Our partner has been working in Butema Village since 2012, where they have established a Christian pre-school and church. The pre-school has 63 children and most are poor, orphaned, and living with HIV. Approximately 100 to 150 people come to the church. There are other weekly ministry programs, and programs during school holidays, and also outreach programs for the youth and children. The community has a high number of women and children as well as a significant elderly population. Life is very difficult, with a very impoverished economy, so that many are always looking for some kind of work. Subsistence farming is the very commonplace.

The main local water source is located about 3/4 mile away. It is a swampy area where there are hand-dug wells. The water is open and unprotected, is highly contaminated and shared with animals. The water becomes especially muddy when it rains due to run-off, yet it dries up in the dry season. A pipe that carries running water once a week is located about 3/4 mile in the opposite direction, but it is very unreliable. This running water is very poor, the pressure is very low, and most of the time there is no water coming from it. There is a bore-hole even further away, but it is in a state of disrepair.

Common illnesses in this area due to unclean water are diarrhea, dysentery and malaria. Most families have experienced the death of a loved one, often children, lost as a result of unclean water.

complete november 26, 2019

The well is complete and the school children and the community are enjoying clean water! The video below shows the people of the village celebrating the opening of the well.

The well has been successfully drilled and the yield is very strong. The children will have plenty of water on hand at the school for drinking, cooking and to wash their hands before meals and after using the latrine at school. The people in the community are also excited for the arrival of clean water. 

Lack of clean water was an urgent problem in this community. They had swampy water that was shared by animals, hand-dug wells, and about 3/4 mile away, a low-pressure pipe existed that unreliably carried running water once a week (or once every two weeks), most often with no water coming from it. The water they drank made them sick with waterborne diseases.

You have changed their lives! The people of the community are commenting on how soft and good the water is. “The water is the most clean, soft, and easy to wash with. The clothes from laundry are so much nicer”. These are things we take for granted. Besides clean water to drink, cook with, and for all their household needs, they will no longer suffer with waterborne diseases caused by the water they drink, Also, they will not have to walk far distances to fetch water. What an amazing blessing for the people and for the children at the school!

On behalf of the school and the community, thank you so much!