Extending Rubanda’s Water Supply – Project Lead: David Sharp

Project Title: Reducing Environmental Stress to Improve Health, Nutrition, and Education Through the Construction of a Well at a School in South-West Uganda

Project Description: The goal of this project is to build a well for a school in South-West Uganda affiliated with our non-profit, Yamba Abaana. The well, dug on a parcel of land recently purchased by our non-profit to provide the school with space for a soccer/sports/exercise field, would be dug, encapsulated to keep the water free from contaminants, and topped with a hand-powered water pump to allow for clean and sanitary water year-round. The target beneficiaries are the 300 students who attend The Rubanda Solidarity School, the staff and faculty, visiting parents, and local community.
Executive Summary:
Problem– There is a dry/drought season in Uganda that impacts the health and education of the students at school. Current rainwater collection techniques have been sufficient, but cyclical water insecurity and possibilities of contaminated rainwater create unnecessary stress, sickness, and reduced education potential.
Solution– A well located on the school grounds can be installed to mitigate the effects of the dry/drought season and increase availability of clean water throughout the year.
Funding requirements– The cost of digging a well can vary based on local availability of man-power and machinery. Our board member, Father Dominic, has been given a quote of $7,500 USD as sufficient to fund the digging and installation of a well. No future funding is necessary as the well will not need yearly upkeep or additional maintenance. Any additional funding, should it be required, would be supplied by our non-profit Yamba Abaana or through community participatory fund raising.
Organization and expertise– While the members of Yamba Abaana have not personally been responsible for building a well, our understanding of the needs of the target community and the expected benefits of having access to fresh and clean water suggest that this project can increase overall health and education outcomes for the entire school. Our previous projects, such as installing mosquito nets for all students, purchasing and installing solar panels to provide light at night and electricity for a computer lab, supplementing teacher salaries to increase retention of skilled educators, and financing the construction of enough additional bathrooms to support the amount of students attending class have drastically reduced the amount of missed days due to sickness and increased the test scores of students wishing to advance to the next level of education. The construction of a well has been targeted by Board of Directors Member David Sharp as the next step towards increasing the overall health and capacity of the community.
Project Outcomes:
The successful completion of a well will have the following outcomes:
A steady water supply for the 300 children attending school for 12 months of the year
The first reliable source of water available during the dry/drought season
Excess water easily available on-site during non-drought months to support new school gardens
Capacity to increase sanitation and nutrition which can increase health and education by:
-Reducing sicknesses and sick days taken by students
-Increased hydration and consumption of clean water
-Increased production of foods grown by and around the school

How will this project address a need in the community and what makes this project unique. There is a dry season in Uganda that lasts two to three months. While we have assisted the school and community in helping implement a rain-water collection system, the current water insecurity during the dry months is a constant and cyclical stress that has negative nutrition, health, and education implications but is easily rectified. One of our most recent improvements, the purchase of enough land adjacent to the school to be transformed into a soccer field, has had the added blessing of being the exit of a previously undiscovered underground stream. We believe that if a well could be dug and reinforced at the edge of our soccer field, water would be abundant enough to support a new garden during the year and reduce or eliminate water insecurity for the three hundred students who attend our school. This project is unique because the school does not have running water nor does it always have enough water in its reserves to easily support itself for the entire year. The discovery of a natural spring on our newly purchased land has the capacity to make water security through the installation of a well both simple and inexpensive.