Situated atop a small mountain in the foothills of the Rwenzori mountains in Western Uganda, straddling the equator, lie three villages of 550 households, 850 children, and 2500 total residents. Bujanjara is the largest of the villages located 110 KM south of Fort Portal. There are three schools, two Catholic churches, a mosque and two small trading centers – none have running water or proper toilet facilities.
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First Partner’s Meeting in Fort Portal, Uganda August 3, 2019 Fr. Patrick Tukwasibwe priest for 24 churches, Kabarole IPP Edward Balinda, PDG Rick Benson D7980, PE Leslie Wolfe, Westport CT, Kabarole RC President Eddie Basalista | Community Assessment Focus Group with Father Patrick, September 2019 | New Water Tank being inspected, January 2022 |
During the Community Assessment it was learned that women and children have to wake at 4 AM to walk to collect water from the small streams, swamps, and shallow wells that contain mostly contaminated water, but they dry up much of the year. 67% of the children in the three targeted schools were suffering from a wide range of water-related diseases including tape worms, skin diseases, running yellow eyes, and there were reported cases of river blindness and typhoid. The schools have about 1/3 the required number of toilets. 43% of households in Bujanjara do have or use use latrines. 74% of the households did not have bathrooms, racks to dry dishes, or proper means for waste disposal in homes. Open defecation by children and some adults is among the highest in the country. Only 43% of the respondents owned a toothbrush in the home.
A not-for profit organization in Milford, CT, USA D7980 called Uganda Farmers Inc. (UFI) has been doing humanitarian work in Southwest Uganda for over a decade. One of their Board members was President Elect of the West Haven, CT Rotary Club, the likely international host. Fr. Patrick Tukwasibwe, who hails from Bujanjara village has been involved with UFI and was in Connecticut in June 2019 when he informed me of the needs for clean water and proper sanitation in his community. I was planning to be in western Uganda in August 2019 to commission two other WASH projects in Bushenyi and revised my schedule to meet with Fr. Patrick and the proposed host Kabarole Rotary Club in Fort Portal. A large Global Grant was conceptualized pending the findings of the community assessment. Due to the approaching Rotary Foundation rule changes 7/1/20, the grant was split into two.
GG 2097579, $76,673 for a well, solar powered pump, water holding tank and gravity distribution system plus hand washing stations to the three schools, three houses of worship and two trading centers.
GG 2019296, $48,061 is to provide proper toilet blocks, community training in appropriate water and sanitation practices, and to create and train a community water management committee from the three villages. More than 30 Clubs and several individuals from D7980 participated in the funding for this significant project. COVID delayed construction, but water is now flowing, and the toilet blocks are under construction. The ultimate accomplishment will be the reduction of sanitation related diseases in the community, leading to better wellbeing of children and adults, improved sanitation and hygiene for all, and a new culture of proper use of fresh water. Another team from D7980 will visit in July 2022 to celebrate the completion of the projects.