Start Date: 2009-01-10

Completion Date: 2009-06-30

Technology Used:

UCOBAC, with this past experience, will do the same to the people of Mityana by sensitising them on the importance and the need of rain water harvesting. Many members of our communities are seen trecking long distances looking for water soon after it has just rained! This will have to stop. UCOBAC intends to create awareness and make sure each of the households trains and adapts one of the technologies on rain water harvesting. Communities need just a little push by providing skills and a small start up capital and they can do wonders. UCOBAC chose the rainwater catchment using polythene sheets on grass roofed houses, erecting an iron sheet on four poles in a slanting position, or harvesting water using plastic water tanks placed under the roofs that have ridges directing water into the tanks. These tanks are different sizes so you can buy the size equivalent to ones funds available. Unfortunately, all these technologies require good sums of money because building materials have become expensive. Anyhow, we shall do what we can with the little that is available!

Project Co-ordinators:
The Project Co-ordinator will be Ms Matilda Nabukone. she is a long serving staff at UCOBAC who has a Diplomma in Social Development and Community work. She has worked for communities since 1999 when she worked with Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) and later in 2002 joined UCOBAC to head the Capacity Building Programme. She participated in UCOBAC water protection project which protected fourteen (14) spring nd shallow wells in Kumi district, in eastern Uganda.

It is UCOBAC policy that beneficiaries for any project are taken through intensive training on health issues where water and sanitation falls. Matilda has participated in many of such trainings and will therefore manage to run the project effectively.

UCOBAC intends to pilot the rain water harvesting project in Mityana district where Matilda is also implementing a Grandmothers' Empowerment project. We have already decided that the first beneficiariesof the rain water catchment technologieswill be the grandmothers since they are the most vulnerable to long distance walking in search for safe drinking water.

The Focal Point Person wll be UCOBAC staff already working with the communities in Mityana district. He is bornfrom Mityana and therefore understands his communities very well. He has shown interest byt he successes he has registered with the micro-finance project he is implementing.

The Community's Own Resource Persons (CORPs), some of whom have already participated in past UCOBAC activities are a committed team.

Phases:

No. UCOBAC normally phrases into the following phases:

1. Project design - Planning Phase
2. Implementation phase - Activities
3. Monitoring and Evaluation

Community Organization:

UCOBAC already has organised groups of households who are participating in other UCOBAC projects. Four homes make a Solidarity Group (SG). Through these Solidarity Groups which are headed by a Community"s own Resource Person called CORP, UCOBAC provides, awareness creation, trainings to the beneficiaries. The local leaders of the communities are very much involved in the project right from the start which makes them own the project for sustainable purposes. UCOBAC will involve local leaders and opinion leaders in day to day monitoring of the project to make them own the project.

Government Interaction:

Ancillary activities:

UCOBAC will have employ the services of either skilled or unskilled people to assist the beneficiaries in construction of the technologies. We shall require maintenance training or those monitoring and the target group.

Other Issues:

The issue of clean and safe water provision to the communities should be emphasised in all development programmes be by Government or civil society organisations. You cannot have a healthy person, family, community or nation without making sure they are free the rampant water-borne diseases and cutting down on time wasted by more than half the population trecking long diseases in search for water.