November 15, 2011
Prince Charles visits WaterAid's work in Tanzania

HRH the Prince of Wales saw WaterAid's water and sanitation work in action in Dar es Salaam while on a royal tour in Tanzania this month.

Prince Charles has been WaterAid's President since 1991 and has done a great deal over the years to support our cause.

On arrival at our project area, he was greeted by a large and enthusiastic crowd singing and dancing and waving British and Tanzanian flags. The schoolchildren in the community demonstrated their handwashing techniques at a tippy tap.

A highlight of the visit was the demonstration of the  Gulper , a hand-operated pump and vehicle that provides a safe and convenient way of emptying latrines in crowded communities that cannot be served by larger vehicles.

The technology provides a more efficient and affordable solution to the challenges of emptying latrines in unplanned urban settlements than the previous process of manually emptying latrines and burying the waste on the householder’s land.

His Royal Highness met local people who talked about how a new water source had changed their lives, providing clean water for the community and replacing a long walk to old and unsafe traditional wells.

His Royal Highness also met local people who him told him how the new water source had changed their lives, providing clean water for hundreds of families in the community and replacing a long and arduous walk to old and unsafe traditional wells.

The Prince and the Duchess were in Tanzania to celebrate 50 years of independence from the United Kingdom.