Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Program: Wells for Schools - Uganda

Impact: 500 Served

Project Phase: 
Community Managed
Implementing Partner Monitoring Data Unavailable
Initial Installation: Jul 2013

Project Features


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Community Profile

Upon completion of the project, our partner in the field reports...

When the Living Water Uganda team arrived, 527 community residents and students were dependent on a water catchment system located one kilometer away from the community to meet their water needs. As is common in this area, students and surrounding households share their water source with cattle and other livestock. Because of this, families were suffering from typhoid, malaria, diarrhea and severe dehydration among other preventable water related illnesses. During the team’s stay, community members assembled a water committee consisting of 5 men and 5 women who assisted the team with the water project whenever possible and provided any materials they had available. This water committee is also responsible for collecting a well maintenance fee of 100 Ugandan Shillings per 20 liter of jerrican. Most residents raise livestock to earn a living. There is a primary school located in the community with 437 students; 218 boys and 229 girls, all who now have access to a safe water source. Before leaving the community, the team provided the water committee with a Living Water Uganda contact number in case their well were to fall into disrepair, become subject to vandalism or theft.

During the hygiene education, the Living Water Uganda addresses: Hand washing, how to properly transport and store water, disease transmission and prevention, how to maintain proper care of the pump, as well as signs and symptoms of dehydration and how to make Oral Rehydration Solution. All of these lessons are taught in a participatory method to help community members discover ways to improve their hygiene and sanitation choices, and implement community driven solutions.

The Living Water Uganda team had an opportunity to meet with forty year old community member and head teacher, Mugizi Gregory, who stated, "There is an amazing way God proves that He hears the cry of the desperate, sincerely my story is not made up since our former only source of water both as a school and a community has been that open unhygienic dam over there, which you all can see, where the water is brown, dirty and is shared with our animals, but we had no alternative. Diseases like diarrhea and typhoid have surely been a common household thing in this area. I would really want to thank Living Water for coming to our rescue as these, I am sure, will all become just an old tale."

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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!


There is an amazing way God proves that He hears the cry of the desperate, sincerely my story is not made up since our former only source of water both as a school and a community has been that open unhygienic dam over there... I would really want to thank [you] for coming to our rescue as these, I am sure, will all become just an old tale.

Mugizi G. - Teacher