Giving Update: Munungo Community

Since the well rehabilitation project in Munungo was completed last year, the lives of the people here have improved so much.

It is evident that when we conducted a baseline survey for this community, a lot of challenges arose from this community because of the lack of access to clean and safe water for drinking. For instance, we witnessed even the domestic animals dying due to lack of water since sometimes, the little water that was brought home by the children was prioritized for human consumption at the expense of the cattle.

But now, Munungo community members have enough water for drinking, they are healthy, their economic status is improving, and they are living at peace with their neighboring communities whom they have welcomed to their well. The functional water point has also brought prosperity for the people of Munungo and their neighbors, and together they have been very cooperative and appreciative of the help accorded to them concerning their rehabilitated well.

This community has really improved in terms of matters of hygiene. While conducting our interviews, we walked around the community making observations of whether the training on hygiene and sanitation that we conducted last year had any impact on the members of this community and we can confidently say that they were transformed.

In this community, 5% of the households did not have toilets so they were forced to practice open defecation, but now, every household has a toilet. We also noticed that they have installed handwashing stations in front of their toilets and they are lockable. Also, the latrine pit holes now are covered and there was ash placed there for handwashing. These are all clear indicators that the training on hygiene and sanitation was impactful for these community members.

Paul Ohoyo being interviewed by Field Officer Terry

"There are many changes that have occurred in our community since the rehabilitation of this water point last year," said Paul Ohoyo, a member of the water committee in Munungo.

"To begin with, we now have access to safe water every day and it is so [plentiful] that we also use it for our income-generating activities. Before this water was brought here, I was jobless but now because of this water, I have a thriving food stand at the [market] center where I am currently selling cooked food to people."

"This water has brought food security in our community. My wife and other women are growing indigenous vegetables and selling them to the community members [and even] though vegetables are a rare commodity because of the dry spell, we have vegetables at a cheaper price because of the efforts of our women and the availability of this water."

"Also, the community members are now healthier unlike before when they used to use water which is not safe. Our children can now afford to play and study since we are not sending them afar to fetch water and their school performance and health have now improved. In summary, I can confidently say that food security, good health, employment opportunities, and good performance in education are some of the biggest changes in this community since the rehabilitation of this water point."

One of those children Paul mentioned is Nickson Okhoya, a 13-year-old boy living in Munungo who along with his family depends on this well for their daily water needs.

Nickson Okhoya being interviewed by Field Officer Terry

"Since the water project was completed in our community last year, my life has really changed for the better," said Nickson.

"Nowadays, I have enough time to play, unlike before when I used to spend a lot of time looking for drinking water for my father's cattle. Secondly, I have enough time to study and my grades have improved so much this year. Lastly, I used to get sick more frequently because of consuming contaminated water. Since the water project was completed, I had never fallen sick, I feel strong and healthy, and what I can say is lots of thanks to The Water Project for giving us good life once again and may God Almighty bless you."

"There is not any other problem that [I] am facing, this is simply because we have water across seasons and though there is drought, today we can still have access to safe and clean water for drinking...My mother now has a kitchen garden where she grows vegetables and practices irrigation [using] this water project so we have food to eat even during the dry spell."

Paul and Nickson at the well