Nkonge is a rural community in Mukono district, Central Uganda. The village has approximately 150 households (1500 people) and the majority are subsistence farmers mainly growing pineapples, Cassava, Sweet potatoes and some rice in the swamps.
This village has no source of clean water. People use dirty water from open, surface ponds which are shared with animals. The ponds are located in swamps very far from homes, and are slippery and very risky for children who go to collect water. Children are often absent from school because of water related illness and families are spending much money on medical bills.
A local leader in this village got the know about the community funded well program and he introduced it to this community. They invited us and we offered them more training about the program.
Pictured: school children collecting water from a community source
school children collecting water from a community source
Some school children from Nkonge are walking back to school after collecting water from the community pond. They missed the school break, they missed time to play, they missed time to relax.
Kato is collecting water from one of the surface ponds that the Nkonge community currently uses. Some part of the pond is about 15ft deep and is very dangerous. Kato takes all the risk because this is the nearest source of water for his home.