Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Western Uganda WaSH Program

Impact: 1,250 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Mar 2022

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 03/12/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

The Isagara community has the advantage of being located near the Kinyara Sugarcane Factory, with most of the laborers living locally, making electricity available to area households. The most common livelihoods include laboring in sugar cane production or the farming of maize, beans, cassava, and sugarcane.

Isagara Primary School was established by the community in 1954. In 1975, the government took over the school and drilled a borehole well to be shared between the community and the school since there was no safe source of drinking water nearby. Since that time, more classrooms have been constructed to accommodate additional students and improve the village's quality of education.

Unfortunately, the borehole is not currently functional, making water a challenge for students and those in the local community to find. If they do not travel to a nearby village, they are left to scoop muddy and contaminated water from narrow, shallow channels or dig new holes.

The school headteacher shared how the local water crisis impacts pupils, "Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have not had a functional borehole at the school, and this has made it challenging for us. The children delay at the alternative water point due to the long distance they have to walk to reach it, and lessons are always disrupted. Some children go home to look for drinking water and never return to school until the next day."

The rehabilitation of this water point will help relieve some of the local water crisis for the students and the ever-increasing local population. Having this operational waterpoint in the community should reduce the energy and time students, and local community members use to collect water and offer a solution for safe drinking water.

Here’s what we’re going to do about it:

Rehabilitated Well

We are going to restore water to the broken-down borehole. Since this water point is located at the center of the village and easily accessible by the majority of people, unlike the springs which are located at the far ends of the village, when this borehole is restored to its original status, it will provide the community with easy access to clean and safe water. We will remove the old pump, clear out the well, reinstall a new stainless steel pump, and build a new well pad to protect the water.

Training

Training’s main objectives are the use of latrines and observing proper hygiene practices since these goals are inherently connected to the provision of clean water. Open defecation, water storage in unclean containers, and the absence of handwashing are all possible contaminants of a household water supply. Each participating village must achieve Open Defecation Free status (defined by one latrine per household) before the pump installation for a shallow hand-dug well.

This social program includes the assignment of 1 Community Development Officer (CDO) to each village. The CDO encourages each household to build an ideal homestead that consists of a latrine, handwashing facility, a separate structure for animals, a rubbish pit, and a drying rack for dishes.

We also implement the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach with each of our village partners. This aims to improve the sanitation and hygiene practices and behaviors of a village. During these sessions, village leaders naturally emerge and push the community to realize that the current patterns of individual households – particularly the practice of open defecation – are unhealthy and affect the entire village. CLTS facilitates a process in which community members realize the negative consequences of their current water, sanitation, and hygiene behaviors and are inspired to take action. Group interactions are frequent motivators for individual households to build latrines, use the latrines, and demand that other families do the same.

Improved Sanitation

The aim is that all households own an improved latrine. Many homes do not use a toilet but use the bush. Due to open defecation, feces are spread all over the village. This leads to waterborne diseases and contamination of groundwater and surface water. Our aim is that the community can live a healthy life free of preventable diseases. We endeavor that people will have both access to sustainable, clean water and access to sanitation at the end of our presence in the community. We have now organized families to form digging groups for latrine construction and empowered them with the tools they will need.

Project Updates


March, 2022: Isagara Primary School Well Rehabilitation Complete!

A well rehabilitated at Isagara Primary School in Uganda is already providing community members with clean, safe water! Additionally, we hosted a training where community members worked together to make a development action plan for their area. As a result, families are working to build new sanitation and hygiene facilities, tools, and habits that will help improve their living standards and enable a healthier life.

Laurance A., 9, said, "I'm going to be able to collect enough water for drinking, washing my casual clothes, and bathing in time as compared to before since the distance to the water source has been reduced."

Laurance at the well.

He continued, "I was taught by [my] mother that when you drink clean and enough water, you don't suffer from diarrhea and dehydration. Therefore, access to reliable and clean water will help [me] not suffer from diarrhea. [I] will be healthy and daily attend classes when schools reopen and believe [my] performance will improve."

Rehabilitated Borehole Well

We worked with the community to determine the best possible site for this rehabilitation. After meetings and visits throughout the community, together we agreed that this borehole was the best option to work on.

Throughout the construction process, several households volunteered to host the drilling technicians, giving them a place to sleep and food to eat throughout their stay.

Flushing the well.

The work team pulled up the old pump, cleared out the well, reinstalled a new stainless steel pump, and built a new well pad to once again seal off the well water from surface-level contaminants.

Building the well apron and drainage channel.

We conducted a yield test and checked the water’s quality to ensure the well’s ease of access and safety. With great results, we handed over the rehabilitated well to the community. The well is already providing safe, reliable water for the community’s daily use.

The new pump.

The dedication ceremony was attended by community members. The chairperson gave a speech and the water point was officially opened and handed over to the community.

Excited to collect water from the functioning well.

Farmer Rita Birungi, 29, plans to upgrade her business since she now has enough time to tend to her customers, unlike before when her time was consumed by collecting water. She also plans to begin rearing chickens because she now has enough water.

Rita at the well.

Rita said, "Access to reliable and clean water will help improve on [my] hygiene and sanitation practices by ensuring regular cleaning of the main house, latrine, and cleaning the jerrycans before going to collect water. [I] will have enough water for handwashing at the entrance of [my] shop so that all [my] customers [can] wash hands before and after accessing the shop and this will help reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19."

Training

The first training session focused on financial planning. We mobilized the community through a series of meetings that sensitized them on the importance and purpose of saving. This included meetings dedicated to creating a community profile, where participants map the physical environment and stakeholders in their own community. We also ran a participatory vulnerability capacity assessment exercise. In this session, community members mapped out their shared risks and opportunities, including the water point breaking down.

Next, we scheduled the savings group training date with the community. We planned for a one-day training to form the savings group and discuss the best practices for maintaining and managing it.

We worked with the community to establish a Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) and a water user committee. The savings group set up a fund to provide small loans to each other and another fund they will use to pay for any repairs to the well if an issue arises. The group also agreed on a social fund that will provide grants to fellow group members and help them with funeral expenses or catastrophes such as fire damage. Our teams will provide follow-up training to support putting the savings group into practice while also offering continuous coaching in records management.

Additional training sessions focused on hygiene and sanitation at the personal, household, community, and environmental levels. In collaboration with the community facilitator and local leaders, we trained households on critical hygiene and sanitation facilities to build. These include latrines, dish racks, refuse pits, handwashing facilities, and bathing shelters. Our teams monitor these facilities’ construction while helping the community learn how to best use and care for them.

Finally, we led an additional training for local artisans to teach them how to fabricate and sell locally used and accepted sanitation products that allow for more hygienic and accessible latrines.

The community water committee.

Just as with the financial training, we will continue to support the community in their sanitation and hygiene progress through monitoring visits. In addition, we will offer follow-up assistance and refresher training to ensure community members follow through in building their new facilities and developing new habits.

Thank you for making all of this possible!




January, 2022: Isagara Primary School Well Rehab Underway!

A severe clean water shortage at Isagara Primary School drains students’ time, energy, and health. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

Get to know this school through the introduction and pictures we’ve posted, and read about this water, sanitation, and hygiene project. We look forward to reaching out with more good news!




Project Photos


Project Type

Abundant water is often right under our feet! Beneath the Earth’s surface, rivers called aquifers flow through layers of sediment and rock, providing a constant supply of safe water. For borehole wells, we drill deep into the earth, allowing us to access this water which is naturally filtered and protected from sources of contamination at the surface level. First, we decide where to drill by surveying the area and determining where aquifers are likely to sit. To reach the underground water, our drill rigs plunge through meters (sometimes even hundreds of meters!) of soil, silt, rock, and more. Once the drill finds water, we build a well platform and attach a hand pump. If all goes as planned, the community is left with a safe, closed water source providing around five gallons of water per minute! Learn more here!


A Year Later: Improved school performance!

March, 2023

A year ago, your generous donation helped Isagara Primary School in Uganda access clean water – creating a life-changing moment for Caleb. Thank you!

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Isagara Primary School.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Isagara Primary School maintain access to safe, reliable water. Together, they keep The Water Promise.

We’re confident you'll love joining this world-changing group committed to sustainability!

The students at Isagara Primary School used to walk to a narrow, muddy spring for the water they needed each day because the well on their school campus was non-functional. They missed time in class, came back to school tired, and found it hard to concentrate.

"I used to walk very long distances to access water at the spring. Due to the long queues, I would take a lot of time, and my parents stopped sending me to collect water, especially in the evenings," said Caleb A.

But since we rehabilitated their school well last year, things have been different for the students, making life easier.

"The borehole has been repaired and [is] working very well. Since then, [I] am able to collect water at any time since it's nearer to home and no longer congested like before," Caleb continued.

With less time spent waiting in line for water, Caleb has been able to invest in learning instead.

"This water point has helped me to always go to school early, and my performance has improved as compared to before," Caleb concluded.

Caleb.


Navigating through intense dry spells, performing preventative maintenance, conducting quality repairs when needed and continuing to assist community leaders to manage water points are all normal parts of keeping projects sustainable. The Water Promise community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Isagara Primary School maintain access to safe, reliable water.

We’d love for you to join this world-changing group committed to sustainability.

The most impactful way to continue your support of Isagara Primary School – and hundreds of other places just like this – is by joining our community of monthly givers.

Your monthly giving will help provide clean water, every month... keeping The Water Promise.


Contributors

Project Underwriter - ChangeBox Foundation
Fort International
1 individual donor(s)