Making hunting for water a thing of the past in Uganda
24 September 2007
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Uganda country profile |
Millennium Development Goal 7: Environment,
Water and Sanitation
Lying on the shores of Lake Victoria and boasting lush countryside and plenty of
rainfall, there is no reason why Uganda should suffer from water shortages. But
bad planning means that only 62% of Ugandans have access to a safe supply, while
the rest risk their health collecting it from murky ponds and streams.
To bring safe water to more people,
 WaterAid Uganda
is implementing a three year project backed by DFID. By helping districts to
scale up their water and sanitation services, and giving communities the skills
and technologies to harvest clean supplies, the project should benefit 40,000
Ugandans a year and go some way towards ending the gruelling business
of "hunting" for water.
The children and women’s burden
 Image courtesy of Geoff Crawford/WaterAid
At a typical local water point in Uganda, the children and women giggle
and gossip as they fill their yellow plastic jerry cans with water from the one
water source in the district. But their cheerfulness conceals the monotony of
their daily routine. Three times a day, they may have to cover at least 500
metres down to the source, and then stagger home with heavy buckets on
their heads.
Waking at 5:00 a.m., they make the trip three times in a row before going off
to school or work. In many parts of rural Uganda, water collection can dominate
a child or woman's life. These are the people on whom it falls to collect enough
water for the whole family's cooking, drinking and washing needs. It is an
exhausting job, and one that begins at four years old, carrying small bottles to
the water point. By the age of eight, boys and girls are expected to carry 20
litres of water home on each trip, the equivalent of the full baggage allowance
on an international flight.
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Water brings a new flow of life
Beatrice Nankya lives in Wakiso on the outskirts of the Ugandan capital of
Kampala. At nine years old, she is responsible for collecting water for 15 of her
extended family members. Even at this young age, Beatrice was getting used to
the daily routine of an early start followed by a 2km trek back and forth to the
nearest well.
However, when WaterAid came to the village and established a water spring,
life changed for Beatrice and many children like her. With water available a
stone's throw from their homes, these children no longer had to endure the
taxing walk to the well. Beatrice describes how, when the spring first appeared,
and the crowds assembled around it each morning, she worried that the water
might soon run out. But then she realised that it could be relied on to flow the
whole day and night.
Fifteen year old Peter Bukenya tells a similar story: “Now, we have safe water
in the village. The distance is so close that we can even leave the food on the
stove and return to the house with water from nearby. We only need a few minutes
to fetch water. Now I have time for rest and can work more too. We also don't
fall sick as we used to. In the whole village, diseases caused by dirty water
have reduced and we are much happier.”
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Learning lessons and maintaining improvements
 Image courtesy of Geoff Crawford/WaterAid
Although WaterAid has made a big impact in Beatrice and Peter's village,
there is a real need to make a difference on a wider level. To achieve this, a
number of challenges must be overcome. In the past there has been weak
monitoring and evaluation of water service improvements. This has meant that the
lessons learnt haven't translated into policy. Improving monitoring
is a priority of WaterAid's new three year project.
Another challenge is to ensure that, as the building work increases and water
coverage rises, technical equipment is well looked after. If boreholes and
other mechanised water systems aren't maintained, there will be little progress
in the long term. Effective maintenance depends on the ready availability of
spare parts, good standards of construction and supervision, sufficient money
within communities and timely action from district committees. These points
must be addressed if villages are to go on enjoying reliable water supplies into
the future.
In spite of these challenges, WaterAid has built up solid experience and a
strong understanding of the water sector over more than 20 years of work in
Uganda. Through further engagement with communities and others involved in
providing water services, WaterAid's efforts should become more effective. By
improving monitoring and providing simple and sustainable technologies - such as hand-dug
wells, spring protection and rainwater harvesting devices - which communities
themselves can build, operate and maintain, WaterAid will help to get a vital life resource to
millions more Ugandans.
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Key facts
- DFID’s support to WaterAid’s Policy Development and Monitoring
project is worth £217,000 over three years (1 March 2005 – 29 February
2008).
- Through DFID support, WaterAid has helped over 920,000 people gain
access to safe water, effective sanitation and hygiene promotion in
Uganda.
- At the request of the Uganda Government, WaterAid has helped
establish the Uganda Water and Sanitation Network which aims to raise
the profile and coordination of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in
the sector.
- WaterAid has recently developed an advocacy strategy to help promote
a more integrated approach to projects across Uganda.
- WaterAid has been operating in Uganda since 1983.
- The latest available figures for access to water and sanitation are
taken from the National Service Delivery Survey report, 2004 as follows:
Access to safe water in rural areas - 61%; Access to safe water in urban
areas - 88%; Access to safe sanitation (nationally) - 57%.
- The current levels of access to safe water are still below the
Millennium Development Goal target of 80% for all areas by 2015.
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