An extremely arid area located in Shinyanga Region in north-central Tanzania, Kishapu District has historically played host to a variety of social and environmental troubles including hunger, high rates of school dropout, high mortality rates due to various water-borne and related diseases (cholera, diarrhea, malaria, tyhpoid, etc.), land degradation, and deforestation. Kishapu is also known for rampant violence and the killing of innocent elderly women accused of witchcraft, which have led to an increased number of villagers fleeing their villages and resorting to begging in Shinyanga town.

Responding to the server drought and related food shortage that struck Kishapu District in 2006, TCRS and other humanitarian relief agencies provided emergency food and other non-food items as temporary solutions to the crisis. Starting in 2007, TCRS undertook to provide a more lasting solution by implementing a new initiative for climate change adaptation in the District. Its main objective is "to reduce vulnerability to climate change in north-central Tanzania by empowering communities to mitigate, take precaution against, and adapt to its effects." In this way, the project aims to establish sustainable climate change adaptation mechanisms and to introduce technologies and behaviors that will reduce human suffering and help to restore peace and harmony in Kishapu. The Community Empowerment intervention uses the TCRS empowerment Curriculum to impact knowledge and develop skills for better understanding of various natural and environmental phenomena.

Kishapu community members work together to alleviate the affects of climate change by constructing a sand dam

Since the inauguration of the project, 1,485 marginalized individuals and 150 village government officials have been enrolled in the curriculum, which includes trainings on hygiene, leadership roles & responsibilities, Participatory Monitoring & Implementation (PIM), and good governance & accountability. Furthermore, six Integrated Rainwater Management (IRM) committees have been established in Bumambiyu, Idushi, Lagana, Mwamadulu, Mwamanota, and Ngofila villages. To ensure long-term sustainability, a total of 36 local craftsmen have been trained on water tank and sand dam construction, and construction of rainwater harvesting tanks and sand dams in project villages is ongoing.

Due to the project's efforts thus far, 3,300 students and 36 teachers in primary schools in Kishapu now have access to clean drinking water from rainwater harvesting tanks. Improved water availability has also contributed toward a 15% increase in the attendance of female pupils who no longer have to shoulder the burden of fetching water for the school and their households. Additionally, the incidence of waterborne diseases throughout Kishapu has begun decreasing due to the increased availability of clean water. And finally, project beneficiaries have been involved in planting trees, an initiative that will not only decrease aridity in the region but will also increase the availability of shade and fruit in the community.