This is a portrait of a village called Uhambingeto in rural Tanzania, centred on one woman, Joyce Mbwilo, and her family. It is also an attempt to portray the way one community in the developing world is affected by the way we live in the West. Climate change has meant half the crop in Uhambingeto has failed, each year, for the past four years; and the country’s debt means insufficient funds are available to subsidise secondary education. But Uhambingeto has also been positively affected by the actions of the West: with the initial round of debt relief granted in 2000, Tanzania’s government made primary education free and compulsory: all the children in this village now go to school. And with support from an NGO called Tearfund, Joyce no longer walks for ten hours each night to collect water: the water is pumped directly to the village centre. This water has had a far reaching effect on Joyce, her family, and the village.
