A System Built to Last in Kibaale Village, Uganda
“The water is 5 kilometres away.” Desire, a young woman from Kibaale Village, shared with the world at this year’s virtual gala in October. “When you get there, you find cows taking the water. You have to wait for them and then you have to wait for the water to settle before you can take water.”
For thousands of people in Kibaale and the neighboring communities in Bukango Sub County, Bukomansimbi District, Uganda, the swamp where Desire collected water was the last resort to keep their families alive. While the community did have local water taps, the cost was beyond what most people in the community could afford. So Desire, and hundreds of young people like her, walked 5 kilometres each day to collect water for their families.
“Sometimes I would get scared that I would be attacked by animals.” Desire admitted. “Or I might be kidnapped.”
The water they collected there held another danger – waterborne diseases. Community members reported high rates of diarrhoeal diseases and skin problems from the water they used. Worse, many people in the community could not afford treatment when they fell sick.
When H2O4ALL came to Kibaale Village in September 2024, the community was in desperate need of a change. The community’s new water system would transform the lives of five thousand people in Kibaale and the neighboring villages.
In partnership with Reach One Touch One Ministries, we implemented a water system with three water access points, each serving two villages and over a thousand people. A later phase of the project will include an access point at St. Jude Primary, making it possible for Kibaale’s children to stay safe from waterborne diseases at school.
After the project was commissioned, 70 people from the community joined a WaSH safety training session led by H2O4ALL. We look forward to seeing the Kibaale community benefit from their new water source for a very long time!
To learn more about the project, read the full report at the link below.
