Clean Water Comes to Mountain of Joy
StormWater Pros Delivers Water Tanks and Filters for Students and Families in Arusha
At StormWater Pros, we believe in the transformative power of clean water, not only for sustaining life, but for unlocking opportunity, dignity, and hope. This year’s Ripple Effect Project centered on a need identified by our partners at Water For Life Charity.
They shared with us a project in Arusha, Tanzania, where a government special needs school and orphanage called Mountain of Joy required a reliable clean water solution to better serve its students and surrounding community. We were honored to join forces with Water For Life Charity and ROAM Humanitarian to make it happen.
Through this collaboration, we delivered industrial-grade water tanks to provide safe, sustainable water storage, and we didn’t stop there. We also supplied 180 water filters to further improve access to clean drinking water, ensuring that families, students, and staff could benefit from cleaner, healthier water every day.
Why Water Tanks?
While last year’s Ripple Effect Project focused on drilling a deep water well, this year’s need called for a different approach. In the Arusha region, much of the groundwater is severely contaminated with high levels of fluoride, which can lead to serious health issues including physical deformities. Because drilling a well in this area would not provide safe drinking water, the best solution was to capture and store rainwater.
The tanks at Mountain of Joy are positioned close to buildings, allowing rainwater to run off the roofs into the tanks through PVC piping. Built on solid cinderblock and cement foundations, these tanks can withstand heavy rains and flooding. Rainwater is generally clean when it first enters the tanks, but to ensure safety, the system also includes additional filtration to remove bacteria and other contaminants. This combination of rainwater harvesting and filtration provides a sustainable, long-term source of safe water for the school and surrounding community.
The Project: Safe Water Storage for Mountain of Joy and the Community
Mountain of Joy is a government special needs school and orphanage with roughly 800 students, mostly girls, and it serves as a vital resource for the surrounding neighborhood. Before this project, the school relied on a small, unsafe pond miles away. Fetching water often meant missing class, carrying heavy loads, and navigating dangerous routes.
The limited water supply meant children sometimes had only enough for one small bowl of porridge, their only meal for the day, and occasionally enough to flush the toilets. Staff also spent precious funds hauling water in, and hygiene conditions suffered as a result.
The solution at Mountain of Joy, with benefits reaching the broader community:
15,000 liters of water storage capacity installed
Industrial, food-grade tanks positioned near buildings to collect rainwater through PVC piping
Strong cinderblock and cement foundations to withstand heavy rains
Filtration systems to keep stored water clean and safe for drinking
180 additional water filters distributed to extend access to clean water beyond the school grounds
Community training for ongoing maintenance and sustainability
These upgrades now provide clean water for drinking, cooking, bathing, washing clothes, and school meals, not only for Mountain of Joy’s students, but also for hundreds of surrounding families.
A Special Visit in Spring 2025
This spring, StormWater Pros founder Brig Christensen traveled to Tanzania to see the results of our ongoing Ripple Effect efforts firsthand. On this visit, he was able to stand beside the new water tanks at Mountain of Joy and also revisit the water well from last year’s project, two milestones that continue to transform daily life in the community.
While there, Brig led educational sessions for local communities receiving the water filters. He demonstrated how to build the filters, as well as how to clean and maintain them, ensuring that each household could confidently manage their new source of clean water.
When Brig arrived at Mountain of Joy, he was met with an unexpected and heartfelt surprise. ROAM Humanitarian had gone the extra mile and painted the StormWater Pros logo on the tanks. Seeing our logo boldly displayed on something that will provide life-changing solutions for generations was a surreal and deeply humbling moment for all of us.
The Impact: Health, Education, and Hope
Since installation, the transformation has been undeniable. The once-frequent smell of urine is gone, children now arrive clean and refreshed, and the financial burden of buying water has been lifted.
For the girls at Mountain of Joy, ready access to water means staying in school rather than being pulled into early marriage. Students can focus on learning instead of walking miles for unsafe water. For the community as a whole, health and hygiene have improved dramatically, and the relief is shared by hundreds of nearby residents.
“StormWater Pros has brought hope, health, and happiness to those who needed it most.”
Why This Matters
For us, the Ripple Effect isn’t just a name, it’s a commitment. By partnering with organizations like Water For Life Charity and ROAM Humanitarian, we can help create ripples that reach far beyond the first drop: children staying in school, families staying healthy, and communities building a brighter future.
We’re honored to have been part of this project, and we’re grateful to our partners for their tireless work on the ground. Together, we can and will keep making waves of change.