Kisindi Well Project
Project Snapshot
Country: Uganda
GPS Coordinates:
Latitude 1.804170
Longitude 31.833916
Impact:
Total Served: 600
Status: Completed (?)
Completion Date (or estimate): 11/30/2010
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The community of Kisindi is located in a very lush and fertile area of Masindi District, Uganda. The vast majority of the local population is involved with subsistence agriculture. Maize, beans, plantains, and cassava root are the most commonly grown crops. Households also typically rear chickens, goats
and sheep. Within Kisindi there is a small trading center where residents can buy the necessities such as cooking oil, candles, meat and, of course, Coca-Cola. The shop fronts serve as popular places for people to meet and chat. Although a pleasant community in many ways, Kisindi also lacks many basic services, in particular, a clean water supply. The village chairman, Moses Murasa, succinctly states the
current water situation in Kisindi in his application to Busoga Trust for a shallow well;
“We are drinking pond water or we walk a long distance for safe water.”
The distance to the safe water
source which the chairman refers to is roughly 3-4 kilometers and only a
few people are willing to make the laborious trip. Carrying a jerry
can full of water over that distance is an exhausting and time consuming
task. Kisindi residents therefore rely on naturally forming open pools
which sit in the small valleys of the area. Unfortunately, these ponds
are easily exposed to sources of bacteria which contaminate the water
and threaten the health of those who drink it. Water borne diseases
such as typhoid and dysentery, as well as water-washed diseases like
scabies commonly plague Kisindi residents. Without a clean source of
water they will continue to suffer from preventable diseases.
On September 28, 2010 Busoga Trust
placed a technician in Kisindi to begin the excavation of a shallow hand
dug well in cooperation with local residents. Construction of the well
will take 3 – 4 weeks and following its completion a hand pump will be
installed. Additionally, sanitation and hygiene education will be
conducted via a drama show and household follow ups by Busoga Trust
staff. The combination of clean water provision and improved hygiene
and sanitation coverage will see the standard of health for Kisindi
residents increase considerably.
GPS Location Approximate
Project Photos
Sponsors
Country Details
Uganda
Population: 27 million
- Lacking clean water: 36%
- Below poverty line: 37%
- Climate: Tropical; generally rainy with 2 dry seasons
- Languages: English (official), Ganda or Luganda
- Ethnic Groups: Baganda 17%, Ankole 8%, Basoga 8%, Iteso 8%, Bakiga 7%, Langi 6%, Rwanda 6%, Bagisu 5%, Acholi 4%, Lugbara 4%, Batoro 3%, Bunyoro 3%, Alur 2%
- Life Expectancy: 53 years
- Infant Mortality Rate: 65 deaths per 1000 live births
Partner Profile
Busoga Trust America
Our Approach
Busoga Trust America partners with local non-governmental organizations
to carry out development projects in the developing world. Three
operating principals guide our approach: certainty of results, extreme
transparency and no overhead.
Certainty of results. In Masindi, we are working
with the premier water development group in the East Africa, Busoga
Trust. Their approach has been honed over 20 years through work on 1400
wells in Uganda and surrounding countries. Their experience, together
with the favorable geology of Masindi and stable political climate in
Uganda give us confidence that our work will have profound impact on
people’s lives in Masindi.
No Overhead: 100% of Busoga Trust America’s
overhead cost are covered by grants from its Founders. This means that
every dollar donated goes to Africa.
Transparency: Every donation, large or small, is linked to a specific project. Donors are notified which project their gift supports. Each project has a page on this web site that gives details about the village served by the new well, data on water quality and access before and after our intervention and photo and video documentation of our work and the new well. The idea is to provide to donors a window into exactly who thier donation helped and what it accomplished.
