Donor: The Deerfield Foundation

Kikaito village is right on the periphery of Pakanyi sub-county, but is only reached by a spiralling network of tracks overgrown with brush. Its a village which comprises around 100 homes spread over a large area of many kilometers. A trip to either of the health centers nearby would entail a 16km round trip from the village center.

As one villager explained to BTA, there is a shallow drilled water source 4km from the village center, but this distance is too far for most people to make the journey and therefore are forced to use an open water source. Despite this hinderance to clean water, this community is resourceful and highly motivated. Although they are farmers like most other rural villages, their crops are not just maize and cassava but tomatoes, carrots, green and red peppers and many other crops.

This is a community which demonstrates the effects of strong leadership. Spend a few minutes in the presence of Water User Committee leader Nyolonga Otwikende and he will tell you that he is a driving force in the community. A voice of practicality, when asked why clean water was important to him, instead of repeating the phrases taught in lessons by the Busoga Trust he spoke strongly of a few simple motives;

‘To have adequate clean water, adequate for human consumption ….
It [the new well] brings the source of water closer to the people that need it…
…which can help people who are unable to travel for water’
‘To remove disease.’

If the Busoga Trust could find a Chairman like this in every village, the job would be measurably easier. Especially when the construction of this well didn’t go smoothly at all. Even with the whole hearted support of the local leaders, multiple mechanical failures made this project a more difficult task than projects in the past. Continual mishandling caused perforations in the drainer hoses which weaken suction and set back progress on multiple occasions. The team lost valuable time during the middle weeks of March as replacement drainers had to be brought on site to help finish the job. The well was finally completed in early April with a depth that measures 20.5 ft deep and a water table of 7.5 ft.

View the Kikaito Photo Gallery

Update:

Water Quality Data Before and After Busoga Trust Intervention

Ecoli organisms per 100 ML

Old Source: 21

BTA Well: 0

Percent Change: -100%

E. coli is a fecal bacteria which causes diarrhea, violent stomach cramps, and fever. It can be transmitted through contaminated food or water. US EPA water standards require Ecoli and similar bacteria be completely absent from 95% of the water samples taken from a system.

Turbidity/NTU

Old Source: 31

BTA Well: 5

Percent Change: -84%

Turbidity is a measure of water clarity; it is an indicator of how much solid mass (silt, sand, clay, algae) and potentially disease-causing organisms a water source contains. Turbidity is measured in Nephelometric Turbidity Units.  In the United States, the allowable standard is 1 NTU; Uganda strives for a turbidity level of less than 15 NTU.