With outstretched hand, a little girl refused a donation of cash but said one word to the woman she was gazing at with hopeful eyes.
"Water."
Advised to never give her water to anyone Debbie Dow had to turn away from the request.
Deeply affected by the experience, Dow returned to Prince George in August 2014 after her eco-safari to Northern Tanzania with an idea. With a little advice from her friends, Dow fine tuned her idea of selling her individual photographs taken of African animals in their natural habitat and the people of Tanzania into a more accessible fundraising effort by creating calendars instead.
She's trying to raise enough U.S dollars to dig a well in a remote rural area of Tanzania that would supply water to the villagers and their animals but it comes with a lofty price tag of up to $27,000 USD.
Soon word got around Prince George that Dow wanted to raise the funds and she was offered help from neighbours with small businesses, her church, and even an elementary school wanting to lend a hand to the international project.
So far Dow and her calendar cohort Brenda Colebrook have raised $16,800. Colebrook and Dow were on the same eco-safari organized by David Leman from the College of New Caledonia.
"So we're looking at raising $30,000 USD," said Colebrook. That amount would include digging and installing a well, a trough for the animals and a contingency fund in case the well needs to be deeper than 40 metres as estimated, said Dow, who just joined the Nechako Rotary Club that will also help with fundraising efforts, as well as try to find a partnering Rotary club in Tanzania to help with the well project on the ground, making the process much easier.
"Once the well goes ahead, I am definitely going back and I'm sure Brenda's coming, too" said Dow. "We want to be there when it starts and finishes so we can document the process right from the beginning to the end."
Many wells in Tanzania have been built near churches and schools but Dow and Colebrook want something a little different, said Colebrook.
"We've chosen a more remote, rural well to promote the Maasai culture. Because they are pastoralists their livestock and their devotion to their care is their culture," said Colebrook. "So this way at one end of the well there will be a trough for the animals and on the other end they can get their own water."
The proposed site for the well is located at Eluway Village, east of Kwa Kuchinia, where villagers have a 14 kilometre round trip walk to get water each day, typically carrying their bucket of water on their heads. Each water source, be it a river or pond, could be contaminated with parasites.
"When you see first hand the people in their daily struggle for water it's very moving and it was life changing for me - memorable and emotional," said Colebrook with tears in her eyes.
Colebrook said the people on the tour would save parts of their lunch in anticipation of feeding the little children approaching their tour vehicles. After giving away their food one day an older boy approached the vehicle and as their eyes met, Colebrook did not challenge the boy when he reached into the vehicle. Sitting in the seat back netting was a bottle of water and all her camera equipment. The boy chose the water over what most people would consider the more valuable cameras.
"I realized in that moment the value and perspective of a bottle of water was very different for him and I and that was truly profound," said Colebrook.
The calendar project included a 2015 version and the latest 2016 Journey to the Well Tanzania that can still be purchased for $25 each.
Colebrook and Dow would like to thank Dave Leman for organizing the tour, Douglas Lamb for editing the photographs, and all their Prince George and out of town supporters.
The Harwin elementary school leadership team has set up an account with BBK Bottle Depot, 2629 Vance Road, where donations will go towards the Journey to the Well Tanzania.
To purchase a calendar e-mail Debbie Dow at [email protected] or call Brenda Colebrook at 250-964-0240, Dave Leman at 250-552-4442 or Dolly Hilton 250-563-7903.
