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A crash course in changing the world.
improving clean water access to benefit the rural poor communities
Background to the problem.
Access to clean and safe water in rural Uganda remain a very big challenge. People walk 1.5 to 2kms on average to access water from unprotected wells, rivers, lakes and swamps.
Innovators:
Amref is an international NGO with headquarters in Kenya. AMREF’s mission is to ensure that every African can enjoy the right to good health by helping to create vibrant networks of informed communities that work with empowered health care providers in strong health systems.
Amref is working on country programs in the Katine village in Uganda among other countries.
Years of civil war, particularly concentrated in northern Uganda, have left many people living in displaced persons camps, unable to return to their homes. Three quarters of people in Gulu, Pader and Kitgum districts in Northern Uganda live in these camps, with little or no access to services, such as clean water. This, couple with poor hygiene and sanitation, means that people are vulnerable to disease.
Looting and neglect have destroyed much of the local infrastructure including safe-water sources such as boreh***s, shallow wells and protected springs. To make matters worse, many trained hand-pump mechanics have been abducted, displaced by the fighting or have lost their tools.
Aims
- To increase access to clean water and improve sanitation for the displaced persons living in the camps.
- To implement improved sanitation and hygiene practices in the camps.
- To encourage communities to re-establish responsibility for their own water resources and system maintenance.
- To lobby for new water, sanitation and hygiene guidelines.
- To train an increasing number of hand-pump mechanics and provide them with the necessary tools.
Key Achievements
- The introduction of a community maintenance programme has enabled villages to retake responsibility for sourcing their own equipment and given them the skills to maintain the equipment for themselves.
- Training community hand-pump mechanics has meant that communities can sustain their own water supplies without external assistance.
- Building new boreh***s and wells has improved community access to water supplies.
- Decrease in household and waterborne diseases.
- Hygiene education provided at resource centres.
It is estimated that Amref has improved access to clean water to 66%.
Views: 49
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Comment by Shakwei Mbindyo on April 16, 2010 at 6:30pm
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Agent Javie for purposes of tranparency let me mention I work with AMREF. That aside, access to clean water is a big issue for many communities in Africa. Reducing the distance that women and children (usually the water fetchers) have to walk to access clean water is crucial to the health (and subsequently) wealth of individuals and families. Katine is a success story which can be repliated in may communities across Africa. +1KS
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Comment by Michele Baron on April 16, 2010 at 6:32pm
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thank you for this post!! It, and the comments by Shakwei, raise many good points.
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Comment by Ssozi Javie on April 16, 2010 at 7:57pm
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thanks for the comment Agent Shakwei. Amref is doing a great job not only in Uganda but in many countries in Africa. Actually I am hoping to visit the Katine in May this year. I just cant wait!!!
Thank you for the comment Agent Michele.
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Comment by Tom Loughran on April 23, 2010 at 1:03pm
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Students in Lacor, Gulu District, are beginning to take charge of their own water quality: see http://www.bosco-uganda.wikispaces.net/Mapping+Project. How might they move forward toward collaboration with AMREF?
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Agent Tom, this sounds very interesting - I think the communities will sustain clean water access if they take charge of their own water quality. Are you working with BOSCO-Uganda?
If so, I guess you know Siena Anstis who is currently working with BOSCO in Gulu. She went to the Katine village in 2008 and she could have established some contacts which BOSCO might find useful. Otherwise - Agent Shakwei Mbindyo works with AMREF Kenya. I am sure she would be very resourceful as well.
These students are doing a great job with BOSCO I am sure this would be an interesting partnership for both parties.
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I do work with BOSCO-Uganda. I'll speak with Siena, and contact Shakwei Mbindyo...thanks!
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