American Grant Reduces Water Crisis in Bukomansimbi Primary Schools

Pupils of Gongwe SDA Primary School possing for a photo in front of one of the tanks donated to them. Courtesy Photo

The American Embassy in Uganda has given 14 water tanks of 10000ltrs each to the school Children in Bukomansimbi district, a relief relating   water crisis in the area. The grant is a response   to the children between 6-14 years   through   Butenga Orphanage Care & Development Organization (BOCADO) an NGO operating in the District. 

The grant had also permitted BOCADO to conduct a WASH Training within fourteen primary schools on promotion of personal hygiene including hand washing with soap after visiting toilets and the consequences arising from failure to washing dirty hands.  

60 percent of diseases affecting children in Uganda are due to poor sanitation and no sanitation without water. The project’s overall goal was to ensure that before 2020 draws to a close, more girls and boys are enrolled, stay in school, learn, and finish a full course of primary schooling. The school dropout rate stands at percent.

The district has 73 Government Aided and 66 Private Primary Schools, 7 Government Aided and 22 Private Secondary schools but many of them lack adequate water storage facilities

The average percentage of safe water coverage in Bukomansimbi is at 48 percent (2011). Kitanda and Bigasa Sub-Counties is at 33 percent which is far below National Standard of 65 percent. Among the four sub-counties in the district, Kibinge and Butenga Sub-counties are highly endowed with water unlike Kitanda and Bigasa where Rain Water harvesting should be highly emphasized for safe water and valley tanks for agricultural practice enhancement.

Ms Christine Mukiibi, Bukomansimbi District Deputy Chairperson,welcomed the project and said "it came at the right time, when the district had been facing exceptional water, food and pasture shortages."

 

On 17^th November, 2016, Mr. Pedro Franco, the Small Grants Coordinator at the Embassy Mission, who had undertaken a technical backstopping to assess for himself the utilization of the American grant described, “the project was a resounding success”, 

In a face-to-face briefing, BOCADO Project Coordinator, Ahmed Ssentume, told Mr. Franco that, American grant had given the children an exemplary relief, since several children in the district had been spending school time fetching water. He regretted, the district had not responded for provision of tanks in those schools, where need had been identified due to insufficient budget from the district development resources envelope. 

For the project sustainability, Mr. Ssentume Ahmed briefed Mr. Franco that sanitation committees were formed in each school as a supportive pillar to the sustainability of the project. After the project implementation, these committees will continue being responsible to educate their fellows, monitor and report any misuse of water tank and  poor  hygiene conditions to the School Management for urgent and appropriate action.

This project directly benefited 4050 pupils from some of the following schools. Bright Engels Nursery and Primary School, St. Aloysius Sena  Day & Boarding School, Ggongwe SDA Primary School, Amma Answar Primary School and Sunrise Junior Primary School.

Thanks the American people for water tanks donated and the same time calling upon individuals, Central Government and Development agencies to join hands with us in this campaign of promoting Child Education through Sanitation and Hygiene Improvement in Schools.