By Kendrew Panyanouvong, Team Mauro Digital Director

Tucked in East Africa and nested at the Kenyan border lies the city of is Moshi, Tanzania.

Moshi is the capital of the Kilimanjaro region in northeastern Tanzania and home to over 200,000 people. The city and surrounding area are bustling with people and brimming the sounds of nearby cascades and wildlife.

Most days dawns an overcast. But on clear days, the tops of volcanic cones paint the skyline. And on those fair-weathered days, the town’s most looming problems can be seen where it begins from afar — a breathtaking sight of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain.

The town is known to be the gateway to the mountain, where thousands flock to Mount Kilimanjaro every year. While tourists carry their purified water in their packs, local children at surrounding schools struggle to find water that will not make them sick.

As natural water treks down from the peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro, it funnels into a network of rivers and streams that surge to neighboring communities — seeping into wells and then into municipal pipe systems. At the foot of the mountain, communities like Moshi rely on this natural runoff for their main source of water.

But by the time water reaches Moshi, the water is utterly undrinkable — filled with contaminants from surface runoff, rundown pipe systems, dirty rainwater, and wells — making it unsafe for locals to drink.

For years Tanzania has struggled with poor water and sanitation, causing an ongoing problem for school children. 23 million people who reside in the East African country desperately lack access to clean and safe drinking water.

As a result, 3,000 children a year under the age of five die from life-threatening stomach illnesses like typhoid, cholera, dysentery and hepatitis A — hindering their ability to learn in the classroom.

“I just fell in love with this country, the people and the project.” — Eddie Mauro

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO: Eddie Mauro & The Purify Project

Planting the seed

Seven years ago Monsignor Frank Bognanno, alongside thirty other cancer survivors with Above and Beyond Cancer, packed their bags and headed on an 8,400 mile trip from Iowa to Tanzania. Together, the group would climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

After completing the feat, Monsignor Bonanno, a retired priest from Des Moines, IA, met Father Isaac Amani — the bishop of Moshi and St. Pammachius School.

Father Amani shared his concerns about the town’s most dire problem: dirty drinking water. And his call for help was crystal clear: The people of Moshi were desperate to fix the unsanitary, poor water that was sickening adults and killing children at the 38 schools he worked with.

The mission: Clean water, one cup at a time

The Purify Project identifies key communities like Moshi that suffer from water-related illnesses. Then, the organization works with local planners, engineers and contractors to build water purification systems at schools in the area — giving children access to the clean water they need.

After two years, local contractors, and Father Patrick — the lead priest of the Catholic Diocese of Moshi worked together to install two systems with Monsignor Bognanno.

It was those two years later when Eddie learned of The Purify Project and the challenges facing schools and young people in Moshi. So on Monsignor Bognanno’s next trip to Tanzania, Eddie joined him. There he spent time learning about the area, the work the Bishop was doing, and trials the project faced.

It was that one trip that solidified everything — and charted the vision that eventually led to The Purify Project that Eddie champions today.

“How do we get these systems in faster — 20 more than just two?”

Eddie and Monsignor Bonanno in Tanzania, 2017

Hope for a healthier future

The Purify Project’s goal is to help students learn and teachers teach. Access to clean drinking water plays a vital role in providing a learning environment for these children to thrive.

Since launch, The Purify Project has helped local engineers, contractors and volunteers to build 40 sustainable and tested water sanitation systems in schools.

And as the project continues to grow, it comes with a renewed focus.

Eddie and Monsignor Bognanno are working and consulting with local residents, engineers, city officials and with Father Patrick, to expand their reach even further — working with hospitals and universities throughout Tanzania, helping meet the needs of even more communities, and providing Tanzanians with safe and clean drinking water.

“We’re continuing to look for ways to improve the systems. Less maintenance, more efficiency, and durability, to consistently deliver clean water.”

Site visits and water samples have been made at 13 more schools this past year alone. By 2020, the project is on track to install 20 more systems at primary and secondary schools.

Eddie has dedicated his life to community service, letting his strong faith values guide the way. From preparing meals for the homeless to helping mission-driven organizations in urban communities, his given time and financial contributions have encouraged his family and co-workers, the students he taught, and the players he coached to volunteer their time as well.