Kitengure Village is a rural community found in Sheema District, Western Uganda, close to the border with Buhweju district. The village has a population of close to 2000 people. It’s considered remote and the hard-to-reach because of the poor roads and other infrastructure. Many residents engage in farming to grow crops like bananas, coffee, and various food crops.
There are 2 community schools in this village. Access to safe and clean water stands at less than 10%. There is no water source that can be considered safe. Only a few homes take the trouble to travel 4km to the nearest borehole. So many people get water from surface ponds and streams which are are not protected.
The water is prone to all forms of contamination. Lack of access to safe water leads into a cycle of many challenges like disease, poverty and failure to go to school, to mention but a few. The community leaders were visiting another village where they found our team drilling.
(shown) This water point is very unsafe. The water here is a drain from several shallow pit latrines and surface drainages. The community continue to use it, but its very dangerous.
(shown) Ronnie is the only son of his parents and entirely responsible for making sure there is water at home. Unfortunately this activity occupies him so much that he has no time to do his private reading and to play football, his favorite game.
**Kimberly Middle School in Kimberly, Idaho took on the challenge of raising the funds for this village. And they succeeded! We are forever grateful for these hard-working, empathetic students, who learned about the issues and then took action.