Sister Water Project Completes 100th Well in Tanzania

100thWell KijiweniWEB

Sister Water Project Completes 100th Well in Tanzania

The Dubuque Franciscans’ Sister Water Project recently completed construction on its 100th well in Tanzania, Africa.

The well was installed in the Kijiweni village (population: 975) of Tanzania, 21 miles southeast of the city of Morogoro, and was constructed by Safe Water for Life and Dignity (SWLD), who the Sister Water Project partners with. SWLD is a nonprofit started by six young men attending the Salvatorian Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Morogoro, Tanzania, with the aim of promoting the dignity of the poor people in the rural communities by providing them with safe water.

“We have been blessed to partner with SWLD in Tanzania and receive the support of so many organizations and donors for the Sister Water Project,” said Sister Kathy Knipper, OSF. “To see the joy on the faces of the villagers in Tanzania and Honduras when they have access to clean water motivates our mission to this ministry.”

The Sisters of St. Francis, with support from their associates, instituted the Sister Water Project in 2004 to bring safe water to villages in Tanzania and Honduras. The initial goal for the project was to raise $40,000. With the support of many organizations and donors, the project has now raised more than $700,000, and completed several rural water systems in Honduras, in addition to the hundred wells in Tanzania.

For more information on the Sister Water Project, or to request a Sister Water Project Committee member to come to your parish, school or organization to speak about the project, contact Sr. Kathy Knipper at (563) 583-9786 or knipperk@osfdbq.org.