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Clean Water and Better Health in the Pearl of Africa
Canadians and Ugandans working together to make a difference in Mukono District
By George Yap, Program Director
Nicknamed the “Pearl of Africa” by Sir Winston Churchill, Uganda is a small yet highly fertile East African country that holds much promise. Following several decades of brutal internal conflict, dictatorships and turmoil, since the late 1980s, most Ugandans have enjoyed peace and stability. In recent years, Ugandans have benefited from one of the strongest-performing economies in Africa.
While more Ugandans than ever enjoy freedoms that were not available in the past, widespread poverty remains a major challenge to the government and its people. The majority of Uganda’s 24.2 million people earn less than US$2 per day, which makes life a daily struggle. The general lack or inadequacy of basic health and social services such as water and sanitation – particularly in rural areas where most people live – has unfortunately contributed to death rates among Ugandan children under the age of five years that are more than 17 times greater than in Canada.
In 2003, WaterCan started working with a local non-governmental organization called Uganda Association for Socio Economic Progress (USEP) to help bring clean water to poor communities. Together, we identified Nyenga as a high priority area for assistance. Nyenga is an isolated rural area located in Mukono District that lies approximately 100 kilometers east of Kampala, near Jinja the source of the famous White Nile River.
Most of Nyenga’s villagers rely on unsafe drinking water taken from polluted streams and unprotected natural springs and traditional wells. During the rainy season, it is common for people to use water from dirty, disease-ridden pools that collect on the ground. The water challenges in Nyenga are made worse by the general lack of sanitation facilities and information on good hygiene practices. Not surprisingly, water- and sanitation-related diseases such as diarrhoea, intestinal parasites, and eye and skin infections, are among the most commonly reported illnesses in the community.
To address this situation, WaterCan and USEP embarked on an ambition program to build wells and protect the many natural springs that dot the area to serve at least 5,000 villagers.
Last October, accompanied by USEP field staff,, I had the pleasure of visiting several villages that have benefited from our initial efforts. In Kiduusu Village, residents told me how the protection of a nearby natural spring has made a big difference in their lives. Previously, villagers were using the same spring in its unprotected state when it was vulnerable to contamination by people and animals. As a result, many people, especially children, suffered from diarrhoea and stomach aches. The new protected spring has helped to address this problem.
In nearby Namabu Village, residents proudly showed us their newly constructed well that has been fitted with a sturdy hand-pump. Before, people had to walk several kilometres to fetch water from one of the area’s rivers. Today, this is no longer necessary.
At each community, the formation of a Water Management Committee is critical for ensuring that the newly developed water systems are properly maintained and continue to function in the long-term. These committees also play an important role in helping to support sanitation and hygiene education activities in their communities. As more families build and start using pit latrines, local environmental sanitation conditions will improve. This will help to reduce the spread of typhoid, dysentery and other diarrhoeal diseases, especially during the rainy season.
Beyond easier access to clean drinking water and proper sanitation, Nyenga’s villagers will enjoy other long-term benefits. Women and children – the primary water collectors in Nyenga - will be freed-up from the tiresome chore of fetching water from long distances. This will allow them to pursue productive activities such as attending school, taking better care of family members, and earning a livelihood thereby helping their families to escape from poverty and create opportunities for themselves in future.
At every village we visited, I was struck by the warmness of the greetings extended to us. Often sitting under the shade of a large tree to shelter ourselves from the strong tropical sun, we were moved by the beautiful songs, music and dances performed by local school children. When I was offered the opportunity to give a short speech, many of the villagers were visibly moved by the fact that people from a place as distant as Canada cared about communities like theirs. After completing our tour in Nyenga, we were invited to the home of one of the local community leaders where we enjoyed a traditional Ugandan meal of matoke (bananas), chicken stew, and potatoes – the food was delicious!
Although the Ugandan government has made tremendous strides to improve water and sanitation coverage, there is still much to do. Uganda has one of the lowest water and sanitation coverage rates in the world. Barely half of the country’s population has easy access to clean drinking water. To make matters worse, 1 in 5 Ugandans do not have access to some kind of toilet facility; the lack of facilities to properly dispose of human waste is one of the major causes of water pollution.
The Ugandan government has given itself an ambitious target of providing safe water and basic sanitation to 100% of the rural population by the year 2015. Through the generous support of our donors, matched by grants by the Canadian government, WaterCan is committed to help realize this important target.