OUR WORK IN
TANZANIA
The Story
In 2016, while traveling through Tanzania with a group of artists, we taught theater to young children, helping them understand the power of storytelling to bring about social change.
Throughout our time there, we listened to the people in the region as they shared their needs. One story in particular touched us deeply: Asha, a mother who had lost one of her children during childbirth, communicated the village’s urgent need for a labor clinic. We developed a strong connection with Asha, linked by our common understanding of humanity (Ubinadamu), and we recognized this as an opportunity to carry out our mission: using storytelling to create positive change in our communities.
Asha and Michael, June 2016
We brought Asha’s story back to the U.S. and produced a play that raised awareness of the issues facing her community in Tanzania, while at the same time communicating a universal story of love, loss, and healing. Over the course of three months, we returned to Tanzania and worked closely with the people and government of Mloka to successfully complete the construction of the Ubinadamu Labor Clinic. There is now a safe place in the village for women to give birth, the first building on the property of what has now become a larger health center. The clinic has been licensed by the Government of Tanzania and is registered as an official health center. The District Medical Office has since sent staff and equipment, and babies have been born safely at the clinic! We realized throughout our time in Mloka that this was only the beginning. The needs of the village extend far beyond the labor clinic, and the strong connection we all feel with the people there is too important to ignore.
The Humanity Project was born.
The Model
Want to join a Humanity Project Trip?
Every summer we take a group of artists to Tanzania for a three-week life-changing trip. The trip can be (and often is) used for undergraduate/graduate internship credit, or it can simply be a cool thing you do to gain experience in Theater for Social Change, devised theater, and community engagement!
To let us know you’re interested, visit our contact page and send us a message.
We’d love for you to join us!
The Projects
Labor Clinic
and Hospital
After the success of the initial Ubinadamu Labor Clinic, we saw that the community would benefit from expanding to a larger health center that would provide more comprehensive services as well. Throughout 2018 and 2019, we traveled back to Tanzania to work hand-in-hand with the regional government and people of Mloka to continue building their much-needed health center, which now serves approximately 6,000 people, and includes: an outpatient services building, several operating rooms and recovery wards, full medical facilities for men, women, and children, and staff housing. The District Medical Office in Tanzania, as well as the village government have been fully committed to this partnership the entire way, keeping us informed of their substantial financial and material contributions.
The maternity clinic now helps deliver approximately 14 new babies per month and has seen a dramatic decrease in infant and maternal mortality rates.
Wells
In May of 2017, we partnered with the African Well Fund, for their “Build a Well for Bono’s Birthday” campaign, and successfully completed the project that same year.
In Tanzania, only 44% of healthcare facilities that deliver babies have access to water, decent toilets and handwashing with soap. Of these, only 24% have these facilities in the delivery room. The situation is similar across the region, with 42% of healthcare centres in sub-Saharan Africa having no water source within 500 metres.
Every year the African Well Fund joins together with the U2 fan community to celebrate and honor Bono’s birthday by raising funds for clean water and sanitation projects. 2017’s theme was “Love Is All We Have Left.” Since 2003, U2 fans from across the globe have raised over $260,000 in Bono's honor to fund the construction of clean water and sanitation projects that are benefiting more than 80,000 people in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
The African Well Fund is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the mission of funding clean water and sanitation projects in sub-Saharan Africa. Since its founding in 2002, the organization has raised more than $1 million to fund over 30 projects in 15 countries, benefiting more than 350,000 people.
Over the past 7 years, The Outer Loop and AWF have partnered on four new well projects in Tanzania, bringing clean water to over 10,000 people. Every year when we visit, we check in on these wells and have been able to help with several repairs and upgrades to help them serve the community best.
Msona
Market
During our 2022 Humanity Project trip, the people of Msona expressed their need for a centralized food market in their village. We learned that women were having to travel long distances on foot to gather the food they needed to support their families.
The task was not only time-consuming, but also dangerous, as there were wild animals and even people who may have attacked them on their way. In 2023, we completed construction on a market that increases accessibility to higher quality food and provides a much safer and more efficient way to acquire food.
It is a point of pride for the village to have a market that people are coming from all over to see, and it has earned immense respect for the artists and musicians we worked with, who are the reason the market is now there.
school
partnership
The Outer Loop and The Humanity Project are helping a primary school in Tanzania, and a primary school in the U.S. partner up!
What does that mean? It means that 60 students and 3 teachers from each school - 7,000 miles apart - will become video pen pals, with the hopes of...
Establishing a relationship between the students and teachers of both schools
Allowing students and teachers to exchange experiences and learn about each other's lives
Discussing and finding solutions to problems facing those in the academic field
Improving the performance of the students and teachers in both locations
To find out more, visit our School Partnership page.
Mloka
Performing Arts
and cultural Center
Let’s not forget that all the amazing work we do starts with telling a story. Because of the art we have created and how it has made such an immense impact on the community, we are collaborating with the village committee of Mloka to build a Performing Arts and Cultural Center for the village. The slogan for the center will be “Kijiji cha Hadithi,” which is Swahili for “Village of Stories.” There will be several components to the MPACC:
Historical and cultural storytelling tours and exhibits
Theater space for performances (theater, music, dance, etc.)
Educational center for storytelling classes and workshops
Space for local artists to display and sell their work
Space for local chefs to sell their food
The plot of land for the center has been cleared, and construction has already begun. Once completed, the MPACC will provide countless new jobs for the village, a steady flow of tourism income, and a gathering place for arts, culture, history, education, and good food!
We are grateful to be partnering on this project with Rotary Club of Dar es Salaam at Mikocheni and Rotary Club of Chicago Southeast.
School
Toilets
In 2023, when we went to the Mloka Primary School, the kids shared with us that their toilets had collapsed. One girl had nearly been injured, and for the last several months since then, the kids had had no safe, private space to use the restroom at school. We decided we had to help.
We worked together that summer with the kids of Mloka Primary School to create a play about their toilet crisis. When we brought their story back to the U.S. our donors rushed to help, and soon we had raised the funds to rebuild the school toilets.
The local government, upon hearing about the project, decided to build toilets accessible to disabled students and faculty as well.
In the summer of 2024, the toilets were opened and available for use by the kids. Not only do they now have a safe and private place to use the restroom, but they know that it would not have been possible without them speaking up about their needs, and without theater.
irrigation
system
In an area that is so dependent on agriculture, drought can easily devastate the population. We are helping to build an irrigation system that will...
Cover 25 acres of land, which means every single farm in the village will have coverage
Create long-term sustainability and food security for the entire village
Work to feed the new village market that we also helped build in 2022
transportation
fund
Over the last few years, we have been working closely with a local arts group in the village of Msona. The group is made up of 20-30 of the most skilled, dedicated performers we’ve met and collaborating with them has been a gift.
During the summer of 2024, the group communicated to us that they had the potential to start doing paid performances in neighboring towns, but because of no access to transportation, they were not able to take these opportunities.
So we decided to talk to our donors and community, and launch a transportation fund to send the Msona Arts Group out to perform. As they are able to take these opportunities and be paid, they will eventually be able to fund their own travel.
We are currently fundraising for this project, so please donate if you are able.
The Humanity Project is only possible with your support!
Your donation to The Outer Loop supports the programs that need it most.
Any amount helps…
Even $1 has a tremendous impact!
Every gift makes a difference.
Give one time or monthly.
CHECK OUT OUR DOCUMENTARIES
Tupo Pamoja (We are Together)
The Humanity Project: A Devised Documentary Film
Learn more about our work in Tanzania