Rehabilitation Project
In Uganda, there are two dry seasons each year, each spanning around two months. During these time periods, the well in Rubona, which serves around 300 people, yields water slowly. Sometimes, it dries out altogether.
This leaves the people of Rubona scrambling to other faraway sources for water, which is troubling since the unreliable primary water source is already around three kilometers (1.86 miles) away from most homes. Their second choice is a partially protected spring, which is also three kilometers away, but in another direction.
Walking the long distance saps people's energy and eats away at their precious daylight hours, making it extremely difficult to complete everyday tasks like cooking, cleaning, laundry, and bathing.
"I have always had issues with my husband concerning my delays at the water source, because sometimes I have to wait for the water to recharge before I can start to pump," said 32-year-old farmer Betty (shown above leaving the well). "A lot of activities are left unattended to at home, and at times, we end up cooking and sleeping late, which is very frustrating, especially to my little children."
"Our well has a very low yield, and each time [I] am back from school, I have [to] rush to collect water for washing my uniforms, but end up [taking a long time]," said 13-year-old Davis (below at the faraway well). "[I] am then forced to use dirty uniforms or wear non-school uniforms the following day, which sometimes makes me be sent back home and then miss lessons for the day."
Because it takes such a long time to acquire even one container of water, people get less of it. This means that, along with a time and energy deficiency, everyone in Rubona rations what little water they can collect for only the most important needs.
“Households with travel times greater than 30 minutes have been shown to collect progressively less water. Limited water availability may also reduce the amount of water that is used for hygiene in the household.” (The Relationship between Distance to Water Source and Moderate-to-Severe Diarrhea in the Global Enterics Multi-Center Study in Kenya, 2008–2011) - American Journal of Tropical Science and Medicine
The people of Rubona need their own reliable water source close by to improve their health, cleanliness, productivity, and future outlook.
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.
