Community access to clean water for 5 villages in Jinja District

Project Summery:

Not having access to safe water is a form of deprivation that threatens life, destroys opportunity and undermines human dignity (UNDP 2006). In Uganda, national safe water coverage is estimated at 42% in rural areas (DWD 2011). But the actual water coverage levels are considered much lower given the hypothetical statistical procedures of deriving the coverage and the fact that most dysfunctional water sources are not accounted for (Carter et al. 1999).

The selected Sub Counties are faced with rampant water borne epidemics like typhoid fever and diarrhea as health facilities on average treat 4 out of 10 patients with diarrhea and typhoid fever related to consumption of contaminated water. Women and children trek miles to the neighboring villages for clean water at some protected wells or boreholes, thus women spend a lot of time on fetching water, and collecting water from distant places is one of the causes of irregular school attendance by school going children. The project will close this gap of accessing safe water for about 2750 households in the project area so as they can live healthy and productive lives.

Project Description:

KORD is seeking partnership with students at 5 different villages for spring protection. KORD’s strategy is to adopt innovative and cost effective interventions to expand access to clean water to as many households as possible and spring protection represents a very viable and tested strategy. It consists of the construction of a spring “box” to act as a reservoir that filters and /or cleans the water before it’s collected from an outflow pipe. This is practicable for all selected sites as the springs flow year round. KORD will carry out water quality tests from the Uganda National Water and Sewerage Corporation laboratories in Kampala for certification.

Community Impact:

The projects will increase supply of adequate and safe water for about 2750 households in Jinja District thus reducing or eliminating water borne related diseases in the beneficiary communities by 50% in the first six months of operation.

Student/Volunteer(s) profile:

A student/Volunteer(s) with any education background with a passion in community development can take on any of the projects above as will be supported by community, KORD staff and a consultant.

Description of Community Partner:

Kakira Outgrowers Rural Development Fund (KORD) is an innovative partnership between Kakira Sugar Limited (KSL) and Busoga Sugarcane Growers Association (BSGA). KSL and BSGA are pioneering KORD as a new model of Corporate Social Responsibility focused on building a sustainable and mutually beneficial relationship with the community served by KORD. The KORD model of partnership promotes community development and accountability through the involvement of both KSL and sugarcane farmers in annual financial contributions to the KORD fund.

The Vision of KORD is to realize Kakira sugarcane farming community’s wellbeing that betters the national average, and the Mission is to improve the quality of life of the community within a 50km radius of KSL by improving household income and managing funding for projects that facilitate access to social-economic services.

The KORD objectives/activities include but not limited to;

• Health initiatives (sensitizations on HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention, reproductive health, partnerships to enable vulnerable households access free HIV treatment and rehabilitation/construction of health facilities according to need),

• Education services (facilitating 200 vulnerable children access formal education annually, skills for life/apprenticeship program, construction / rehabilitation of classroom blocks and schools science laboratories)

• Delivering environmental, water and sanitation community livelihood projects tailored to meet community needs,

• Facilitate access to credit for sugarcane farmers and vulnerable households,

• Rehabilitation of community feeder roads to access markets and other services, and

• Care and support for orphans and vulnerable children - OVC (food and nutrition interventions, child protection and legal support, economic strengthening of OVC households, psychosocial support and basic care services)