Tanzania - Supporting Urban Communities
People living in the impoverished Esso community in the Tanzanian
city of Arusha realised that in order to improve their families’
livelihoods, they would need better access to education and health
care.
Esso is situated close to the centre of Arusha and is one of the fastest-growing areas of the municipality. The area consists of mostly unplanned, high-density, low-income dwellings. Many inhabitants are recent migrants from rural parts of the country. Poverty and a lack of services and infrastructure are emerging issues for this community, which has an estimated population of about 40,000.
In an effort to address basic education and health needs, as well as providing direct support to women’s groups, the Pallottine Fathers worked with local people to devise the Esso Community Development Programme.
Upon receiving funding from Misean Cara in 2009, the Pallottine Fathers set into motion their plans to construct a two-storey building to provide early childhood education and healthcare services, as well as facilities for people with disabilities and a women’s entrepreneurship development centre.
Services to the community will include a kindergarten for children aged 3-6 years, community based healthcare for mothers and children, and assessment and treatment services for people living with disabilities.
A centre for women’s enterprise groups and people living with HIV
and AIDS has also been set up in order to encourage business
start-ups and entrepreneurship.
The project is also helping to build community capacity by raising
parents’ awareness of health issues through training on basic health
care information, knowledge and skills.