Voluntary Action for Development Uganda Welcome and thanks

All We Can’s partner, Voluntary Action for Development or VAD for short, is working to bring clean, safe water sources to rural communities in Uganda. Uganda is situated in eastern Africa and borders Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo . Uganda is among the poorest countries in the world, in 161st place out of 187 countries on the Human Development Index (2011), which measures factors such as literacy, health and inequality. Millions of people in Uganda struggle to access basic facilities such as education, healthcare services, clean water and sanitation.

One of the biggest challenges facing poor communities in rural Uganda is the lack of clean, safe water. Uganda is largely a rural country with ample water resources. However, poor sanitation coupled with unsafe water has contributed significantly to high levels of disease, including dysentery, diarrhoea and typhoid fever. By drawing water from stagnant ponds and not disposing of waste effectively, disease is able to spread quickly and is often fatal. In Uganda, one in every ten children die before their fifth birthday - a third of those deaths are caused by preventable diarrhoeal diseases.

While in the cities 90% of households have clean water, only 70% of rural households do. The majority of households also lack adequate sanitation; just 34% of people in cities and 35% of the rural population can dispose of waste safely. Because many households in Uganda do not have access to clean water or good sanitation facilities like toilets, it is incredibly difficult to be aware of, or practice good hygiene procedures. Many communities are unaware that they should wash their hands after going to the toilet or changing a nappy, and very few boil unsafe water before drinking it.

VAD has been tackling water and sanitation problems in rural communities in Uganda for over 10 years. VAD has already helped over 8,000 adults and children to begin fulfilling their potential. Let me tell you more about the project’s work.

VAD is working in the Wakiso district of central Uganda, which has a population of over 1.2 million people, one of the most densely-populated and fastest-growing areas of Uganda. The areas VAD works in have poor road networks and low levels of education, which makes it difficult for people to successfully lobby the Government for better facilities. These areas lack safe water sources, toilets and hygiene education. Access to safe water

Prior to VAD’s work 65% of people in these areas accessed water from a pond or stream and more than 60% of families travelled more than 1km to collect water; the length of 11 football pitches. Access to safe water

Access to safe water VAD identifies villages most in need of water and sanitation facilities and meetings are held with community members to identify the needs and challenges faced in the local area. Through providing wells, water tanks, and creating safe new water sources, VAD is working to increase communities’ access to safe water. VAD trains local people to become masons, who can then build and maintain clean, safe water sources such as wells, water pumps and rainwater tanks. Toilets with separate cubicles for men and women are also constructed in communal areas and schools.

Access to safe water Having safe water closer to home is allowing families to work more, which leads to increased income; it also means money is saved that would have been spent on medical treatment from illnesses such as diarrhoea and dysentery. Children are able to spend more time in school instead of collecting water – it also benefits those who are ill or incapable of collecting water.

VAD is also working hard to promote good hygiene and sanitation practices in the areas it works in. Simple steps like showing people how to build dish racks are improving health. Dish racks keep plates and cooking utensils off the floor away from animals and household waste. Through house-to-house visits and community demonstration sessions VAD is able to reach out and promote the importance of good hygiene practices. Improving sanitation

Elizabeth Nalumansi (pictured) attended a VAD training session and was taught about hygiene and shown how to build a dish rack, bath shelter and simple hand-washing facility. Since constructing these facilities in her home she has seen a big improvement in her family’s health. She says: ‘My family’s lives have changed since l put into practice what l had been taught. My children always wash their hands after using the toilet and before they are going to eat anything. We now have a place to bathe that is not a breeding ground for mosquitoes, so is much safer. My husband and I are able to spend more time cultivating our land than before as we are no longer caring for sick children all the time. We now live a happy and hopeful life. This miracle has come about because of this training.’   Improving sanitation

VAD also provides vital services for schools. The schools that VAD is working with lack clean water and safe toilets, and children miss school to go and collect water from unsafe sources. The lack of private toilet facilities force children to use unsafe areas on the school grounds, leaving them constantly exposed to bacteria and parasites. Girls often stay at home because of the lack of privacy. VAD is building safe toilets with separate cubicles for boys and girls, installing rainwater collection tanks to collect and store clean water, and building hand-washing facilities. Once school facilities are improved, children spend less time collecting water and the attendance of girls dramatically increases. David Mukasa is a pupil at Sources of Hope primary school in Zziba. He says: ‘I now enjoy attending my classes every day and we have a new life at our school; you can see the smiles in the faces of the pupils. Before VAD came, the area around the school was filthy, smelly and so unhealthy. The pupils used to ask around the whole village for drinking water. Our school had the highest number of drop-outs in the whole area. The parents thought they were bewitched because every week our head master used to send away pupils with stomach ache, diarrhoea and skin diseases. We are so blessed that we received these nice toilets and the water facility. All the pupils who come out the toilets wash their hands and you can now see pupils washing their hands before eating and even after eating.’ Schools

School pupils form sanitation committees to teach other pupils about health and hygiene, and to maintain their toilets and water facilities. Schools

Supporting vulnerable people When VAD begins working in a new village it holds a community consultation to identify the needs of people living in the area.   The community leaders also identify the most vulnerable people in the village, often those who are elderly or disabled. VAD holds discussions with the individuals and the community then supports the construction of toilets and water tanks close to their homes. Alice Ndagire, aged 90 (pictured), is elderly and frail but still an independent woman. Before she had a water jar installed in her home Alice used to rely on her grandson, 18-year-old Mutebe, to collect the water for her. However, Mutebe is often away with work and sometimes couldn’t bring enough water. On these occasions, Alice would become thirsty, dependant on neighbours for water and often felt like a burden. Her latrine was made from broken logs, which were dangerous and Alice sometimes fell. It got to the point where Alice would use a small hole rather than use the latrine. Alice’s neighbours contributed to the cost of Alice’s new water jar and safe toilet, and masons trained by VAD came to construct them. Since the toilet and water jar were built Alice’s life has changed dramatically. She always has water for tea, bathing and washing clothes and her neighbours benefit from the surplus. Alice no longer suffers from water-related illnesses and has not faced any challenges in using her toilet. Helping the vulnerable

Empowering communities Underpinning all of VAD’s work is its vision to empower communities. VAD seeks to involve community members in all of its work - this is the key to the sustainability of each water source and sanitation facility.

£625 will provide for a rainwater collection tank for a school £37 will train people living in four villages how to make their own hand-washing facility £120 will train four local masons to build and maintain water sources, toilets and rainwater collection jars £252 will pay for a safe, clean toilet for an elderly or disabled person £625 will provide for a rainwater collection tank for a school In April 2012, All We Can was successful in applying to DFID, the British government department responsible for international development, for a grant to part-fund VAD’s latest project. To make this project possible, All We Can has to raise £140,000 for VAD over the three year period. This will be matched by funding from DFID of £518,000. In effect, every pound that we raise allows will unlock a further £3.70 of DfID funding, making a £100 donation worth £470.   Through partnering VAD we are supporting people living in rural communities in Uganda to stay healthy and increase their incomes. £37 will pay for training sessions teaching people living in four villages how to make their own hand-washing facility using locally available materials and would unlock a further £137 of funding for VAD. £120 will provide training for four community-based masons who will work with local people to build and maintain water sources, toilets and rainwater collection jars and would provide VAD with an additional £444 funding, making our total gift worth £564. £252 will pay for a safe, clean toilet for an elderly or disabled person and will supply VAD with over £1,184, enabling them to provide a further three toilets. £625 will provide for a rainwater collection tank for a school, giving hundreds of children access to safe water. Thanks to DfID funding, the total gift will be worth £2937 – enough to buy materials for water tanks for another 4 schools.

Thank you Thank you very much on behalf of All We Can for choosing to partner with this project. Your support will make a big difference to the lives of some of Uganda’s poorest people.