Author: Nasasira Grace

Kyompeire Marvelous is a wife to Magezi Everest and they live with three children. The couple lives in karungu village, Mpungu Parish, Hamurwa Sub-County, Rubanda District.

It took a couple of days for this home to get transformed. During baseline, this home had a very poor old latrine without a door, latrine cover and wasn’t well mudded. The couple didn’t have a bath shelter, a kitchen and even a rack. At the time of triggering and training karungu village, Marvelous was among the participants and she thought the Health Assistant was talking about her home when he could highlight on some homes in the village that had alarming sanitation.

She did not pick up very fast, she required a little more monitoring visits! Slowly, she started to put in place WASH facilities like a new pit latrine with a cover, well mudded with two doors and she was constructing a kitchen though incomplete. She had put up a bath shelter and a drying rack. However, Marvelous was struggling to get water to improve on her sanitation due to the long trek of walking about 4 hours to and from the spring.  Her husband suffers a long ill health and her child is mentally retarded. Construction of a 6000L Ferro cement tank adds a smile on her face, she is able to take care of the family and improve on her sanitation. 

Twinomujuni Jackson 48 years is the husband to Amutuheire Louis aged 39 years. The couple has four children. Jackson’s story begun from baseline where he was found with a very old pit latrine that didn’t have a cover, not well mudded and was almost getting full. He did not mind and when AWS staff told him about the dangers of such a latrine, he looked like a threat to him. He actually became annoyed with the AWS team and argued that, “How can I get more that fifty thousand shillings and put it on a latrine when my daughter has dropped out of school because of lack of school fees?” Slowly by slowly with triggering and training followed by monitoring Jackson destroyed the old pit latrine and built a new one after realizing that actually he could earn more if he was healthy. During the routine monitoring, Jackson told the AWS staff that he is just realizing how the team helped him to see his poor situation of WASH. That the latrine could have crumbled down with him, his wife or children, that it would have been disastrous to his family.

Like others in his village who have been struggling to collect water, Jackson has also received a 6000L Ferro cement tank with help of AWS and now engages in bee keeping and poultry farming to boost his income. Above is Jackson’s latrine before and after intervention  

Niyonsiima Evelyn is a beneficially of Africa Water Solution. She lives in kaburara village, Mpungu parish, Hamurwa sub-county, Rubanda District. She is married to Tumusherure Goliath and they have two children. During baseline, the couple did not have a latrine nor a bath shelter. They excused themselves that they were leaving their mother’s home to their new home. Goliath testified not to have been having a pit latrine and a bath shelter ever since he set up a family (married) because they were using his mother’s pit latrine and bath shelter. It was the AWS’s intervention that enlightened him to have a pit latrine and a bath shelter in his home. 

Evelyn and her family are living a happy life in a clean environment with good sanitation and safe water through SODIS method now after the training. Her husband also told the AWS staff that he used to walk for some distance to her mother’s latrine and sometimes his wife would fear to go there during the night.  The couple constructed their own latrine which is nearer to them.

Evelyn is so happy and thanked AWS and says had it not been AWS effort to train and encourage my husband to construct our own latrine; we would not be having it up to now.

Evelyn used to collect water from her roof using a drum, but now her tank is being finished (in curing process) with help from Africa Water Solutions and below is her rack where she treats 

her drinking water using SODIS

Turyatunga Donozio is the vice chairperson on sanitation committee of Kaburara village, Mpungu Parish, Hamurwa sub-County, Rubanda District. He is married to Twongirwe Sarah and they have five children. He is 35 years old and his wife Sarah is 30 years. Turyatunga became the vice chairperson on the sanitation committee but sanitation components in his home were so wanting.

 His latrine had no door, leaking roof and without a tippy tap. His bath shelter didn’t have a door and wasn’t roofed.

After triggering session, Turyatunga testified to people who were present that all that had been talked was real in his home and he thought to himself that may be one of the AWS staff had visited his home before and is using it as an example.

Turyatunga made sure that before he monitored other people; he became the example by putting in place all that was lucking in his home. He set up a very good latrine with latrine cover, door, well mudded and with tippy tap.  

Turyatunga is also a beneficiary of Rain water harvesting tank and this reduced pressure of water in his home

Uganda is blessed with beautiful nature scenes and topography; however, this in some parts of the country, becomes a hinderance to accessing basic water supply and sanitation services. Africa Water Solutions is working towards providing people with approaches to access safe and clean water and suitable sanitary and hygiene conditions.

Many districts of South-Western Uganda e.g. Kabale, Rubanda, Kisoro & Kanungu are extremely hilly and steep. Households in these areas settle along the slopes of the hills with only a few water sources that are located in the valleys. While there’s much water during heavy rainfalls, there is also prolonged dry spells yet the people predominantly depend on agriculture.

Anna Akankwas a resident of Mpungu village, in Rubanda district had to walk for 6 hours to fetch only one twenty-litre jerrycan of water before Africa Water Solutions constructed a rainwater harvesting tank for her home. She narrates that the tank has given her and the family relief from those long and tedious journies across hills to fetch water.

“Before I got the tank, I used to wake up at 6:00am to go and fetch water. I would find long lines because the well is only one; on top of that, the path there is rocky and steep and after all those struggles I would only leave with just 20-litres of water which is not even enough for my house household. My children were always late for school hence poor class performance,” explains Anna.

Primarily, the water source for the entire community is one well, the long distance and queues are an everyday struggle for people as they fetch water. The main occupation is farming-and spending hours daily to fetch water is troublesome and leaves them unproductive in the gardens.

Anna’s life and that of everyone in her household has sincechanged after receivingarainwater harvesting tank in her home. As a mother, she has many responsibilities to take care of like cooking, washing, cleaning in addition to farming. Today, with no struggle of getting water, Anna has more time to fend and look after her family.

“Since we got the tank, I prepare my children for school on time, cook and go to the garden on time. Because I was gardening late or not at all after spending long hours while fetching water I was unproductive. But now, I don’t have to wake up so early to go the well, water is at my door-step” Anna

testifies.

We are working to improve the quality of life of more people by bring clean and safe water closer!

www.africawatersolutions.org