Clean Water Transforms Communities

The challenge

“ I can save lives one by one with my surgery, you save many more by your provision of clean water “ said a Doctor to one of our team on a recent visit.

Going to see one of the new wells is a special experience as the local people will tell you with much joy and celebration what a massive difference it makes to have their water supply clean and in the heart of their village. Stories will be told of a sharp decline in illnesses such as diarrhoea, typhoid, worms and the like. Local health clinics back this up with their attendance statistics.

An original water source

No longer are the women and children walking 2-5km several times a day for water from the swamp, the lake or waterhole. Water they know is bad but there is nothing else. No more are they meeting dangers on the way from assault.

The need for clean water is a major issue in sub Saharan Africa and not least in rural Teso. Surveys in Teso show that about 40% of the area is lacking good local provision.

Well under construction at Amoroto

Constructing a well – lowering the diggers

The story so far

For 18 years now, the trust has worked with our Church partners on a programme of water provision targeted at the rural areas and seeking to get clean water into the more remote areas .

New Well at Kelim

Following discussions and visits to Teso in 2000 the Trust piloted some water schemes. With a hiatus in 2003 – 2004 due to the LRA incursion, since then we have steadily built the programme up and have achieved the provision of 175 projects comprising

19 refurbished boreholes

11 new boreholes

6 protected springs

1 water harvesting scheme

138 hand dug wells

Acissa Borehole

We have raised and spent about £263,000 and given clean water to about 88,000 people. Typically, a project will give clean water to 3 to 400 people.

The programme has steadily built momentum as donors have been generous and our partners come forward with projects. 100 of the projects have been done in the last 5 years – 6 of the boreholes, 18 borehole refurbishments, 2 spring protections and 74 hand dug wells.

How do we do it?

Well at Oplai B

The trust does not impose any project on our Teso friends and partners. Each project is planned by one of our partner church development teams working closely with the village pastor, community leaders and people. These identify a site, mobilise the community, undertake hygiene training and set up an action committee to oversee the work. The local authority provide technical support on hydrology and guidance on the best locations.

Once this process is done, the Trust will be approached to fund the training and provision of the pump and fittings. The local community provide materials for lining the shaft and concreting in the pump. Once the pump is installed, it is tested and handed over to the local management committee to manage the ongoing care and maintenance. The Church partners monitor the result and assist with any problems. Linked to the training programme in community hygiene, the local people will build a set of latrines with TDT funding the slabs.

The Trust monitors progress and spending through receipt of regular reports from the partners which include photos and schedules of progress. Our funders are supplied with photos of their projects and we have installed plaques of the donor on some. On the Trusts annual visit members seek to visit as many as is feasible, to meet the community and join in the joy of the result! Sometimes when the village community has completed its water source, it continues its joint effort to address other community challenges. Results have been health initiatives and new farming schemes

How do we fund the projects?

A borehole costs £5500, refurbishing a borehole usually costs about £1000, protecting a spring £1200 and a hand dug well is £1500. £250 of this pays for development and training costs.