A dedicated Yogafurie student, James Walker, is running the water of life half marathon! With your help he hopes to build a rainwater harvesting tank in a rural village in Kisoro, Uganda.
The water tank will reduce water stress for a community of over 100 people. It will capture and store rainwater to provide a water source which would otherwise be miles away.
The area “suffers for water”, and it is the job of children to walk miles over mountainous terrain to fetch it and carry heavy 20 litre jerry cans. This means they are often late for school and arrive exhausted. With your donations we can build this simple water solution and reduce water stress to this villagers and their children!
This is Turinayo Allan and his brothers and sisters. He’s 13 years old.
He always finds his water situation difficult, especially during dry season. Some times he has to miss school due to lack of water or when he has to walk for long distance to find a water source. He said that if they get a tank in his village, he will find it easier to get water and have time for his classes.
This is Florence walking after sharing her view.
She is 20 years old and a resident of Ndago village in Kisoro. She was so happy to hear about the water tank. She said that the biggest challenge in the village is water especially during dry season. Sometimes they have to resort to buying 20litrs of water at 1,000 shillings which is expensive and very few people can afford it (a farmer earns ~4,000shs a day) . The distance from the village to town is about 6kms, which is very hard to walk carrying a jerrycan of water on your head. She thinks the tank will be of a great impact today the community.
This is James Sebasore, a local Council chairperson for Ndago village, Gasovu Parish, Nyarusiza subcounty. He’s aged 56.
He said that they have a very big challenge of water in his village as they don’t have any access to water. Very few families have small jerrycans which they can use to harvest water if it rains, but it can take 2-4 days to fill. If its doesn’t rain again then they have to walk for 6km to fetch water. It’s always worse during dry season where people have to walk almost the whole day to looking for a 20 litre jerrycan of water. He is sure that the water tank will reduce the stress for water within his village and will change people’s lives as young children won’t miss school in order to fetch water.
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Establishment of project W.A.S.H
The idea for Project W.A.S.H was born during a research field trip to Kisoro, Uganda. There I met my friend Richard, who runs a social enterprise that trains out of work and vulnerable women and young people. We discussed ways in which peoples’ lives could be improved by taking simple steps in terms of water supply and management, sensitisation over sanitation issues like using a latrine instead of open defecation, and access to hygiene products such as soap and menstruation pads.
We met with a district councilor, who introduced us to some people in the deep village, who have to walk miles everyday over mountainous terrain to fetch water. This is intensified during the water-stressed dry seasons of June to Aug and Dec to Jan, as many sources have dried up. Because of this, children spend hours in the morning and evening carrying a 20 litre jerry can, which is extremely heavy, and leads them to arrive at school late and exhausted.
Our in-country partner has received an cost estimate of just over 5 million Ugandan shilling – £1,200 – to build a 17-20 thousand litre tank. They are having a second meeting in the next few weeks to discuss the project further. Updates will follow.
Therefore, by establishing Project W.A.S.H and fundraising in the UK, we will be able to construct a rainwater harvesting tank to serve this community of over 100 people. All funds donated directly pays for the materials and construction. That means that any money you donate is having a direct and positive effect on someone’s life. We hope that the water tank will ease some of the water stress, and give the children of the village more time to study in school and play with friends.
Thank you for your interest and support.
James
