In Alimugonza, 300 people all fight over one unprotected spring for all their water needs, but it's the women and children who suffer the most.

14-year-old Joyce (shown below at the spring) fetches water for her family. But it's difficult for a small girl to stand her ground alone amongst a group of her peers and elders.

"There is also a lot of congestion at the water point," Joyce said. "Each time I leave there, my jerrycans are stolen, and I get abused by my parents for being careless. Children also struggle to collect water, and this leads to several fights at the water point."

The community once had a shallow well of its own, but it didn't last very long.

"Barely three months after the construction of this water point, it started giving us very little water, and we could collect less than ten jerrycans a day," said community member Johana Watikula, who is offering us part of his land to drill a new borehole well. "This continued fluctuating until a point when it stopped bringing out water and had to be abandoned by the community members, who then opted for the open source/unprotected spring."

Since then, everyone in the community has been fighting over the milky, dirty water at the spring because the only other sources are far away in other communities. Since most of the world's water-collecting duties fall to women and girls, they are the ones who walk the long distance to the water points and fight to keep their place in line.

"Congestion from our water point leads to several delays whenever we send our children to collect water, hence resulting in early marriages within the community," said community member Mary Mukongo.

When young girls are sent to fetch water alone they are vulnerable to sexual violence and at times end up pregnant as a result, leading to early marriages.

"Due to the current water crisis in this village, my wife is always forced to move to other distant water points to collect water," said 27-year-old farmer Vincent Wanale (shown above carrying water from the spring). "This affects our other activities, [like] preparing food late. We have had several domestic issues, and she once threatened to divorce [me]."

And, unfortunately, everyone in Alimugonza is fighting over dirty water that makes people ill. Everyone reported sicknesses like cholera, typhoid, and dysentery, especially among the community's children, whose immune systems have not developed yet. People try to collect water early in the morning when the water is clearest, but clear water isn't necessarily clean water.

"This water source is shared with animals which makes it contaminated most of the time," Mary said.

"Our children are suffering from constant skin diseases which have become chronic as a result of bathing [with] dirty water," Vincent said.

"On a rainy day, the water changes color, and we are forced to walk to other neighboring water points, which [are] also a long distance away from us," David said. "This has also affected our sanitation and hygiene behaviors at home since we have to use the little water we collect sparingly. During [the] evening hours, it's very hard to access the water source because the animals and children keep playing at the source hence making it look contaminated and not suitable for domestic purposes."

The people of Alimugonza need a reliable water source nearby. With safe water close at hand, they will have more time and energy and regain their health.

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

October, 2023: Alimugonza Community Well Complete!

A new borehole well drilled in Alimugonza Community, Uganda, provides community members with clean, safe water! Additionally, we hosted a training where community members worked together to develop an 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.

"We used to be chased away from other neighboring water points whenever we would go to access water, and this forced us to drink contaminated water from the open sources. I am very grateful that we now have access to clean and safe drinking water to help reduce the prevalence of waterborne diseases within this community. Now that this water point is complete, we plan to reactivate our savings group and water user committee, which had failed as a result of the drying up of our former shallow well, to enable us [to] improve our economic and financial status again," said 38-year-old farmer Monicah Afekuru.

Monicah collecting water.

New Borehole

We worked with the community to determine the best 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, now flowing with clean, safe water!

The completed well.

"This water point will help reduce congestion and fights from other neighboring water points and also reduce the long distance walked to access water. Now that this water point is complete, I plan to concentrate more on my studies since the borehole is nearer home. I now have ample time to access water whenever I want," said 13-year-old Pius D.

Pius leaving the new well with water.

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 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 offering continuous records management coaching.

Participant engagement is vital. 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 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. 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 Kenya, Uganda, and Sierra Leone, we're working toward complete coverage. That means 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!

August, 2023: Alimugonza Community Well Project Underway!

The lack of adequate water in Alimugonza Community costs people time, energy, and health every single day. Clean water scarcity contributes to community instability and diminishes individuals’ personal progress.

But thanks to your recent generosity, drilling for the new well has already begun. We are working to install a reliable water point and improve community hygiene standards. We look forward to sharing more inspiring news in the near future!