Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Western Uganda WaSH Program

Impact: 300 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Jun 2022

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 03/12/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

Murro Kinyamutamba is near Kinyara Sugarcane Factory, where most community members work doing casual labor or sell their crops of sugarcane. Other local produce grown in this region is maize, beans, cassava, various vegetables, and groundnuts (peanuts).

This community relies on the water they can collect from open sources like scoop holes at the local swamp or a pipe haphazardly coming out of the dirt and clay of a nearby pool of water to meet their daily needs. Both animals and humans contaminate the water, and community members' health is at risk. Monkeys, snakes, and other animals wander throughout the swamp, and children swim and bathe near the watering holes.

Enok Mwesigwa, a local community member, shared how he and other men of the community participate in the water collection process. "To access water in this village is very stressing. The men normally wake up by 5:00 am in the morning to collect water. At this time the water has settled and [is] not overcrowded."

The alternative water choices for the community are roof catchments (only during the rainy season) or traveling a long distance to neighboring villages to use their existing wells.

Mariam Nakimula, a local housewife, shared how the current water situation affects her: "Each time I go to collect water, I find the children have already played in it, and it's very dirty. This really annoys me since I have to take some time and wait for the water to settle before I can go ahead to scoop clean water. Besides, it's also very risky to send our children to collect water since we feel they can easily drown."

This community needs a safe, clean, accessible water source to meet their needs and allow them to focus their time and energy on making progress in their daily 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


June, 2022: Murro Kinyamutamba Community Well Complete!

A new borehole well drilled in Murro Kinyamutamba Community, 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.

Celebrating.

"I used to move long distances and collect water from an unprotected source where we were sharing with animals. This would put our health at risk. My nine-year-old girl would always complain of stomachache and diarrhea," said Teopista Nyamungu, a 48-year-old housewife. Teopista shared that health issues resulted in her daughter's growth being stunted, so she spent a lot of money on medication.

Teopista (in blue) celebrating at the well.

Now that Teopista has access to water, she has plans that should help. "I plan to establish a backyard garden where I will plant vegetables and this water will help in the maintenance of the garden, especially in [the] dry season. This will help me and my family improve nutrition and ensure a balanced diet."

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.

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!

Installing the pump.

Ten-year-old Marvin K. said, "I'm planning to help my grandmother fetch enough water, help in cleaning the house, and wash [cooking] utensils."

Marvin.

Having accessible water means Marvin can also have drinking water, cook food even when his grandmother is not around, wash clothes, and bathe. He is especially looking forward to going to school with clean uniforms.

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 partners, 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 our field officers to assist them.

Also, we will continue to offer them unmatchable support as a part of our monitoring and maintenance program. We have an ongoing commitment to walk with each community, cooperatively problem-solving when they face water challenges of any kind: with functionality, seasonality, or water quality. With all these components together, we strive to ensure 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.

Thank you for making all of this possible!




May, 2022: Murro Kinyamutamba Community Well Project Underway!

A severe clean water shortage in Murro Kinyamutamba 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 waterpoint is near, very near."

August, 2023

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

Keeping The Water Promise

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

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Murro Kinyamutamba Community 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!

Godwin A., 12, recalled what life was like in Murro Kinyamutamba Community before his community's well was installed last year.

"I used to fetch water at a distant waterpoint, even in the bush. I would go through the sugarcane plantations, which would put my life at risk. I would fear to go there late in the evening, so if I didn't go early, I would sleep without water and not even bathe, hence affecting my personal hygiene. There was even a day I stayed at home without going to school because I woke up [and my] uniform was too dirty, [I] had no water to bathe, so my parents advised me to stay because I couldn't go to school without bathing and in a dirty uniform. When I went to school the next day, I was punished for missing school without a genuine reason," said Godwin.

But life is much simpler for Godwin and the other community members in Murro Kinyamutamba Community now.

"The waterpoint is near, very near. I can have access to water at any time. I now have safe drinking water, which doesn't even require boiling. My hygiene has improved greatly because I can bathe and wash my uniforms every day. I go to school when I am clean. It's very easy for me to get water even when I am back from school in the evening. I no longer miss school as the case used to be before this waterpoint," said Godwin.

Having ready access to water from the well has made a difference for Godwin, allowing him to have sufficient water to practice better hygiene, wash his school uniform, and get to school on time.

"My hygiene has improved [and] my school performance has also improved because I no longer miss school because of the water scarcity," concluded Godwin.

Thank you for helping him access clean water and have the time and energy to make his future brighter.

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.

Godwin.

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 Murro Kinyamutamba Community 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 Murro Kinyamutamba Community – 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

2021 Holiday Matching Gifts
92 individual donor(s)