Lifewater International works with Divine Waters Uganda, a registered Ugandan NGO, in northern Uganda to build hope through community empowerment. Water, sanitation and hygiene education coupled with safe drinking water builds a solid foundation.

Narrative

While Lifewater's project application to Peer Water Exchange to drill a deep well at Amononeno Primary School in northern Uganda was pending, the local government in Uganda authorized a different organization to drill the well. This provided the students at Amononeno with safe drinking sooner than Lifewater could have provided and allowed Lifewater to supply another northern Ugandan primary school with safe drinking water. Lifewater worked with it’s Ugandan partner, Divine Waters Uganda, to contract with a qualified Ugandan drilling company for a hydrogeophysical survey and a deep borehole at Ogorogoro Primary School in northern Uganda.

On May 6, 2011 the drilling installation was completed for a 54.6-meter deep well and a hand pump at Ogorogoro Primary School. The new well has a flow rate of 7.66 gallons/minute, enabling the 1,230 students and 16 teachers to collect a sufficient supply of water each day. The school faculty also received hygiene and sanitation training and curriculum designed for primary school students, as well as follow-up monitoring and support, to form a school health club. Divine Waters also provided advice and encouragement as the school set up a Water Source and Sanitation Committee to oversee the new water source. Students, parents, and teachers are all represented on the committee and specific roles for the different user populations were agreed upon, including creation and maintenance of a soak pit and planting grass around the well to prevent pooling of excess water, fencing the well to protect it against animals, monthly financial contributions to prepare for pump maintenance, and regular cleaning of the hand pump and water storage containers. Ogorogoro Primary School students will now have both the means and ability to maintain their health through safe water for drinking, effective hygiene, and adequate sanitation.

The $50 maintenance cost is the estimated annual cost of well and hand pump maintenance and repair. The community contributes this amount in the form of small monthly household payments which are collected by the Water Source and Sanitation Committee. These contributions support regular maintenance check-ups on the well and repairs as they are needed. Independent water technicians from the communities, trained by the implementing partner, are paid by the communities to conduct site visits and keep the well functioning properly. Lifewater encourages communities to collect this money from users of the water source in order to promote the community’s sense of ownership of and commitment to the water source.