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A community taking the lead in Uganda

MRDF Programme Officer Samantha Tuck recently visited Uganda to see how access to clean water is transforming a community.   In a country where only 60% of the population have access to clean water, walking for miles in search of a safe source is a common occurrence. Diseases such as cholera and typhoid are prevalent in areas with unclean water and poor sanitation, causing ill health and, in some cases, death.

Teresa Namatovu and her family have clean water everyday thanks to an MRDF partner

Samantha travelled to parishes in Nsangi in central Uganda to monitor an MRDF project that is providing wells, water harvesters and health education to remote communities. To date, the project has provided services to over 36, 000 people.

MRDF's partner targets the most vulnerable households - particularly the elderly, the disabled and those living with HIV/AIDS – who struggle to collect water. It works with households to install water harvesters, tanks which can collect up to 2, 000 litres of water – the equivalent of 50 trips to a water source. These are connected to tippy taps which promote better hygiene in the household. Samantha, who visited the project in June says: ‘By installing tippy taps and water harvesters, elderly households no longer have to rely on the kindness of neighbours or young children to collect water. Also, by training households in better sanitation, people have become more aware of how to prevent illness from diarrhoea and malaria through using dish racks and clearing away household waste. It is through taking simple steps that people's quality of life can be significantly increased.'

MRDF's partner also trains masons to maintain the new water sources. 12 young men from the Wasiko district who took part in the workshops have formed into a construction company and are now responsible for the construction and upkeep of water sources in the area.

Samantha said: 'Allowing the communities to take the lead role in this project has been crucial in the success of it. There is a real sense that the communities are motivated to change behaviours and maintain the water sources themselves. There is such a strong sense of ownership.'