The story with the "Bridge to Kimashuku" is that once the rainy season comes to our area in March, most of the nearby villages on the mountain (Mt Kilimanjaro) get cut off by the rivers because of the rainoff.  To get supplies (eg matches, corn, oil, salt, etc), the villagers need to "commute" across the river by way of swimming it or building footbridges.  Because the rains here are monsoon-like and the rivers rise about 6 feet, many people including children drown in the rivers on their way to get supplies for their families when they try to cross the rivers.

Thirteen years ago this footbridge was designed by a swiss engineer and built by the community with a little help.  Unfortunately, several of the large logs have prematurely rotted and need to be replaced.  Timber is Tanzania is mostly imported (not many pine trees here) hence the higher cost for wood.