Where It All Began: The Nyarusiza Tank (Tank #1)
This tank is different.
Not because of where it is, or because of how it was built, but because it was the first time I realised… this might actually work.
Before There Was a Tank
In Nyarusiza, water isn’t always far away. But it isn’t always accessible either.
Families here have two options: they can walk — often up to two hours — to collect water from a natural source and carry it home, or they can pay to access water closer to home.
And that’s the problem.
Because when money is already stretched thin, even something as essential as water becomes a luxury. So most don’t pay.
They walk.
Building Something from Nothing
The tank didn’t arrive in pieces. It was built entirely from the ground up.
By hand.
Stone by stone. Layer by layer.
Kazungu and Gad led the construction, working long days with minimal tools and often improvising with whatever was available. Cement was mixed on the ground. Wire was shaped manually. Everything was measured by eye, experience, and skill — not machines.
It was slow, physical, and precise.
Sam led the project management, and I watched in awe as he coordinated everything alongside Gad and Kazungu — the three of them working together like a well-oiled machine.
Doubt (Before the Finish Line)
Here’s something I haven’t really said before.
At the beginning of this, I wasn’t confident. I wasn’t sure I could raise the money, and I was so nervous to even ask, that even though it had become a huge part of my life, I’d brush it off with a casual “oh, nothing much” whenever people casually asked what I’d been up to.
I remember thinking: what if this doesn’t work? What if I try… and fail?
As someone who tends to be a perfectionist and quite hard on myself, the idea of not just succeeding, but succeeding with ease, mattered to me more than I realised — and that pressure sat with me longer than I expected.
The Moment It Was Finished
On 12 February 2025, the tank was complete.
20,000 litres. Enough to serve around 400 people.
It stood there — simple, solid, finished.
And for a moment, everything went quiet in my mind. Because this wasn’t just a tank anymore. It was proof.
That I could do it.
What It Changed for Me
This tank didn’t just impact the community. It changed something in me too.
It took an idea and turned it into something real and tangible. It was the moment I stopped wondering if I could do this… and started realising that I already was.
Gratitude
In this moment, I felt deeply grateful.
Grateful that people chose to give. People I have never met in person. People who simply heard the story and decided to trust it, before I could prove anything at all.
Grateful for the very first donors — Kelly De Gunst and David Gilles — who stepped forward when this was still just an idea. That early belief meant more than I can properly explain.
And grateful for everyone who followed. Everyone who gave, shared, encouraged, or simply believed this could become something real. Those who helped in ways that weren’t financial too — time, advice, support, encouragement.
None of this happens without that.
The Beginning of Something Bigger
Looking back now, this tank represents more than water. It represents a starting point.
A quiet moment where doubt turned into action. And action turned into impact.
Because sometimes the hardest part isn’t the work itself… it’s starting.
And this was that moment.
