The woman – now a mother – related her story to H2O4ALL’s project team after we arrived in Kasawo Village in June 2025. As unbelievable as it sounds, this story isn’t uncommon in Kasawo. More than 12,000 people live in the area, many relying on subsistence farming and casual labour to make a living – and clean, safe water is hard to come by. 

The community isn’t connected to any national water supply line, meaning that daily access to water frequently depends on the weather. While there are several wells, springs and boreholes in the area, many of these sources run out during the dry season and force families to rely on water vendors to survive. A 2-litre jerry can can cost up to three pennies, a steep price for families living in poverty. 

Nowhere in the community is the water crisis more evident than at the Kasawo Mission Health Centre. The clinic serves more than 1,500 people a month, offering a range of services from maternity care and pre- and post-natal care to immunizations, health education, outpatient services and a TB clinic. In addition, the clinic works with Reach One Touch One Ministries, a nonprofit dedicated to the welfare of seniors and their families across Uganda, to ensure that elderly members of the community have reliable access to the medical care they need. 

During the rainy season, two rainwater tanks usually provide for the needs of staff and patients. In the dry season, however, the tanks run empty and leave staff unable to provide water for patients or keep their environment clean. Many members of the community find themselves traveling to the same borehole the young mother used so they can bring water to their own appointment – often standing in line for hours despite being sick. When the borehole is unavailable, the staff purchase water along with the rest of the community, putting a great financial strain on the clinic.

As the staff struggle to maintain proper sanitation with the little water they have, everyone in the community – from the nurses, to the new mothers and their babies, to the seniors supported by ROTOM – faces the risk of infection and waterborne disease. 

H2O4ALL first came to Kasawo in late spring of 2025. In partnership with Reach One Touch One Ministries, our team drilled a borehole outside the clinic so that Kasawo staff would have reliable water access right on the premises. The team also installed several water access points throughout the community, providing Kasawo residents with a water source they can depend on in all seasons. 

Throughout the project, community members worked alongside our team to implement the new water system. “The community was involved at every stage of the project implementation.” reported Deo Kalule, H2O4ALL’s ROTOM liaison. “They received training on the system as they worked alongside us which is very helpful with the sustainability of the project. By the time we left the community was able to run the system by themselves and could tell what needs to be done where and when.”

On June 23rd, the hospital’s new safe water system was officially opened to the public. The project will enable Kasawo staff to provide safer medical care to more than a thousand patients a month, while new access points around the Kasawo community will provide safe, reliable water to thousands of families struggling with water scarcity. 

Empowered with their own clean, reliable water source, the staff at Kasawo Mission Health Centre can keep themselves and their patients safe at the clinic and lead the Kasawo community toward a brighter, healthier future.