Carlow man finding fresh water in Tanzania

JIM Kavanagh is a driven man. For the past four decades, the plumber from Hacketstown had boarded a plane and flown to the outer reaches of Tanzania to help local communities there.

Over the course of 40 years, Jim has worked on over 30 projects in Tanzania, finding good sources of water and installed pumping systems so that local people will have a supply of clean water. The first time he went to Africa was back in 1983 where he saw at first hand the deprivation of the native people, particularly those who live in very rural areas.

“Development and progress is happening very slowly but there are many areas where there’s very little aid getting to the people,” explained Jim. “Aid is usually focused on bigger towns or where there is tourism. Very rarely does any kind of help get to the rural areas so water is a serious problem for them. There, the kids have to go and fetch water before school, walking miles – and even at that, the water could be contaminated. It’s a very tough situation.” 

 Jim set up the charity Uisce for Tanzania to help consolidate his work and to raise funds for his projects. Out there, he focuses on rural areas around the town of Mbulu and has helped literally thousands of people to get access to clean, running water.

“The first thing to do is to find a spring and it’s best to do that in the dry season. We use solar pumps to pump the water however many kilometres we need to get it to the villagers. I’ve a team of people waiting on standby for me out there. I’ve been working with them for years but I also like to encourage the villagers to help us, to get involved so that they feel a sense of ownership of their own project. I supply the materials and they supply the labour. The difference it makes to their lives is really remarkable,” continued Jim.

Jim’s last project there was in October and already, he has another trip planned for the summer. For each project he needs up to €40,000 to cover all his costs, including the materials which he’ll buy out there. Every single time he goes to fundraise, it’s difficult for him.

“I depend solely on donations. I talk to private companies, I talk to people in churches, I visit schools. The hardest part of all this is raising the money, and I haven’t found an easier way of doing it. But it’s worth it because you can see the massive effect each project has on people’s lives. I can see what we’ve achieved, and then it’s onto the next project,” said Jim.

Jim is originally from Rathdangan, Co Wicklow but has been living in Hacketstown for years with his wife Helen and their two daughters. The family are used to Jim packing bags and disappearing off to Africa for a few months every year and probably understand that he’s driven to do it.

“Sometimes I wonder what it’s all about. There must be an easier way to live my life without all this hardship but when you see the difference the work makes to the people, it all makes sense. It’s only a few months a year out of my life. I’ve no regrets,” concluded Jim.

If you’d like to make a donation to Uisce for Tanzania, go to the https://uiscefortanzania.ie where there’s a link to a gofundme page.