Emily Schuth and the Ugandan Water Project
Earlier this year, Emily Schuth of Macedon asked our club to help sponsor her trip to Uganda to assist with the Ugandan Water Project there. Today, she was at our club meeting to tell us about her experience with that project.
The Ugandan Water Project has been sending teams to Uganda since 2008 to improve access to drinking water. Emily showed us pictures of some of the rainwater collection barrels the project has provided. These barrels collect rainwater from the roofs of large buildings, such as schools. Each barrel has the capacity to hold 2,500 gallons of water.
Without these barrels, the villagers would get their water from open wells, which look like ponds, where the water trickles up into low-land areas. The water in these wells is not safe to drink without boiling. Often these wells can be hours away from the villages; at one school, it took up to 9 hours to get water each day. It was 4 hours to the source, plus the time it took to collect the water, then 4 hours back.
Emily was joined by her grandparents, Jim and Shirley Youngman. They are
pictured here with President Pam, right.
By placing the rain barrels at the schools, students can spend their time learning instead of fetching water. The hope is that if the students can get an education, they will have a better future. The water collected is used primarily by the schools, but it can be shared with the village residents if there is enough.
During her time there, Emily and her team visited 23 schools, checking tank operations and talking with students and teachers. They also did pre-site surveys, looking for sites to place 12 new tanks which were recently funded.
Emily got involved with this project after meeting James, the director from Bloomfield, at Palmyra’s Canaltown Days. She had been looking for a new challenge, and had a passion for international work. To her, this seemed like a good match. Based on the enthusiasm and compassion she displayed while talking about the project, it seems she was right.
Download the website sponsorship guide