What is a Hippo Roller?

What is a Hippo Roller and Why is it so Great?

Every day, millions of women & children in developing countries are forced to carry heavy loads of water for long distances, typically in heavy 20L (44 pounds/20 Kg) containers on their heads or backs. In just one day, 152 million or more hours of their time is consumed for the most basic of human needs — collecting water.

Have you ever had to walk outside to a well to get clean water? Imagine how people feel in Kenya, for instance, who walk a round trip of up to 100 Km (62 miles) just to fetch water? Then also imagine doing this in temperatures up to 40˚C (104˚F) through dangerous areas of drought, wild animals, and human threats all with a giant container on your head or back - just for water.

Good news, there is a solution! Welcome the Hippo Roller. Designed in Africa for Africa the Hippo Water Roller enables women, children and the elderly to collect 5 times more water than a single bucket by simply rolling it along the ground. The savings in time, energy and reduced suffering are immense and the positive social-impact benefits are far reaching.

 An effective and efficient way to carry 90 liters (24 gallons) of water, much more easily and in less time by simply rolling along the ground. It was specifically designed to be maintenance-free and for use in tough rural conditions, with a long lifespan of 5 - 7 years, often much longer. It reduces long-term injuries caused by carrying heavy loads of water and gives women & children more time for education and economic activities.

The Hippo Roller is an appropriate technology widely accepted in many countries by undeveloped communities where there is no reliable water infrastructure. Approximately 44,000 Hippo Water Rollers have been distributed mostly in South Africa and at least 20 other African countries, directly benefiting in excess of 300,000 people (based on a typical household average of 7). To date, more than 7 Billion liters (nearly 2 million gallons) of water have already been ‘rolled’ over a combined distance of 500 Million km (310 Million miles!). Much more can and needs to be done!

Spring 2015 Tabibu Africa, Inc is proud to be taking over several Hippo Rollers for the first time. We will be introducing them to a Masai community in the Rift Valley that have never seen or experienced this marvelous invention. We are only able to do this because of the wonderful and selfless support from a few generous donors like you. Hero's are everywhere! 

Look for our post this summer when we write, share pictures, and stories of what the Hippo Roller did for women and children in one of the villages that Tabibu Africa, Inc serves.

To learn how you can help bring more Hippo Rollers to East Africa please click here. We can only bring these to those who need it the most because of people like you!

For more information about the Hippo Water Roller Project click here: www.hipporoller.org

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Nkoilale's Big 5

Nkoilale’s Big 5

There is a village of Maasai in the Rift Valley called Nkoilale. They saw a problem and they came together as a community to solve it. With strong leadership and a common goal they are making huge leaps and bounds for the benefit of their community.

Disease, malnutrition, water contaminated with cholera and Typhoid, lack of health care and lack of quality schools close by were their main issues. The community came together and came up with a plan, starting with an organization called The Nkoilale Community Development Organization (NCDO).  Then they molded their plan of the “Big 5”:

1-     Water (provide clean water to as many as possible in the community)

2-     Education (provide education for all children, no matter age or gender)

3-     Health Care(provide quality and affordable health care within close proximity)

4-     Security (safety for the community)

5-     Sanitation (take care of litter issue as well as possible sources of water contamination)

The Nkoilale Community wanted their home to go from what you see on the left to what you see on the right.

In order to make this plan a reality each head of household sold one cow (The Maasai’s entire wealth revolves around their cattle. To sell a cow is a huge commitment and sacrifice) and they soon had enough to build a main boarding school (now has over 1000 students) with several feeder schools, an up to date Health Center (the first of its kind in the Rift Valley) and a huge water project. The NCDO were able to cap a large, clean spring and ran a water line to a central point in town. There are also several water hydrants along the water line which provides fresh, clean water to the community as whole and surrounding communities.

 

I am absolutely amazed by what this community has been able to accomplish with some cows and the vision and drive of good leadership. They saw a problem and solved it on their own.

It is truly an honor to be able to work with this community, not just as the vice-president of Tabibu Africa, Inc but as an adopted member to the Nkoilale family.  I can say, without a doubt, that this community will be a great example to other communities for decades to come of what great vision, leadership, and focus for the common good can do. 

World Health Day 2015

  Today marks the day of "World Health Day" and this year the WHO (The World Health Organization) is focusing on food safety. 

Foodborne and waterborne diarrheal diseases kill an estimated 2 million people annually, including many children and particularly in developing countries.

WHO says that World Health Day 2015 is a chance to recognize the food safety role of all those involved in food production and to strengthen collaboration and coordination among these areas in order to prevent, detect and respond to food borne diseases efficiently.The actual levels of food borne diseases are estimated to be much higher than what gets reported, underlying the need for improved collaboration to lower risks.

Some of the most important results are related to enteric infections caused by viruses, bacteria and protozoa that enter the body by ingestion of contaminated food. Some stunning facts according to WHO report that there were an estimated 582 million cases of 22 different food borne enteric diseases and 351,000 resulted in death. The Africa region recorded the highest disease burden for these diseases and over 40% of those suffering from food borne disease were children.

Tabibu Africa, Inc believes that hygiene and safe food handling education is key to the solution of this world wide problem. Tabibu Africa, Inc has proven successful hygiene and sanitation programs in place as well as a "Keep Yourself Healthy" workshop for school aged children. This program not only covers issue of food contamination but also water sanitation, sewage & waste disposal, and personal health and hygiene.

Facts of Food Borne Illnesses:

More than 200 diseases are spread through food.

Millions of people fall ill every year and many die as a result of eating unsafe food. Diarrhea diseases alone kill an estimated 1.5 million children annually, and most of these illnesses are attributed to contaminated food or drinking water.

Contaminated food can cause long-term health problems.

The most common symptoms of foodborne disease are stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhea. Food contaminated with heavy metals or with naturally occurring toxins can also cause long-term health problems including cancer and neurological disorders.

Food borne diseases affect vulnerable people harder than other groups.

Infections caused by contaminated food have a much higher impact on populations with poor or fragile health status and can easily lead to serious illness and death. For infants, pregnant women, the sick and the elderly, the consequences of foodborne disease are usually more severe and may be fatal.

 Everybody has a role to play in keeping food safe.

Food safety is a shared responsibility between governments, industry, producers, academia, and consumers. Everyone has a role to play. Achieving food safety is a multi-sectoral effort requiring expertise from a range of different disciplines – toxicology, microbiology, parasitology, nutrition, health economics, and human and veterinary medicine. Local communities, women’s groups and school education also play an important role.

To help Tabibu Africa, Inc spread sanitation, hygiene, and  "Keep Yourself Healthy" programs please click here. 

 www.TabibuAfrica.org

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Water-The Power of a Drop

W—Water, think about a drop of water. One drop of water is mobile. A drop of water is prevailing. A drop of water can be crucial and every drop of clean water can be life saving. Water is something that so many of us take for granted. We waste it, we recreate in it, we even pay too much to drink it from little plastic bottles, yet so many in the world desperately need it.

A—Accessibility to fresh water limits billions people worldwide.  Billions drink contaminated unsafe water. Every day of every year, over 1,000 children die from illnesses like diarrhea, dysentery, and cholera caused by dirty water and unhygienic living conditions. 
T—Time lost gathering water and suffering from water-borne diseases is limiting people's true potential. Women and girls especially bear the burden of walking many miles at a time to gather water from streams and ponds - full of water-borne disease that is making them and their families sick. Time lost fetching it robs entire communities of their futures
E—Education is lost to water related sickness. Economic development is lost while people merely try to survive without water.  . Every day in Africa hope is put on hold as primary schools have no access to water and sanitation. . Water is the foundation of life, yet still today, all around the world, far too many people spend their entire day searching for it.
R—Ripple effect has great power in many ways.  Reliable water has a positive effect on all generations from the very young to the elderly.  Tabibu Africa has provided a ripple effect through education of purifying water and ways and means of fetching larger quantities of clean well water.  Water is truly the foundation of life and you too can relish in knowing you have made a difference in the life of another by helping. 

What can I do? Little Hands Making Big Differences, how?

So many of us ask this question, "What can I do?". We tend to think that humanitarian work or volunteering is strictly for Doctors, nurses, or adventurous teachers. This simply is not the truth. We all can do something and we all need to do something. We all have something special we can offer and no job or amount is too small. 

Our Vice President of Tabibu Africa, Inc explains his initial struggle with that exact question. 

"Why is humanitarian work important to me? I believe that we owe it to ourselves to do something to help our fellow brothers and sisters, our communities, our future.

Through education and empowerment we can give people the tools and knowledge to change their future and the future for their children. With my background in plumbing I often ask myself what can I do?  How can I help and make a difference? I’m not a Doctor, Nurse, or educator. Or so I thought. I now can say that I’ve worked in numerous health clinics in anything ranging from organizing medications, helping to clean wounds, and holding hands. 

Because of my plumbing background I was able to help develop a hygiene education program that covers personal hygiene, sanitation and waste disposal.  I have also found myself in the “Teacher” role heading a few of these sanitation classes. My next goal for the organization is to help the people get access to clean water or how to make the best of the water that they have.  One of the latest workshops I held was how to make your own water filter out of supplies you can find around your home and village. To see the sense of empowerment come over all of the women when they found they had the power to make clean drinking water for their children was priceless.  I next hope to raise enough awareness and funding to place a well at our Little Giants School which will give them an abundance of clean and safe drinking water. I also hope to have more sanitation workshops and programs in place.

Seeing the conditions the people we are trying to help will change anyone‘s perspective on how we live our lives. We are on this earth for such a short time we owe it to ourselves to make the most of it. So you don’t need to have a specific degree or career in something in order to help. We all play a role and we all can do something. We all should do something." ~ George Msingi Olonana Mattena

Little Hands Making Big Differences!

If you would like to learn more about volunteering or what you can do please click here.  

To donate to George's water projects please click here.