With a population of more than 67 million people, the poverty rate in Tanzania in 2022 was around 44%. However, many organizations are helping the people of Tanzania break out of the cycle of poverty. Solutions are being sought for the root causes of poverty for all generations. Below are four organizations focusing on helping the people of Tanzania.

ActionAid

ActionAid is an international non-profit organization working with girls and women living in poverty. The organization focuses on poverty eradication and achieving social justice and gender equality. Additionally, ActionAid has been working with Tanzania since 1997. It has helped children to go to and stay in school, Furthermore, it has provided agricultural training and support to women and girls who are at risk of violence. ActionAid has worked with local communities in Tanzania to develop school systems and encourage more girls to enroll in school and continue with their education. It has provided schools with essential equipment and children’s clubs that teach children about their rights.

In 2016, ActionAid helped more than 2,000 children stay in school. To prevent hunger and famine, staff taught agricultural skills to women and dug new boreholes as well as teaching the local community how to repair them. The organization dug three new boreholes on the island of Mafia, giving 571 people access to clean water.

For women and girls who have experienced violence, ActionAid provides counseling, legal advice and care in specialist shelters. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ActionAid raised awareness in Tanzania about hygiene practices. According to their website, ActionAid distributed over 60 water tanks to schools, markets and public spaces.

Sightsavers

Sightsavers is an international organization that focuses on treating eye diseases. The organization carries out eye operations and distributes treatments when needed. Although the government provides the majority of health care services, most of the country struggles to access them because of the “shortage of staff, essential medicines and adequate equipment.”

Sightsavers has worked in Tanzania to improve eye health care and disease control. It provides regular eye screening, training staff to fill gaps in the national eye care service and reaching out to communities to increase understanding about eye conditions. To control diseases, Sightsavers works with partner organizations to provide medication to communities across the country to help prevent and treat trachoma.

The organization has advocated for disability rights by working with local governments to make schools more inclusive. Additionally, they offer training and paid internships by partnering with local businesses.

WaterAid

WaterAid is an international non-profit organization that aims to make clean water, toilets and good hygiene available for everyone. Around the world, the organization has provided around 30 million people with clean water, 30 million people with good toilets and 27.8 million with good hygiene.

The organization has been helping the people of Tanzania for 40 years. WaterAid has developed a five-year strategy to end water, sanitation and health crises. They align their work with the Government of Tanzania’s Water Sector Development Program and aim to overcome the sector’s key challenges. WaterAid has been working to achieve universal access to health care and sanitation and supporting the nation to eradicate extreme poverty and improve the lives of the poorest in Tanzania.

Tanzania Development Trust

The Tanzania Development Trust is a voluntary organization that helps to provide education for girls, clean water and investments in income generation, with a special focus on sustainable ways to overcome poverty. It works with communities and individuals to ensure that all people have access to education and live healthy and empowered lives. The organization works on three main areas of development: community empowerment, education and access to water. It has installed village water points to reduce the time spent collecting water and to reduce disease. Furthermore, they have set up girls’ hostels which aim to raise achievements in government high schools by improving access to education.

The Tanzania Development Trust has been working towards improving access to sanitation and water facilities in the poorest regions of the country. It has funded projects with cost-effective and sustainable ways to improve water and sanitation facilities such as providing wells, pipelines and pumps for irrigation.

The organization has also invested in programs to help women earn income, such as tailoring workshops and agricultural projects. It provided a women’s group in Muleba with a solar irrigation pump to double their harvests and grow crops all year round. With this pump, they could provide more food to the widows and orphans in the area.

Looking Ahead

Tanzania is working towards reducing poverty through the help of international and domestic organizations. Furthermore, the country is finding sustainable ways to improve the lives of the people of Tanzania. With help from charitable organizations as well as international aid and help from the government of Tanzania, the poverty rate should steadily decrease, leading to a better future for the citizens of Tanzania.

– Kimran Gill

Kimran is based in Leicester, UK and focuses on Celebs and World News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr