Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Western Uganda WaSH Program

Impact: 500 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Jul 2022

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 03/12/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

The nearest source to Byerima Community is two kilometers (1.24 miles) away. 500 people live in Byerima. For the community members who don't own a motorcycle or bicycle, this is an unbearable distance. This means only one trip to the water source per day, splitting one 20-liter jerrycan between each family member.

When the people of Byerima do arrive at the well, they often find it crowded, as they share the water point with several other communities, which adds to the time they spend fetching. Some people reported spending two to three hours a day just collecting water.

Moses Musinguzi, a 43-year-old community member, gave us details. "The water crisis in this community has impacted a lot on our lives. As we send our children to collect water, they have encountered several accidents, and others even lost lives. Our girl children are highly affected as a result of delays at the water source, which exposes them to sexual harassments, leading to early pregnancies and school dropouts within the village."

"Due to the long distance I have to walk to collect water, I get very tired and even developed a chest problem," said Joan Tumwijuke, a 34-year-old housewife. "It's now the work of my husband to collect water since I was stopped due to my medical condition. Providing a new water point will reduce the long distance we move to access water from other communities."

Maurice, a 14-year-old boy (pictured below), told us the difficulties he has with fetching water for his family. "The fact that we do not have water in this village has highly affected my studies because I delay at the source and fail to do my homework. [I] am even sometimes beaten at school whenever I fail to complete my homework."

The lack of water for this community means maintaining proper hygiene is nearly impossible. Although 70% of the community's people have latrines available to use, with no water to clean them and no spare water to fill their handwashing stations, people simply go without.

Providing access to safe and clean water to this community through the construction of a new water point will motivate the community to improve on their sanitation and hygiene practices and improve many facets of their lives.

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

New Borehole

This new borehole is an exciting opportunity for this community! We work with the community to determine the best possible sites for this well.

We conducted a hydrogeological survey and the results indicated the water table is an ideal candidate for a borehole well. Due to a borehole well's unique ability to tap into a safe, year-round water column, it will be poised to serve all of the water needs for this community, even through the dry months.

Community members will help collect the needed construction materials such as sand, rocks, and water for mixing cement. They will also provide housing and meals for the work team, in addition to providing local laborers. We will complement their materials by providing an expert team of artisans and drilling professionals, tools, hardware, and the hand-pump. Once finished, water from the well will then be used by community members for drinking, handwashing, cooking, cleaning, and much more.

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 hand-washing are all possible contaminants of a household water supply. Each participating village must achieve Open Defecation Free status (defined by one latrine per household) prior to the pump installation for this borehole well.

This social program includes the assignment of one Community Development Officer (CDO) to each village. The CDO encourages each household to build an ideal homestead that includes: a latrine, a 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 practices of individual households – particularly the practice of open defecation – are not only unhealthy, but 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 them, and demand that other households do the same.

Improved Sanitation

The aim is that all households own an improved latrine. Many households do not use a latrine 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 is able to live a healthy life free of preventable diseases. We endeavor that at the end of our presence in the community, people will have both access to sustainable, clean water and access to sanitation. We have now organized families to form digging groups for latrine construction, and empowered them with tools to use.

Project Updates


July, 2022: Byerima Community Well Complete!

A new borehole well drilled in Byerima Community, Uganda is already providing community members with clean, safe water!

Celebrating clean water!

"I used to walk [a] long distance, taking more than an hour to and from the water point including queuing time to get water. Due to the time spent looking for water, it would affect my other domestic duties like cooking food [and] home care," said Scovia Ayanyi, a 29-year-old housewife. Scovia continued by explaining that since the waterpoint is now near her home, she'll finally be able to build a wall to protect her kitchen so she can prepare food even when it's raining.

Scovia pumping water.

New Borehole

We worked with the community to determine the best possible site to drill this new well. We confirmed the site's eligibility by conducting a hydrogeological survey, which proves that the water table belowground is at a sustainable level before drilling begins.

Drilling.

Several households volunteered to host our team of drilling technicians, giving them a place to sleep and food to eat throughout their work. Many community members also came to the work site each day to watch the drilling and see the well come to life.

When it came time to build the cement well pad, community members found fine sand and water to mix the cement. After the cement platform dried, we installed a stainless steel Consallen pump, which is now flowing with clean, safe water!

Steven carrying water home from the well.

"I plan to be fetching enough water in the evening after classes to clean my uniforms so that in the morning I just wake up, prepare myself, and go to school," said Steven W., age 14. "This will help me improve my hygiene at school and at home because I [will be] able to wash my uniforms and bathe every day."

Training

The self-help group associated with the project was set up and began training in advance of selecting this project.

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.

Participants learning. This is a representative photo from a similar Self-Help Group training in Uganda.

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.

Participant engagement is key. This is a representative photo from a similar Self-Help Group training in Uganda.

Additional training sessions will happen in the near future focused on hygiene and sanitation at the personal, household, community, and environmental levels. In collaboration with the community facilitator and local leaders, we will train 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 will lead 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.

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.

Conclusion

This project required a substantial collaboration between our staff, our in-country teams, and the community members themselves. When an issue arises concerning the well, the group members are equipped with the necessary skills to rectify the problem and ensure the water point works appropriately. However, if the issue is beyond their capabilities, they can contact their local field officers to assist them.

Also, we will continue to offer them unmatchable support as a part of our monitoring and maintenance program. We walk with each community, problem-solving together when they face challenges with functionality, seasonality, or water quality. Together, all these components help us strive for enduring access to reliable, clean, and safe water for this community.

With your contribution, one more piece has been added to a large puzzle of water projects. In our target areas, we're working toward complete coverage of reliable, maintained water sources within a 30-minute round trip for each community, household, school, and health center. With this in mind, search through our upcoming projects to see which community you can help next!

Thank you for making all of this possible!




May, 2022: Byerima Community 2 Borehole Underway!

A severe clean water shortage in Byerima Community drains people’s time, energy, and health. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

Get to know this community 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: "The Pressure of Looking for Water Reduced..."

August, 2023

A year ago, your generous donation helped Byerima Community in Uganda access clean water – creating a life-changing moment for Elisha. Thank you!

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Byerima Community 2.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Byerima Community 2 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!

Elisha, 12, recalled what life was like in Byerima Community before his community's well was installed last year.

"I used to fetch water from a water point which was very far, about 2kms (1.2 miles)," said Elisha.

Elisha also shared that he would get tired and sometimes feel chest pain because of carrying heavy jerrycans for a long distance. He would always find long lines and sometimes go back home without water because some people would pass him in line, even when he was first. This made him feel bad and hate fetching water, but he had no choice.

But life is much less burdensome for Elisha and the other community members in Byerima now.

Elisa said, "The water point is very near to home now; whenever I go, I don't find long queues as it used to be at the water point where I used to fetch water before this one was brought. The pressure of looking for water has also reduced. We are able to wash our uniforms every day and go to school clean. We can also bathe every day, unlike before when we would bathe once in a while due to the water scarcity. This has helped to improve our hygiene."

Having ready access to water from the well has made a difference for Elisha, allowing him to enjoy better hygiene and less stress.

Thank you for helping Elisha access clean water and giving him hope for the future.

Right now, there are others just like him in neighboring communities that desperately need safe water access. Your support will immediately go to work to provide a clean water project - and we can't wait to introduce you to the next person you'll help.

Elisha.


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 Byerima Community 2 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 Byerima Community 2 – 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

TGB Caring with Crypto
2 individual donor(s)