Africa Uganda's Fundraising Page
Help Fund a Water Project
Africa Initiative for the Needy Uganda (AINU) began work in Uganda
in September 2004, building relationships with the government and local
development organizations and learning about the population’s water and
sanitation needs. Working in partnership with local Schools in the districts of
Kayunga, Kayunga, Mukono, and Kyankwanzi, Africa Initiative for the Needy
Uganda (AINU) strives to provide sustainable access to improved water and
sanitation facilities.
95% of people in urban areas and 68% in rural areas have access to
safe water. Access to sanitation is much lower, with 34% of the population in
both urban and rural areas using improved sanitation facilities. While
significant water infrastructure exists in Uganda, due to a lack of strong
operation and maintenance mechanisms, many systems are broken down and much of
the infrastructure no longer meets government standards for access, quantity,
and quality.
Close to a
quarter of Uganda’s population lack access to clean and safe water. Most
of those without access either live in hard-to-reach areas or parts of the
country that have been affected by war. Safe and
clean drinking water is a human right”, declares the United Nations. However, it’s
such a shame that too many rural communities in Uganda, this “human
right” is still a “myth”.
Many communities don’t have access to safe and clean drinking
water. We have noticed that many rural areas have hardships in accessing water
sources – they often have to walk more than one kilometer to find the nearest
water source.
Often these are swamps, lakes, rivers, streams, or even mere
trickles of water. A few rural communities have access to boreholes while others
have managed to dig up water wells to enable free access to water.
During his travels to several parts of Uganda, we have noticed
that women and children are the ones in charge of fetching water in their
homes. Often, he would see women, girls and boys in both small and big groups carrying
jerrycans of water on their heads and sometimes on bicycles.
Even though many of these communities will not complain openly,
they often face hardships. Hardships range from the long-inconveniencing
distances that people have to walk to access water to threats of infections
from water born diseases like typhoid, dysentery and bilharzia that people are
prone to due to dirty and unsafe water.
Rural people live with and suffer from, but know little about
these threats because they are not informed but cases of typhoid, dysentery and
bilharzia are very common in rural areas and the biggest cause is drinking
dirty water.
We believe communities need more information on improved water
access, their rights and health information.
In the cities like Kampala for example, the story of water access
is really saddening. People have to depend on broken water pipes to access free
water.
Others will look for streams on the suburbs of the cities where
they live because many people still live in poverty and them, clean water
(which they have to pay for) would not be very helpful when they don’t even
have food. Often people choose to spend more on food and improvise with water
by looking for free water sources in the neighborhoods.
Even though the many urban poor don’t have to walk kilometers to
access free water, they are at the same risk of catching diseases from this
free-unsafe drinking water sources.
At the same risk of catching diseases from this openly available
water sources, so easy to reach in the short term, yet so costly in terms of
health after all. Students from different schools where we work suffer
from walking long distances to access safe and clean water. We need to establish boreholes, water tanks,
ground water reservoirs, and tap water. We hope this will help to curb the
situation of lack of access to clean and safe water.
Why It Matters
Did you know nearly 1 billion people don't have safe water to drink?
Together, we can change that. Let's fund a new source of drinking water for those who suffer needlessly without it!
Our gifts will be used to construct or rehabilitate a water project, like a well or sand dam, in Africa. We'll see pictures, GPS coordinates, and updates as they come in from the actual water project we fund so we can celebrate the results along with the community we help.
About The Water Project
The Water Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization unlocking human potential by providing clean, safe water to communities around the world who suffer needlessly without.
Working with local partners in countries like Kenya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Uganda, we build long lasting water projects that are organized, owned and managed by the communities receiving them.
Together, with our partners we identify, implement, report on and follow up on every project. Then we share the whole story with you to inspire confidence in the work being done and the impact it has.