WATSAN continues its concerted effort to check and maintain existing water and sanitation projects across the region – known in Uganda as “sustainability” – under the supervision of dedicated Sustainability Coordinator Marius Katunguka.

Sustainability – ensuring past projects are still functioning within the communities they serve – has been a key strategic priority for WATSAN’s trustees and Ugandan team over the past two years. In 2014 WATSAN appointed Marius (pictured explaining the needs of an unprotected spring) as its dedicated Sustainability Coordinator, providing the resource to identify and prioritise maintenance work.

In 2015, the charity was fortunate to benefit from the support of former Thames Water planning expert, Mark Wickstead, who carried out an extended study during a six-week trip on the ground in Uganda. His report is enabling WATSAN to map every scheme in the project area, and record detailed feedback on what specific and general work is required to keep these facilities working to their full potential.

Since then, Marius and other members of the team have been carrying out Mark’s recommendations. In particular, sustainability project activities have been carried on Nyarushanje, Nyambizi, Karerema, Karinoni and Kiringa gravity flow schemes. In the third quarter of 2016 alone, 36 springs were assessed in Buyanja Sub County, Rukungiri district. You can read more detail about this work in the WATSAN staff team’s quarterly reports.

Looking towards the future, the team is now mobilising the latest technology to ensure ongoing maintenance and sustainability. For example, in order to pinpoint the exact locations of over 2,000 springs in the project area – some of which are well off the beaten track – the team is using GPS technology to methodically locate and record each one.

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All Saints church in Faringdon is hosting a slap-up meal in aid of WATSAN.

The meal at The Barber Rooms in All Saints church costs just £15 per head, with all proceeds benefiting WATSAN. This includes a complimentary drink and entertainment, starting from 7pm on Friday 25th November.

To attend, please contact Margaret Starr on 01367 240201 or at margaret.starr@gmail.com.

 

The Sculpture Trail brought together a stunning collection of artworks in the setting of Anne Gow’s family farm near Faringdon. The curator Lendon Scantlebury donated 5% of each sale to WATSAN.

The innovative art exhibition, Sculpture on the Farm, was an installation of nearly 300 works of art, including sculpture and paintings by local artists. Sculptor Scantlebury carefully drew on his long experience as an exhibition organiser to bring together an eclectic mix of artworks, forming a fascinating trail among the animals and landscape of Farmer Gow’s.

During the exhibition, which ran from 23rd September to 9th October, WATSAN volunteers were on hand to answer questions and raise the profile of the work being done to improve lives in Uganda. Pictured is trustee Caroline Maclean with supporter Brian Bartlett, who hand-crafts all of WATSAN’s “Spend a penny” collection boxes.

Of the artwork sales, 10% of the funds raised were dedicated to supporting WATSAN and Oxford Friends of Hope and Faith School. The exhibition saw 630 visitors, and the proceeds to WATSAN totalled a fantastic £1,600. Once again we would like to thank Anne Gow for giving us this wonderful opportunity and being such an enthusiastic advocate for WATSAN’s work, and Lendon Scantlebury for his generosity.

Join Anne and other supporters at our next Walk for Water fundraiser

WATSAN’s team on the ground mobilised members of the local community to clear undergrowth around water sources, carry raw materials to the site, and participate in training.

Buhunga gravity flow scheme is an ambitious project to make the most of multiple natural water sources (“water eyes”) in a rural area near to Rukungiri in South-Western Uganda. The eyes had the potential to supply water to a population of 2,183 people from six villages, including three primary schools and one secondary school. Existing provision in the area consisted solely of one protected source, a sedimentation tank and a community spring – and all these existing structures required repairs and improvement.

As well as repairing the existing facilities, WATSAN is building a brand-new intake at the water source, a large reservoir tank, and 11 kilometres of pipeline leading to 15 new community tapstands and 16 new toilets. This will make a huge difference to people living in one of Uganda’s poorest regions.

As with all projects, WATSAN ensures that the local community and ultimate beneficiaries of this work are involved at every stage. For the Buhunga project, locals have been providing unskilled labour towards the start of the work, removing bushes around the water source using hoes, slashers and pangs. During this process they had to battle with local wildlife, such as a swarm of bees that was disturbed during the clearance work!

Following this, community members were tasked with carrying raw materials needed for the construction work to parts of the site that vehicles could not reach so that WATSAN’s skilled craftsmen could build the required structures. Finally, three community meetings were organised by WATSAN staff, aimed at educating beneficiaries on hygiene and sanitation, and give them training on the maintenance and financial management of the facilities. This should ensure that the project is sustainable and that the community takes as much ownership as possible over ongoing good use.

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Even persistent rain could not dampen the spirits of the guests at Stephen and Julie Bullett’s joyful silver wedding and housewarming celebration recently.

Guests were asked not to bring presents, but instead to consider making a donation to WATSAN’S Rumbugu Primary School project, and £600 was raised, a splendid total which, added to existing dedicated  funds, will mean that some preliminary work at the school may be started quite soon.

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