Location: Pakanyi Sub County, Masindi District

Population: Approximately 600

Pump Installed: June 23, 2009

Donor: The Deerfield Foundation

Kirelire village is situated fairly close to Masindi town, but by road, it is a 12km trek. The village comprises 120 households scattered across a wide area, providing an estimated populace of around 600 people.

Roughly 60-65% of households are children, so this effectively means that 360-400 children within this community are drinking dirty water. What is all the more tragic about the water that these villagers drink is that it is taken from a spring protection project funded by the government which ran out of money 80% towards completion. The retaining wall was constructed and the reservoir made, but that reservoir was never covered with membrane and soil, so what you now effectively have is a retaining wall which feeds water straight from an open pond, through a PVC pipe and into the jerry cans of the waiting children. The reason why the project ran out of funds are too complicated to explain in this profile but suffice to say that it is the second time we have encountered this situation and it can only serve to rob the villagers of hope and breed cynicism. We aim to redress that situation.

Imagine the life which one of these 400 children lead; dawn breaks and you start the 4km walk to the open source with your empty jerry can. Then you fill up and start the 4km walk back, carrying a now full jerrycan. Then you have to start the 3km walk to school for a day of lessons before walking 3km back. You are 8 years old and each day you are walking 12km just to access what children in the western world take for granted.

View the Kirelire Photo Gallery

Well Data

Depth: 21 ft

Water Column: 12.5 ft

Recharge Rate: 4 ft/hr

The water column is the height of the water within the well or the distance between the water table and the bottom of the well. The recharge rate is a measurement of how quickly the well refills after water is removed.

Water Quality Data Before and After Busoga Trust Intervention

Ecoli organisms per 100 ML

Old Source: 100

BTA Well: 1

Percent Change: -99%

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: 12

BTA Well: 5

Percent Change: -58%

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.