School Latrines & difficult issues in Tanzania May, 2013

   Isaiah 6:8 says:  Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"  And I said, "Here am I.  Send me. "   I continue to ask God to use me in ways that I did not expect.  He must like that prayer because He continues to answer it as He did with this trip.   It started in an unusual manner.   Someone obtained my contact information through the retired director of Lifewater International.    The goal was to teach sanitation to a secular, for-profit NGO based in Mwasa. That NGO would then construct school latrines with money from Europe.    Although uncomfortable with a number of issues, I agreed to go in view of potential impact.

Then it got even more uncomfortable.   The person who arranged the trip called me to say that his wife had just been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, so he could no longer go.   After a lot of thought and prayer, I decided to continue with the project.    Another person with no prior WASH training had already agreed to go and had been fund raising.   I contacted a secular organization called IHSAN (see the link -- they are reinventing themselves to be known as "Sanitation for All") to see if they would be willing to sponsor the trip.  They not only  agreed but also asked if they could have someone from their organization participate in the trip.  What an amazing addition he was! He had an engineering degree from one of the top schools in India and a masters degree from a school in the USA.   Further,  he had personal experience with a poor WASH environment and a great heart for helping the poor while on vacation from his paying job.

Teaching "disease paths" module with "participatory training"