Katembe Project Complete
November 11, 2022
This year saw the completion of Omushana’s most exciting water project. Along with many of the surrounding villages, Katembe School, a large government primary school with over 600 pupils, has never had a water supply. Every morning a number of pupils (on a rotation) would spend up to 1 hour fetching water from the nearest river, over 500m away down a steep hill. During the wet season, the river was dangerous and pupils had to wait until a passing adult could help them fill the jerry cans before climbing back up the school. Pupils could not drink the water – there was not enough in the jerry cans, and it was not clean!
In late 2021 (after we had been able to support a new latrine block and renovation of the old block), the community asked Omushana if we could help with the water situation. A meeting was called in Uganda involving all the local communities to confirm their contribution – they were to donate some materials, perform all the labour (digging a kilometre of trenches for the pipes) and provide food for the engineers. They also confirmed their commitment to maintaining and repairing the pipes once they were installed. By September 2022 the whole project was complete thanks to the wonderful efforts of the local community and the fantastic donors. Omushana was able to visit Katembe Primary School in September 2022 to see the water flowing from the two taps. The pupils were ecstatic – no more water collection duties!
But the benefits of this project did not stop there. Three nearby villages have now been able to connect to the water using their own resources and manpower plus a tank donated by the local Community Development Association. So not only did this project bring water to the school, there are now 9 community taps providing flowing water to over a hundred households in the villages of Kanoni, Nyamizo and Nyabigogo. The water also reaches the Community Medical Clinic which previously relied on rainwater collection and was often without water in the dry season. Each tap has a “manager” and each household pays a small fee (approximately 25p per month). The income is being saved to pay for future repairs.
THANK YOU from everyone at Katembe Primary School and the surrounding communities. The Communities are literally jumping for joy!
*submitted by our implementing partner, Omushana Sunshine for Children
In late 2021 (after we had been able to support a new latrine block and renovation of the old block), the community asked Omushana if we could help with the water situation. A meeting was called in Uganda involving all the local communities to confirm their contribution – they were to donate some materials, perform all the labour (digging a kilometre of trenches for the pipes) and provide food for the engineers. They also confirmed their commitment to maintaining and repairing the pipes once they were installed. By September 2022 the whole project was complete thanks to the wonderful efforts of the local community and the fantastic donors. Omushana was able to visit Katembe Primary School in September 2022 to see the water flowing from the two taps. The pupils were ecstatic – no more water collection duties!
But the benefits of this project did not stop there. Three nearby villages have now been able to connect to the water using their own resources and manpower plus a tank donated by the local Community Development Association. So not only did this project bring water to the school, there are now 9 community taps providing flowing water to over a hundred households in the villages of Kanoni, Nyamizo and Nyabigogo. The water also reaches the Community Medical Clinic which previously relied on rainwater collection and was often without water in the dry season. Each tap has a “manager” and each household pays a small fee (approximately 25p per month). The income is being saved to pay for future repairs.
THANK YOU from everyone at Katembe Primary School and the surrounding communities. The Communities are literally jumping for joy!
*submitted by our implementing partner, Omushana Sunshine for Children
