Ugandan children at the water pump

'Just a Drop' Brings Joy to Remote Rural Village

Article reproduced here with kind permission from Just a Drop

Namanganga is a remote, rural village, located just outside the capital, Kampala. Education, transport, water and sanitation facilities are scarce and the area has an increasing rate of poverty, HIV/AIDS and violence. Most alarming of all, however, is that the district also has a high incidence of kidnapping and child sacrifice.

Hand pump in Namanganga villageMany families often faced no choice but to send their children to fetch water from a well over 8km away. With the need for water for cooking, washing and bathing, this often required the children to make two trips each day – before and after school. Countless children were kidnapped as they made their way home, particularly at night.

An added challenge to the village’s water supply was that it was shared with livestock. This caused water contamination and frequent cases of malaria, typhoid, bilharzia and diarrhoea. In fact, before the project, the local health centre received a total of 25-35 patients a day suffering from water related illnesses.

Villagers with thank you bannerJust a Drop was able to provide Namanganga Village with a borehole and hand pump, capable of delivering 800 litres of clean, clear water per hour. Since then, each household has agreed to pay a user fee of half a dollar every month towards maintaining and servicing the borehole, and a Water and Sanitation Committee has been set up to educate the community members on the importance of hygiene.

Colonel Mike Reynolds, Just a Drop’s Project Officer, visited the village in February 2012 to inspect the work.

He was met by Shadrak Kyobe, Chief Executive of EACO (Empower and Care Organisation) – Just a Drop’s in-country partner.

Mr Kyobe said, “Not only has the health of the community improved a lot but it has saved so much time for those carrying water. The women can now spend more time on their domestic responsibilities and the children can attend school more. The water has increased revenue raising initiatives, especially brick-making, so the community has more money to spend on other important things. Thank you Just a Drop and Travel 2 for making this clean water project possible!”

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Project Sponsor: Stella Travel Services / Travel 2

Date of Project: 2012

Beneficiaries: Over 1,000 households and 5,500 people

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