Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Western Uganda WaSH Program

Impact: 450 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Mar 2022

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 06/27/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

This community is one of the newly created villages within Bikonzi Parish. The area is flat with undulating plains and very hot during the dry season. It lacks several services, including safe water, accessible schools, and good roads. The most common livelihood of the people is farming beans, maize, and sugarcane for commercial purposes, along with a few who raise cattle or have shops in the trading centers.

The primary water source, a borehole at the school, is currently broken and nonfunctional due to worn-out pump parts. Because of the long distances to collect water in the next village, this community often resorts to a contaminated open water source for domestic activities such as cooking, bathing, and washing clothes. Sometimes, the children drink this water when they have no alternative. During heavy rain accessing the water source is hard, especially for children, since it becomes very slippery. All the runoff uphill directs itself into the water, making it very dirty. Rehabilitation of the water point is critical to restore a safe water supply to this community and reduce diseases related to drinking unclean water.


"It's not easy for children to collect water in this village except during the rainy season when we harvest water from the roof. Most times, I am stopped by my mother due to the long distance I have to walk to collect water and also the high risks of accidents due to speeding motorcycles and bicycles along the way to the source. I will be happy when more boreholes are constructed in this village to enable us to have access to clean and safe water," Susan said.


When one of the community members was asked how the water crisis impacts the community, he said, "In this village, the biggest challenge we have is water. We are very unfortunate in this village because ever since this borehole broke down about two years ago, no one cares about us. The government has even failed to provide us a school where to take our children. As a community, we constructed a community school nearer to this borehole so that our children can access water while at school, but ever since the borehole broke down, some children ended up dropping out of school."

Here’s what we’re going to do about it:

Rehabilitated Well

We are going to restore water to the broken-down borehole. This water point is located at the center of the village and easily accessible by most people, unlike the springs, which are located at the far ends of the village. When this borehole is restored to its original status, it will provide the community with easy access to clean and safe water. We will remove the old pump, clear out the well, reinstall a new stainless steel pump, and build a new well pad to protect the water.

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 handwashing are all possible contaminants of a household water supply. Each participating village must achieve Open Defecation Free status (defined by one latrine per household) before the pump installation for a shallow hand-dug well.

This social program includes the assignment of 1 Community Development Officer (CDO) to each village. The CDO encourages each household to build an ideal homestead that consists of a latrine, 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 patterns of individual households – particularly the practice of open defecation – are unhealthy and 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 families do the same.

Improved Sanitation

The aim is that all households own an improved latrine. Many families do not use a toilet 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 can live a healthy life free of preventable diseases. We endeavor that people will have both access to sustainable, clean water and access to sanitation at the end of our presence in the community. We have now organized families to form digging groups for latrine construction and empowered them with the tools they will need.

Project Updates


March, 2022: Kyakaitera Kyempisi Well Rehabilitation Complete!

A well rehabilitated in Kyakaitera Kyempisi, Uganda is already providing community members with clean, safe water! Additionally, we hosted a training where community members worked together to make a development 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.

Daniel A., 16, said, "[I] will no longer suffer from diseases like typhoid and diarrhea. I will improve on my performance since I will not abscond from school. Less time [will be] spent in fetching water and instead [I'll] help my parents in other household chores."

Daniel continued, "Since I have been supporting my mother to run the chapati (bread making) business, we were faced with several water challenges. But with the new water point rehabilitation, I have reliable access to safe water. I use [it] to maintain hygiene, like handwashing, [and] clean the utensils. I hope that this will attract more customers."

Rehabilitated Borehole Well

We worked with the community to determine the best possible site for this rehabilitation. After meetings and visits throughout the community, together we agreed that this borehole was the best option to work on.

Community leaders looking at new well components.

Throughout the construction process, several households volunteered to host the drilling technicians, giving them a place to sleep and food to eat throughout their stay.

The work team pulled up the old pump, cleared out the well, reinstalled a new stainless steel pump, and built a new well pad to once again seal off the well water from surface-level contaminants.

We conducted a yield test and checked the water’s quality to ensure the well’s ease of access and safety. With great results, we handed over the rehabilitated well to the community. The well is already providing safe, reliable water for the community’s daily use.

Installing the new pump and building the well platform.

Judith Katusiime, 42, said, "Access to reliable and safe water will enable me and the family to drink clean water. Therefore, no diseases like typhoid, diarrhea, and vomiting will affect them and the money I would spend on medication and time will be spent on other productive activities like farming to increase the household income."

Judith standing near the new well.

As a member of the water and sanitation committee, Judith said she also plans to engage the community, together with other committee members, in creating awareness on how to save money for the operation and maintenance of the borehole.

Training

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 own 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.

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 also offering continuous coaching in records management.

Additional training sessions focused on hygiene and sanitation at the personal, household, community, and environmental levels. In collaboration with the community facilitator and local leaders, we trained 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 led an 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.

Thank you for making all of this possible!




January, 2022: Kyakaitera Kyempisi Well Rehabilitation Underway!

A severe clean water shortage in Kyakaitera Kyempisi drains people’s time, energy, and health. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

Get to know this community through the introduction and pictures we’ve posted, and read about this water, sanitation, and hygiene project. We look forward to reaching out with more good news!




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!


A Year Later: Excelling academically!

March, 2023

A year ago, your generous donation helped Kyataitera Kyempisi Community in Uganda access clean water – creating a life-changing moment for Bernard. Thank you!

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Kyakaitera Kyempisi Community.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Kyakaitera Kyempisi Community maintain access to safe, reliable water. Together, they keep The Water Promise.

We’re confident you'll love joining this world-changing group committed to sustainability!

Before we rehabilitated the well in Kyakaitera Kyempisi last year, community members had to travel long distances to collect water, and the water they found was often contaminated.

"We used to walk long distances to collect water, and my parents would quarrel with me each time I delayed at the water source. This also caused a lot of congestion at those water points as people struggled and fought to collect water," said 12-year-old Bernard K.

But since the well rehabilitation, things have been different, and collecting water has been made simpler.

"Getting water from this water point has been made easier since pumping is equally simplified, and this gives me ample time to concentrate on my studies and help my parents with domestic work where necessary," said Bernard.

With more time committed to studying, Bernard has made real strides forward academically.

"My plans were to excel in my academics, and this has been achieved since last term. I was one of the best students in my class," concluded Bernard.

Bernard taking water home by bicycle.


Navigating through intense dry spells, performing preventative maintenance, conducting quality repairs when needed and continuing to assist community leaders to manage water points are all normal parts of keeping projects sustainable. The Water Promise community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Kyakaitera Kyempisi Community maintain access to safe, reliable water.

We’d love for you to join this world-changing group committed to sustainability.

The most impactful way to continue your support of Kyakaitera Kyempisi Community – and hundreds of other places just like this – is by joining our community of monthly givers.

Your monthly giving will help provide clean water, every month... keeping The Water Promise.


Contributors

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC
10 individual donor(s)