Rehabilitation Project
Nyakagando Community is located in Kikuube Parish, Kigumba sub-County of Kiryandongo, Uganda. GPS coordinates are estimates during the early stages of this project. We also estimate there to be hundreds living in this area.
This hilly village with gentle slopes is largely a farming area with many small garden plots. Cassava, beans, maize and soybeans are the major crops grown. In some parts of the village, families rear cattle which supply fresh milk to other village members. The food grown in Nyakagando is enough to feed both their own families and those of other villages. This village, however, is lacking clean and safe water. Residents fetch water from open sources which are also shared by birds and domestic animals.
Mr. Simon Majara is a 73-year-old man who was born in this village. He believes that living in this village will get better when the problem of water is resolved. He attributed the rampant diarrhea and typhoid in his village to taking water from open sources. The one old borehole drilled by the local government has broken and nobody is able to fix it. There is also a hand-dug well that is both far away and always crowded.
Water Situation
Since the borehole drilled by the government broke down, over one hundred families rely on one hand-dug well. This well is no less than one kilometer away, and also attracts users from other villages. Thus, those living far away in Nyakagando often choose to collect their water from closer, open areas. Children will be sent to fetch water and return with jerrycans full of swamp water. Because of such a water shortage in Nyakagando, waterborne diseases are a part of life. These especially affect small children, giving them painful stomachaches, diarrhea, and worms.
Sanitation Situation
A little over half of households have their own pit latrine, leaving a good portion of people without their own place to use the bathroom. Those without latrines either share with neighbors or find privacy in the bushes. There aren't any hand-washing stations to clean up after using the bathroom, either.
Thankfully, work to improve this situation has already begun. Families are learning from each other, find out what kind of facilities will help them live healthier lives. Some women have already had their husbands build dish racks for outside the kitchen, which can be seen under the "See Photos & Video" tab.
Plans: Hygiene and Sanitation Training
The 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 a shallow hand-dug 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, 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
The community will participate in excavating and constructing the water source. In the meantime the aim is that all households own an improved latrine. When there is open defecation, feces spread all over the village, which 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.
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 Nyakagando Community!
