More to the Story: Mpanga
May 15, 2013
Before Water Missions International Uganda provided the community of Mpanga with a safe water solution, the people of Mpanga relied on Lake Victoria for water. The untreated water gave community members waterborne illnesses such as bilharzias, dysentery, and diarrhea; even boiling the water in an attempt to purify it could not provide relief from illness.
The people of Mpanga used to rely on Lake Victoria as their sole water source.[/caption]
Water Missions International Uganda provided access to safe water for the people of Mpanga through the implementation of a custom, sustainable safe water solution that included the installation of an LWTS™ system. WMI Uganda staff worked with the community to educate members on the importance of good hygiene habits in order to prevent disease and avoid contaminating water containers. The community elected a Safe Water Committee (SWC) to oversee the new system, choosing the most trusted members of the community to oversee this project. Sometimes communities will choose unlikely people to lead the management of their safe water solution. In Mpanga, the treasurer who handles all the financial transactions for the water system is illiterate, but because of her character and honorable reputation, the community members trusted her to be responsible for this task. She was properly trained with the SWC on financial sustainability and best practices for money handling. Now, she handles the money for her community’s safe water solution and has others write for her to keep records.
Life is different for the people of Mpanga today. Awuma Winnie, who is in Primary 5, said, “I am eleven years old and I’ve been studying here for 2 years. My mum, Akuku Beatrice, collects water from the safe water tap. Before, I collected lake water, which was dirty and had snakes. Before drinking safe water we had sore stomachs and diarrhea. Mum would pay about 15,000 (about $6) taking us to the clinic. Now we don’t go to the clinic. Now mum uses the money to buy food.”
Waterborne illnesses affect children more than anyone else.[/caption]
Owori Centurio, the Chairperson for the SafeWater Committee in Mpanga, explained, “A great improvement and change has been realized as far as hygiene, health and sanitation are concerned. Before Water Missions brought us safe water, there were three drug shops in the community but now there is only one drug shop. This shows that there has been a reduction in occurrence of water related diseases. We no longer suffer from dysentery, diarrhea and other water related diseases. The project created employment for tap and system operators; and has increased the income of most households.”
You can read the Daily Monitor’s article here.
To see more images of the Mpanga community, check out the Water Missions Uganda flickrstream here.
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