In December 2024 WATSAN’s trustees received a detailed update from the team in Uganda on their progress on Kazuru, an ambitious scheme that will tackle the lack of safe drinking water by building a community water supply that uses gravity to supply a series of tap stands.

This major project has been the focus of WATSAN’s fundraising efforts over the past two years, and we were delighted to break the ground on the project in August 2024 during the visit from the mission team at St Peter’s Church.

Community engagement (aka “software”)

Best practice homes

A team of 10 families in the community were given a demonstration about how to organise the home environment to prioritise hygiene, equipping them to build their own at home.

The demonstration included the construction of a dish-drying rack, a bath shelter, a pit latrine, a compost pit and a tippy tap for hand washing. Afterwards, the participants built what they had learnt in their own homes, and by the end of the quarter, five homes had been completed.

Community meetings and training

To begin the project, a meeting was held to familiarise the members of the community with their role and explain the project. Working so closely with the community means the project is genuinely empowering of them, and enables them to maintain and operate the scheme themselves, ensuring long-term sustainability of the project. A hygiene and sanitation promotion community meeting was also held where the WATSAN team explained how local people could contribute to the construction of the project, as well as covering safeguarding and child protection.

Transect walks

The team in Uganda designed a checklist of hygiene observations to look out for on ‘transect walks’ around the community, including areas such as clothes washing and rubbish disposal, and recorded their findings to be used as a benchmark for future progress.

Construction (aka “hardware”)

Tanks to collect and purify water

Construction of the principal infrastructure to establish the GFS is complete. This includes

1. Protecting the raw water sources (“eyes”) from erosion and landslides caused by agricultural activity uphill and heavy rainfall
2. Connecting these to a 2.5m³ stone masonry water intake tank, levelling the surrounding area and planting it with environmentally friendly grass
3. Building a 4,500-litre stone masonry sedimentation tank downhill from the water intake tank, to enhance the filtration process, and connecting it to the water intake, including an overflow, washouts, and outlet for both tanks
4. Building and connecting a sedimentation tank and a reservoir tank further downhill.

The construction work was supervised weekly to ensure progress and provide encouragement to the staff and participating community.

Adapting on the spot

Because of a change to the original scheme design and the discovery of a new water source, the position of the reservoir tank and sedimentation tank was altered during the build. This involved finding a suitable new path for the water pipeline and prepping for the excavation of trenches in the next quarter.

Looking ahead

Casting our eyes to Phase 2, the Kazuru project is still our main ask, as there is still much work to be done on the initial infrastructure that has been built in Phase 1. Phase 2 will enable more pipework to be laid to supply tap stands to key local areas such as workplaces and schools. Phase 2 will also focus on a hygiene education programme and a sanitation building exercise.

Thank you so much to all of WATSAN’s donors and funders for their generosity, without which this important work would not be possible. ​

Donate now to Phase 2

Every two years, supporters of WATSAN have stepped out on challenging sponsored walks to raise funds for a specific project that is happening in Uganda. Next year’s target project will be Phase 2 of the Kazuru gravity flow scheme.

Right now we have an ambitious gravity flow scheme in progress in Kazuru, where ground was broken in August. The launch of this project was attended by this year’s tour party of 21 visitors from the UK, on the hillside above the area to be served.

WATSAN has funds for half of that scheme, but needs another £50,000 to enable the project to be completed, with another similar project waiting in the wings. An exciting aspect of this project, which is located near the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, close to the border with DR Congo, is that we may be able to extend it to serve a Batwa (former pygmy) settlement.

Biennial Walks for Water were originally centrally organised, but, since COVID, have been successfully dispersed around the country to allow more people to take part. The funds raised from these walks has been one of WATSAN’s most significant sources of funding since 2011. The trustees are keen to maintain this tradition, and are very pleased that supporter Andrew Starr has volunteered to co-ordinate and provide support for a cluster of walks proposed for a Saturday in June 2025, around the longest day – the preferred date would be Saturday 21st June, but other Saturdays in early June/July might be preferred locally. An online get-together to connect with other regional walkers will be organised on the evening of 21st June.

We normally hope for about ten walks across the whole country. Some supporters have organised walks before and may be in a position to do so again. Others may like to pass the baton to a family member or friend, or take up the challenge for the first time themselves. Being a walk leader means planning a route of up to 20 miles (but it could be much less); recruiting walkers from your local networks; managing a safe environment on the day; and organising local sponsorship (support provided).

Please contact Andrew Starr on leicstarr@gmail.com before the end of December to register your interest.

We are creating a brand-new 2025 wall calendar to help you plan your months, and to raise money and awareness for WATSAN. Order in time for Christmas for our imminent print run.

The calendars will feature a selection of images from WATSAN’s projects and work, and you can display them proudly in your home as a supporter of WATSAN, or give them to friends and family as presents. They will be A5 wall calendars with a grid format for each day of the month, so that you can write in key dates.

The cost per calendar is £14.00 plus postage, payable by bank transfer. Please complete the form below by 30th November 2024 to receive your calendar.

WATSAN calendar order form

WATSAN supporter Mandy McIntosh runs a fair trade shop in Ashby de la Zouch and online. To mark World Toilet Day on 19th November, she is donating 10% of her takings to WATSAN from 15th to 30th November 2024.

The offer will include both sales from Mandy’s bricks and mortar shop, and her online shop www.fair2all.net, where you can buy upcycled and fair trade gifts, homewares, accessories and cards.

In 2017 Mandy was part of a team who went to South West Uganda and participated in a WATSAN project working with the local community to provide latrines in their school. Once the latrine block for older girls was completed, over 60 girls returned to education.

WATSAN’s trustees would like to thank Mandy very much for once again making this generous contribution to WATSAN, as she does every year for World Toilet Day. And of course, we encourage other supporters to do their Christmas shopping on the Fair2All website!

Visit the Fair2All website

At our trustee meeting on 19th October 2024, WATSAN’s founder and Chair since 2004 stepped down, handing over the Chair to Graham Piper, who has been a trustee and Vice-Chair for many years.

Ian founded WATSAN Uganda – UK Support in 2004, having worked as a consultant for WaterAid in the region since 1986. He built connections and friendships in North Kigezi and Kinkiizi Dioceses of South-West Uganda that continue to this day, and are the basis of the impact WATSAN is making every year to people living in the poorest rural communities in those areas.

During Ian’s time as WATSAN’s Chair, alongside his wife Ellie he has been instrumental in:

• Raising over £1m in donations
• Building 12 gravity flow schemes
• Bringing on board 235 committed supporters and six current trustees
• Organising 23 Walks for Water
• Constructing 18 institutional projects in schools and community centres
• Transforming the lives of over 200,000 people.

The handover was the culmination of several months of planning, including Ian’s last trip to Uganda alongside the group led by his son-in-law James Hunt from St Peter’s Church.

At the meeting Ian paid tribute to the other trustees, and put full confidence in Graham to lead WATSAN into the future. Trustees agreed that Graham had a hard act to follow, but that no-one was better placed than him to take the reins from Ian! Trustees presented Ian and Ellie with a card, photo book of memories and hand-written messages, and some salad servers made from Ankole cattle horns.

WATSAN’s Patron, Bishop Andrew Watson, said to Ian: “Thank you for all the tremendous work you have done in supplying clean water and proper sanitation to a corner of Western Uganda. Your commitment to this has been exemplary, and the love you have poured into it. I, along with thousands of others, am so grateful.”

WATSAN Uganda’s Director, Rev Canon Eric Baingana, said: “As you retire, always remember that we, the people of Rukungiri and Kanungu Districts, shall live to remember you for the supply of accessible, safe and clean water, and improvement of sanitation and hygiene in our communities. Thank you for your immeasurable support.”

Ian and Ellie remain trustees of WATSAN Uganda – UK Support and will continue to share their experience and wisdom with the team.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer trustee or associate with WATSAN, please contact us!