Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Western Uganda WaSH Program

Impact: 300 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Mar 2023

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 03/19/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

The 600 people of Kiyonza-Kyamukudumi share one unprotected well with two other villages. For reference, our standard for the maximum amount of people who should be served by one well is 300. This one serves an estimated 1,200 people in all.

The overcrowding causes many problems. First among them is long wait times for each container of water, which, considering the long distance some people have to cover to even reach the well, spells disaster for people's everyday routines. Our field officers expressed concern, too, about the busy roads some young children need to cross in order to fetch water, as some of the farthest-away households require water-fetchers to walk for more than two hours roundtrip.

"The water point serving two villages causes congestion or long queues," said 24-year-old Juliet Asaba, a shopkeeper (in the photo below fetching water).

"Sometimes people end up fighting or quarreling, and this is caused by those who do not want to follow [the] order of first come, first served," Juliet continued. "When it rains, the water changes color, and it becomes hard to use it for drinking. This forces us to boil it. Yet even firewood is scarce, as all [the] forests where we used to get firewood were cut. I expect that the proposed project will help increase access to safe water."

Between walking, waiting, and boiling, community members here spend most of their waking hours just trying to get enough water to survive. Because firewood is scarce, people don't always boil the water. When they drink the water without treatment, they suffer from typhoid and diarrhea. Consequently, their farms and businesses suffer from a lack of attention, which hurts their incomes and stunts their ability to plan for the future.

"The waterpoint is distant and always crowded because it serves two villages," said 13-year-old Vincent (starting the long journey home in the photo below).

"The delays at the waterpoint sometimes affect my other plans like reading my [school] books," Vincent continued. "This affects my performance. Sometimes food is served late at home because there is no water, and this affects our productivity because not much work can be done on an empty stomach."

Note: Our proposed water point can only serve 300 people per day. We are working with the community to identify other water solutions that will ensure all 600 people in Kiyonza-Kyamukudumi community have access to safe and reliable drinking water.

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


March, 2023: Kiyonza-Kyamukudumi Community Well Complete!

A new borehole well drilled in Kiyonza-Kyamukudumi 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.

"[I] am very grateful that this borehole has reduced on the long distances that we had to move to collect water from other villages and, above all, the congestion at those points," said 63-year-old farmer Johnson Mugenyi.

"My fuel consumption has reduced because due to the reduced distances [I] am able to send the children, and they bring me water since it's a walkable distance. I no longer have to spend on fuel to collect water anymore," continued Johnson.

Johnson pumping water from the new well.

"The sanitation and hygiene situation in my home will greatly improve since we now have enough water. I plan to take full responsibility towards its operation and maintenance by contributing the monthly fees to enable me start-up projects like brickmaking and piggery, which I believe will earn me some good money," said Johnson.

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!

"I am very happy that this borehole is nearer to our home. Each time [I] am [home] from school, I make sure I wash my uniforms because we now have enough water at all times. This has really improved a lot on my hygiene status," said 12-year-old Ronnet M.

"This water point will help me reduce on the level of thirst I would encounter while at school due to lack of enough drinking water since our school borehole also has issues. I, therefore, plan to begin packing enough drinking water while going to school to enable me [to] concentrate while in class," concluded Ronnet.

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!




January, 2023: Kiyonza-Kyamukudumi Community Well Underway!

A severe clean water shortage in Kiyonza-Kyamukudumi 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!


Contributors

Project Sponsor - TGB Caring with Crypto