, most have to walk several kilometers to a well to collect it. They then return several kilometers with a few liters of water, which must supply the entire family for the whole day. This water is drinkable and comes from drilled or dug wells. These are usually located in the central part of a village so that everyone can reach them. However, there is not enough water to follow basic hygiene practices. There are usually no water supply systems in these areas.
Maybe you did not know but......
- One in four healthcare facilities in Africa lack basic water services.
- Between 1990 and 2015, the number of people using improved drinking water sources increased from 76% to 91%. Progress in access to drinking water was achieved thanks to the efforts of non-governmental organizations.
- Four billion people worldwide do not have access to basic sanitation facilities, such as toilets or latrines.
- In 80% of households without access to water, the task of fetching water from nearby sources falls on women and girls.
Every day, an average of 1,000 children die due to diarrhea and its complications—avoidable diseases transmitted through dirty water or caused by poor sanitation conditions.
Every water source in the form of a drilled well, accompanied by a medical facility near the well equipped with sanitation supplies and staffed by one or two trained individuals (a nurse or paramedic), will lead to a noticeable improvement in the hygiene standards of the community. Life will become more bearable. Children and youth will be able to focus more on their education, improving their own and their families’ chances for a better future, right there in their homelands.
What we do?
Africa Help Foundation founded in Poland in 2020, operates in Tanzania and Uganda focusing on projects that ensure access to essential healthcare, education and clean water.
We establish prenatal care centers, promote health education, and provide secondary and high school educational sponsorships. Additionally, we construct wells to support sustainable development in regions affected by water scarcity. Through these initiatives, Africa Help fosters long-term improvements in health and living conditions for vulnerable populations across the continent, empowering communities to achieve lasting self-reliance.
Our goal
Our goal is to provide the residents of Africa with access to clean water near their homes. We will achieve this by building wells and water purification stations. Around these locations, we will work together with the residents to create conditions for the development of local nursing care facilities, health education, and basic schooling. Every well built there is a step forward toward life, health, and a better future.
THE PLAN
We are introducing ourselves to the people of Tanzania as effective and conscious individuals from Poland. This movement has already been initiated by other Polish non-governmental organizations active in Tanzania, working across various development areas. Their experience allows us to benefit from their knowledge.
In Africa, washing hands before a meal is often impossible due to the lack of water supply systems. However, just one water source in the form of a drilled well and a medical point near the well, equipped with sanitary supplies and staffed by a trained nurse, could significantly raise hygiene standards. This is exactly why we are creating this mission.
We will change the daily struggles of mothers unable to provide clean drinking water to their children by building wells in African villages.
We will transform the daily challenges faced by entire families—having no place to wash, no facilities to relieve themselves, and no way to dispose of waste—by constructing networks of sanitation points in every district. We will replace hygienic ignorance with an awareness of hygiene. This will be achieved by training nurses and hygiene specialists from the most underdeveloped regions so they can educate local communities directly.
Our mission begins in Tanzania. Like many other African countries, Tanzania lacks water and sewage infrastructure, which contributes to the spread of infectious diseases. Most countries around the world struggle with water shortages. It is estimated that over 1.2 billion people have limited access to water, and 200 million suffer from thirst.
These statistics have driven us to act. We cannot turn a blind eye and pretend this problem does not exist. Ultimately, this issue also affects our own country.
How?
Through the transmission of infectious diseases and others from impoverished and underdeveloped countries to European nations, the problem becomes global. Vast numbers of immigrants move daily. Let us limit infections and the spread of diseases through education and water purification. It is projected that by 2025, approximately one-third of humanity will lack access to sufficient drinking water.
Our foundation aims to help change these statistics. The foundation’s plans include gradually expanding its operational area, starting with the small village of Antakae in the Tonga district of Tanzania, by ensuring access to clean water throughout the Tonga district. Operating in the Manyara district, we will provide drinking water to residents of several villages.
While we are currently active in Tanzania, we plan to gradually expand our efforts to African regions affected by war or famine. In the future, the foundation also seeks to contribute to providing ongoing humanitarian aid to refugees in South Sudan by delivering water, food, and clothing.