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Cover of The Village Heart, showing a large group of women and children from Mkuranga gathered together with Maryvonne Pool.

The publication · 2016

The Village Heart

A glimpse inside the villages of Tanzania and the impact of clean water.

Author
Maryvonne Pool
Published
2016
Pages
157

A photographic record of African Reflections Foundation’s early work in rural Tanzania — the villages, the wells, and the women and children whose lives are bound up with access to clean water.

At publication, the book was created to help support further clean-water work for women in rural Tanzania.

Inside The Village Heart

  • Origins

    The drought in Mkuranga, the village of Mwarusembe, and the encounter that began the Foundation.

  • Water

    Why access to clean water sits underneath every other outcome in a village.

  • Women

    The women who led the work in their own communities — farming groups, savings, leadership.

  • Education

    Schools built of mud and sticks, wells at school gates, and what changed for pupils.

  • Villages

    Daily life across the Pwani region, photographed over years of field visits.

  • Agriculture

    Crops, harvests and the small commercial farms that grew out of reliable water.

  • Human stories

    Maua, Monica, Hadija and Mama Mbonde, in their own places.

  • Supporters

    The people around the world who funded wells, solar systems and school fees.

  • Photography

    Documentary portraiture from Mkuranga — the archive at the heart of the book.

Read the book

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The Village Heart — page 1

Page 1 of 157

Pages

Who made this book

The Village Heart was produced by a small team. Their credits are reproduced here as printed in the publication.

  • Founder & Author

    Maryvonne Pool

  • Photography, Design & Page Layout

    Samuel Mwanga

  • Editor

    Karen Flewelling

  • Editor & Page Layout

    Karissa Punjani

  • Design & Page Layout

    Tracy Moore

  • Photo credit

    Samuel Mwanga & Maryvonne Pool

  • Final editing

    Karen Flewelling & Karissa Punjani

  • Printer

    Emirates Printing Press, Dubai