One of WATSAN’s most significant fundraising projects has reached its target for Phase 1, which is enabling construction of a brand new pipeline connecting raw water sources to a health centre in this isolated rural community.

In 2022, WATSAN launched a fundraising appeal for our key target project, Kazuru gravity flow scheme. Schemes like this take a natural water supply – usually a good strong spring protected in the hills – and use gravity to bring it to a local community. These are major schemes serving up to 5,000 or more people, schools, clinics etc. Watch Moses from the Ugandan staff team explain what a gravity flow scheme is

Currently, children in the area are walking for miles over hills to collect water from polluted open ponds. Sanitation takes the form of semi-permanent structures built from mud. Moses says of local people: “I think they accept the conditions they are in, but painfully. It affects them psychologically. But most importantly, WATSAN’s planned intervention in their area gives them hope that their life can be improved.”

Over the past two years, many fundraising efforts have gone towards building funds to start this project, including a 138km cycle marathon; dispersed walks for water; an auction of promises; a quiz night; and a trip to Uganda by St Peter’s Church. This has raised a combined total of £45k towards Kazuru, which means WATSAN is now in a position to start building Phase 1 of the scheme. Phase 1 will protect the sources, and run a pipeline from the higher ground down to a community health centre.

The long-awaited Kazuru implementation kicked off in August 2024, with a ground-breaking ceremony on 27th August 2024 which took place at the project water source, Kaashambya, located in Rwengwe cell. The ceremony was presided over by local religious and political leaders, and attended by a team of 21 people from the Bishop’s Waltham team from the UK, including WATSAN’s Chair Ian Bensted. Speaker after speaker appreciated God for the breakthrough and the landowner Mr. Elly for allowing the development of a water source located in his land. The whole community was called upon for unity, support and team work during and after implementation of the scheme.

The WATSAN Uganda – UK Support team would like to celebrate the achievement of our target for Phase 1, and to sincerely thank the donors and supporters in the UK who have taken part in fundraising and events over the past two years.

We are now looking ahead to Phase 2 of the project, which will maximise the benefit of this initial investment, extending the pipework much further to reach many more people with tap stands to be installed close to homes, workplaces and schools, including into the displaced Batwa (‘pygmy’) community. Phase 2 will also incorporate a comprehensive sanitation building programme, and a significant hygiene education outreach programme. The potential is huge… and the target is a further £40k!

If you would like to support us on climbing up this rather big second hill, we would really appreciate your help! Please consider donating to phase 2 here

Thirty people came along to our quiz night in Oxfordshire, with the proceeds split between WATSAN and social enterprise Damascus Rose Kitchen.

Hosted by WATSAN trustee Kate Parrinder and her family, the quiz took place on Friday 24th May at Eynsham Village Hall. The quizmaster was Dr Bryn Harris, who gained a DPhil in Classics from the University of Oxford and made three appearances on the BBC’s University Challenge representing Wadham College in 2006, making it to the quarter finals. Bryn also has the more important accolade of being Kate’s husband.

Five teams took up the challenge, pitting their wits against the quizmaster with six rounds of questions covering general knowledge, film and TV, history, science and technology, and music (plus a picture round). Just for fun, here is a question from each round – can you spot the theme?

Which British city is said to have a greater combined length of canals than Venice?

Which 2016 Disney film tells the story of an island princess who embarks on an adventure to reunite the goddess of nature with her stolen heart?

Which 19^th century Scottish missionary famously got lost trying to find the source of the Nile?

The cause of which water-borne disease was famously discovered in an experiment by physician John Snow?

Which disco ‘smash’ of 1978 takes its lyrics from Psalm 137 of the Bible?

During the break, a delicious buffet was served provided by Damascus Rose Kitchen, an Oxford-based social enterprise serving traditional Middle Eastern dishes made with love by Arabic-speaking refugee women.

Huge thanks is owed to quizmaster Bryn for devising the ingenious and challenging quiz, and to Posy, Kate’s mum, for sponsoring the hall hire and providing gorgeous flowers for the tables.

Proceeds of the event were shared between Damascus Rose and WATSAN, and will help to fund WATSAN’s target project,  Kazuru gravity flow scheme, which will serve a large, remote community on the DRC border with its first supply of piped water.

Find out how you can support WATSAN

Pit your wits against a University Challenge quarter-finalist and enjoy an amazing buffet supper supplied by Syrian refugee women from Damascus Rose Kitchen.

Friday 24th May 2024, 7.30-10.00pm

Enter a team of up to six people to WATSAN’s quiz night at Eynsham Village Hall, and help provide clean water and dignified sanitation to communities in Uganda. Quizmaster and University Challenge alumnus Dr Bryn Harris will challenge you to answer several rounds of questions on music, history, current affairs and whatever else is going through his head that week…

The ticket price includes a fabulous buffet supper from Damascus Rose Kitchen, a local social enterprise that brings you delicious Middle Eastern food hand made by Syrian refugee women. Bring your own booze or whatever you would like to drink.

All profits will go to WATSAN Uganda, a UK charity dedicated to the support of a water and sanitation programme in South West Uganda. Thanks to WATSAN’s work, people in rural communities have access to life-saving clean water and hygienic toilet facilities.

NB if you are coming in a smaller group or alone, please do book a ticket and we will create a team for you on arrival!

Get your tickets here!

WATSAN’s trustees are planning a quiz and creative competition as part of their 2024 fundraising. Could you organise an event for WATSAN next year?

It’s not quite Christmas, but WATSAN’s trustees are already making their New Year’s resolutions! Here are our ideas so far for 2024…

Quiz night (Oxfordshire)

We may persuade former quizmaster Dr Bryn Harris or compere extraordinaire Sophie Law to take charge of our quiz… we just need a venue and some keen quizzers! We would like to organise a quiz at a pub, cricket club or village hall, somewhere near Abingdon, on a Friday in Spring 2024. Got any ideas? Want to join the organising committee? Contact trustee Kate Parrinder c/o hello@watsanuganda.org.

Creative competition and WATSAN calendar

Early next year we will invite you to submit entries in the creative arts (painting, drawing, writing, photography etc), sharing your response to the word “WATER”. The competition will close in September 2024, and the best entries will be made into a 2025 calendar that you’ll be able to buy at Christmas. Know an art critic who could be a judge, or a gratis graphic designer? Got a great prize to give away? Let us know at hello@watsanuganda.org.

Supporters are also welcome to run their own local events to raise funds for vital water and sanitation infrastructure via WATSAN. Please do get in touch if you have your own ideas!

A group of 20 adults and young people led by Rev James Hunt of St Peter’s Church, Bishop’s Waltham will travel to Uganda next summer to take part in a WATSAN trip. There are up to five spaces available on the trip currently.

The trip is the chance to visit WATSAN’s life-saving work on the ground in South-West Uganda, getting to know our amazing staff team, and meeting the communities and beneficiaries of our work. The team will be fundraising for our Kazuru gravity flow scheme project, and will carry out manual labour and community engagement work on the project in situ. The trip will take place between 15th and 31st August 2024.

There will also be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit some of Uganda’s most stunning sites, including the gorillas of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a safari at Queen Elizabeth National Park, and visits to the Kilembe mines, and Amabere Ga Nyina Mwiru Caves in Kibale Forest National Park.

You can download the full itinerary here.

The group leaders will be Rev James Hunt, who led a similar WATSAN trip in 2017, and Ian Bensted, WATSAN’s Chair, who has extensive experience travelling in Uganda. There are currently five other adults, two young adults and seven teenagers signed up for the trip, with spaces available for up to five more people from any part of the WATSAN community. Leaders are fully trained in safeguarding for young people, and the group is a mixed one of Christians and non-Christians. Before the trip you will have the chance to meet and bond with the other group members during three to four pre-departure orientation meetings in the UK – the first of which is on 7th January 2024.

The trip will cost around £2,500 per person, of which £500 will go directly towards funding the Kazuru project. The team will doing their own fundraising for travel and the cost of being in Uganda, and will also raise money for the project itself. Support will be provided to the group to raise money together.

If you are interested in joining the trip, please contact James at jameshunt1966@gmail.com or on 07570 042916.