Uganda

Omungari Parish, located in Kiruhura District, is a rural community located in the “dry cattle corridor” of southwestern Uganda. Located 22 kilometers from the nearest paved roads, the people who call Omungari home are mainly of the Banyankole and Bahima tribes. They are generally farmers and cattle herders who grow mainly bananas, maize, and cassava for subsistence, and coffee as the main cash crop.

Omungari is a growing community, most notably seen in the last two years through the arrival of two public service institutions. The presence of Life Child Initiative (LICHI), a privately run health center, and Omungari Secondary School, has spurred an increase in residential construction throughout the trading center and surrounding areas.

Despite the increase in activity seen for Omungari, many problems loom large for living healthy lifestyles. Alcohol consumption is high, income is very low, theft is prevalent, and literacy levels are low, to name but a few.

In addition to the aforementioned, two aspects of life in Omungari stand out as major obstacles to improving the quality of life for the people. Access to clean water sources throughout the area and limited resources within the school systems are serious issues that need to be addressed.

The Sya Bright Future Primary School is, like the health center, a privately run institution, in contrast to the more prevalent government sponsored schools. Catering to students from nursery level to primary seven, there are currently 17 staff members and nearly 400 students, about half of whom are boarding and half day students.

As with nearly every school in the area, Sya Bright Future has a major challenge in meeting its own need for clean water in order to cook, wash clothes, bathe, and drink. Currently, water is taken from a nearby pond that is filled by groundwater runoff from the fairly large watershed area surrounding the school. This is very poor quality water and leads to a host of hygiene and sanitation-related problems for staff and students alike.

Under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Jesse Coker, who presently works at LICHI, a water tank will be built at the school through the use of Interlocking Stabilized Soil Bricks (ISSB), as explained on the program page for the Interlocking Stabilized Soil Bricks Water Tank Program – Uganda.

The school has several large buildings with excellent iron sheet roofs that are ideal for the harvesting of clean rainwater for all of its water needs. A 20,000-liter water tank will be positioned just downslope from the new large dormitory, which is just upslope from the bathing area and also just upslope from the kitchen. This way, the least effort is needed to transport the water for multiple uses throughout the schools compound.

The money supplied by Appropriate Projects will cover roughly half of the costs of this project. The rest will be covered by Sya Bright Future Primary School.

The use of the ISSB technology will assist in the development of a new business that is aimed at helping LICHI transition from external funding sources to a more local, sustainable, and community-oriented approach to health care provision. The construction of this water tank at Sya Bright Future Primary School will help to achieve significant results at two levels: meeting the water needs at the school, and helping to establish a business that will support the activities of a rural health center and thus the health of a population in need.

As an added incentive for potential clients, Engari Community Health Centre is offering complimentary health talks in hygiene and sanitation for every tank that is constructed.

To indicate your desire for your contribution to be allocated toward the overall Interlocking Stabilized Soil Bricks Water Tank Program – Uganda, please click the Donate button below.

The program consists of promoting the technology by implementing a training and production system. It is designed to address critical water needs in Uganda, and also create a viable economic opportunity for local residents. It will lead to the availability of more water, a system of better practices, and a higher level of health care for the people of Kiruhura District and beyond.

The ISSB method and technology has existed in Uganda for twenty years. A former PCV gave Jesse the inspiration to explore this methodology. Currently, there are at least four other volunteers in Uganda whose host organizations are involved with this technique of brick making for the construction of rainwater harvesting tanks. The cost for building these tanks is less than that of other methods currently being used locally.

Under the ISSB method, the bricks are made at the site where a tank is being built, eliminating transport costs and the subsequently damaged bricks. Bricks are made through a manual compression machine, which requires neither electricity nor fuel to operate.

A simple mixture of subsoil, water, and between five and ten percent cement is compressed, and the resulting brick needs to cure for two days before it can be used. This is in stark contrast to the firing process that requires vast amounts of firewood and about three months’ time to make bricks, which are also of a lesser quality.

The bricks that are produced by the ISSB methodology are weatherproof and do not require firing. They are interlocking on four sides and are curved in order to easily build a range of water tank sizes between 5,000 and 25,000 liters.

Because of the interlocking nature of these bricks, only five millimeters of cement needs to be used between courses of bricks. Courses are built on top of a stone and cement foundation, with diameter and height determined by tank volume.

Depending on the capacity of the tank being built, structural reinforcements are added, such as rebar between every third course of bricks for a 20,000-liter tank. A metal support pipe is added to the inside of the tank to support the cement roof that is built.

To complete the system, gutters are added to the adjacent building for harvesting the rainfall that is received during one of two rainy seasons. The resulting process is cost-effective, durable, and environmentally friendly, and helps the local economy.

Jesse currently work at Life Child Initiative (LICHI), a privately run Health Centre, in Omungari Parish, located in Kiruhura, Uganda. Jesse and his local counterpart, James Betungura, have already trained a group of local men to operate the brickmaking machine and build water tanks.

The team is presently in a stage of marketing throughout the community, visiting other health centers, schools, churches, businesses, and some private households.

As the program grows, the ability to build larger capacity water storage tanks (30,000 to 100,000-liters) will be developed.

Continuity and sustainability will be achieved when Jesse is replaced after conclusion of his Peace Corps service in October.

The first project be built under this program will be the Sya Bright Future Primary School Water Tank Project - Uganda.

To indicate your desire for your contribution to be allocated toward this program, please click the Donate button below.

In this village many of the families do not have sanitation facilities. Unmanaged human waste pollutes water sources and food gardens, and unsafe latrines occasionally collapse.

In this project, the Rural Agency for Sustainable Development, in cooperation with local leaders, will build dome-slab low-cost latrines for twenty households in dire need of safe and hygienic sanitation solutions.

Our funds will be used for the materials, including cement and sand. Most of the labor is being contributed by the community.

Six youths will receive on-the-job construction training so they will have the skills to improve their own livelihoods.

Water and sanitation interventions such as this one are most effective when paired with education, so local leaders and nursery school teachers in training will hold hygiene workshops for children and adult recipients of the latrines.

This project, in addition to addressing an immediate and important community need, will be a valuable training experience for teachers, youth and community leaders as they work together to improve the public health of their community.

This project is being directed by Peace Corps Volunteer Shari Quan, who will oversee project funds, ensure that the project is completed within budget and on schedule, evaluate the outcome, and carry forward the beneficial aspects of the project.

The Peace Corps/Uganda program was reestablished in 2000, after its suspension in 1999. Peace Corps Volunteers in Uganda are currently engaged in HIV/AIDS activities in addition to other public health and social service activities.

You can designate that your contribution be used specifically for this project by clicking on the Donate button below.

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.