Rehabilitation Project
The report below from our partner in the field gives some great information on the construction of a new hand-dug well in the Kyamudikya community in Uganda:
Background:
Kyamudikya village is located in Kyakamese parish, Pakanyi sub-county in Masindi District where the community depend on subsistence farming and maize is the major crop grown. Those who do not have land for farming engage in as laborers for other farmers. According to Mr. Kabura Simon the village chairman, this community has never had access to clean water. We fetch clean water from the neighboring village which is far away.” Arising from this inconvenience, residents collect water from any open sources which is shared usually shared with wild animals from the Murchison Falls National Park which borders Kyamudikya village . Water borne diseases like bilharzia, dysentery and typhoid are commonly cited aliments in this community.
Kyamudikya village has 31 households with a catchment population of 155 people. The sanitation in this village is poor. At the time of our baseline survey only four households had improved latrines in the whole village. We found only one household with a hand washing facility and fourteen households practicing open defecation. TWT is committed to changing the situation through providing the community with access to clean and safe water and strengthing their resolve against open defecation through safe disposal of excreta through increased latrine use.
The Water Trust (TWT) will have an intensive program to provide access to clean water and sanitation in this village. The community will participate in excavating and constructing the water source. In the meantime the aim is that all households own an improved latrine. Many households do not use a latrine but use the bush. Due to the practice of open defecation, faeces are spread all over the village and contaminate open water sources. Our aim is to ensure that the community is able to live a healthy life and free of preventable diseases. We endeavor that at the end of our presence in the community; people have both access to safe clean water and access to improved sanitation. At the moment, families have been organized to form digging groups for latrine construction and supported with tools.
Construction Progress:
January 27, 2014
Today Christopher the technician was assigned to the village of Kyamudikya to work closely with the community volunteers to construct a hand dug well under The Water Trust (TWT) village partnership program. In addition to labor, the community is also responsible to provide locally available construction materials (a trip of sand, hardcore and up to 2000 bricks) along with accommodation and food for the duration of the technician’s stay in the village. Christopher hit water at 9 feet which is not suitable for a sustainable hand dug well and had to work with the community to cover this well and to re-site a new location for a hand dug well.
February 03, 2014
Progress on this second attempt has been good with Christopher hitting water at 22 feet. The recharge has been reported as good and there is need for two drainers to assist with deepening of the well
In addition to the construction of a well to provide clean water, our partner fights the spread of disease within the community through training in proper sanitation and hygiene:
Sanitation and Hygiene Progress:
The main objectives of TWT’s Sanitation and Hygiene Program are the use of latrines and observing proper hygiene practices as 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 contaminates of a household water supply. TWT leverages this relationship, by requiring each participating village to achieve Open Defecation Free status (defined by one latrine per household), prior to the pump installation for a shallow hand dug well. Using the immediate gratification of clean water as an impetus, TWT works toward sustainable, interdisciplinary WASH development.
TWT’s social program includes the assignment of one Community Development Officer (CDO) to one village. The CDO encourages each household to build an ideal homestead that includes: a latrine, hand-washing facility, a separate structure for animals, rubbish pit and drying rack for dishes.
Community Led Total Sanitation
TWT implements the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach with each of our village partners. TWT facilitates a CLTS session in which we aim 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 current practices of individual households – particularly 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 behavior and are inspired to take action. Group interactions and embarrassment are frequent motivators for individual households to: build latrines, use the latrines and demand that other households do the same.
