WESTERN UGANDA: Water and WASH training for 650+ Households

About the Project

Ryan’s Well Foundation is once again partnering with RWIDF in Western Uganda for this year’s project, which will support more than 650 households (5,000+ beneficiaries) by February, 2022. The 2021-2022 project will construct 23 protected springs, 2 30KL rainwater harvesting tanks, and a 4-stance VIP latrine with a handwashing station for a primary school. Beneficiaries of this project will be mobilized, and receive critical WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) training. This will significantly improve the health of the benefitting communities and learning environments for these schools, allowing students to remain in school longer and prosper and, ideally, reduce poverty in this region. This project also includes informing students, teachers, staff, and community members on the importance and advantages of using simple techniques and readily available resources to manage their water sources and reduce water-related sickness.

What do the funds support?

• Construction 23 protected springs.
• Construction of 1 VIP latrine with a handwashing jar for a primary school.
• Construction of 2 30,000L rainwater harvesting tanks.
• Mobilization of all 26 communities and organization of community water committees
• Extensive WASH training for water committees and all beneficiaries.
• Training of caretakers in maintenance, management and repair for all 26 sites.
• Substantial WASH training via 5 radio broadcasts.
• PPEs (COVID-19 Risk Mitigation).
• Ongoing local monitoring and evaluation.

Why is this project important?

• Overall safe water coverage in the Rukungiri and Mitooma districts is currently only at 62%.
• Much of the population relies on collecting surface water for drinking and domestic uses, because the mountainous terrain makes it nearly impossible to construct wells.
  • Because of this, many people suffer from frequent flu, typhoid, and stomach illnesses.
• 41% of household income in these regions is spent on health care – much of which could be avoided with access to clean water and sanitation.
  • This extra expense has led to poor school attendance, poor educational performance, and early dropout (especially for girls).
• Residents of the Rukungiri, Mitoomba, and Ntungamo districts have to travel long distances to collect water.

About Rukungiri District

The Rukungiri, Mitooma-Bushenyi, and Ntungamo Districts are located in Western Uganda; these Districts are not very large, and are covered mostly in agricultural land, including hilltops and mountains. This terrain makes it very difficult to drill wells, and is why many of the communities in this area rely on surface water for drinking in domestic purposes. Consequently, communities in Western Uganda frequently experience the negative health impacts associated with drinking contaminated water, such as frequent flu, typhoid, and stomach illnesses. In order to improve this situation, people in this region must fetch water from an improved water source, such as a protected spring or a rainwater harvesting tank, which are types of infrastructure that work well in this area. This will allow the communities to practice good hygiene, including safe excreta disposal, hand washing, and home/kitchen cleanliness. For these reasons, Ryan’s Well Foundation has partnered with the Rukungiri Women Integrated Development Foundation (RWIDF) in Western Uganda since 2004, and will collaborate once again for this project. 

About our Partner, RWIDF

In the past 18 years, RWIDF and Ryan’s Well Foundation have constructed 271 water tanks, six rainwater harvesting tanks, 2 deep wells, and 16 VIP latrines in the districts of Rukungiri, Mitooma, and Ntungamo.

Every effort is made to designate your funds as requested; however, if the specified project has become fully funded or unforeseen circumstances delay its start, we may allocate your donation to another important project.