Rehabilitation Project
Fungua Macho-Chongolima is a sub-village of the Fungua Macho local council, located approximately 15 kilometers off the Kampala-Gulu Highway. It is also nearby the Nanda Trading Center of Nyamahasa Parish, Mutunda sub-County, Kiryandongo District. This is a small village with only 60 households at most.
This village is characterized by flat land which floods during heavy rains. It is fragmented into small garden plots for subsistence farming. The small garden plots are planted with food crops like millet, cassava and beans. This community is the food basket of the area.
The men and women here wake up at 6AM in the morning to work on their farms. When there are enough crops harvested, women take them to the local trading center to sell. After work, the men meet at that trading center to drink and play cards. Women return home to prepare dinner and relax.
Water Situation
Chongolima Community draws water from open, contaminated sources near their households.
There are protected water sources a little over one kilometer away, which all charge a heavy access fee. "Long queues at protected water sources in the nearby villages makes fetching water among this community a whole day’s job, hence we resort to open contaminated water," said the village chairman. From our interactions with residents, we found out that households from Chongolima and other far away areas are charged the highest water user fees (5000 Ugandan shillings which is equivalent to $1.50 per month) at the protected wells. This is an attempt to keep distant communities like Chongolima from overcrowding the water sources.
The contaminated sources in Chongolima Community are located in open areas completely open to surface runoff, animal activity, and other contaminants. After drinking, people in Chongolima suffer from waterborne diseases that they can't afford to treat.
Sanitation Situation
Around a quarter of households share their neighbor's latrine. Most of these are in good condition. Sanitation in this area is decent because of bylaws that have been put in place by local leadership. Everyone should have their own facilities, but some community members ask to be excused from these demands because they cannot afford construction materials.
You can see what a latrine and hand-washing station looks like in the "See Photos & Video" section. Two community members, Odanga and Sunday, took us on tours to see their homes and meet their families.
Plans: Hygiene and Sanitation Training
The main objectives of training 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 a shallow hand-dug well.
The CDO will continue to encourage 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.
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 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 the latrines and demand that other households do the same.
Plans: Hand-Dug Well
We plan to construct a shallow hand-dug well to give Chongolima a safe, accessible, and sustainable water source. This community has pledged to excavate the hole and provide local construction materials like sand, aggregates, hardcore and bricks. They will also provide food and accommodation for the technician we shall send to work with them during this partnership.
There will be 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, feces are spread all over the village and thus contaminate open water sources. We want to ensure that the community is able to live a healthy life that is free of preventable waterborne diseases.
Actual well construction will take four to six weeks if there are no challenges. The well will be lined with bricks and sealing clay, and finished with a Consallen pump.
Thank You for partnering with us to get clean water to the people living in Chongolima!
