KAKIFULUKWA VILLAGE,  UGANDA

FUNDED OCTOBER 12, 2022

Kakifulukwa Village, in Kamirambazi Ward, Butemba Subcountry, Kyankwanzi District has 357 households with 1428 people.
The village currently has no clean water close by.  And the only water source currently are open ponds in the low-lying swampy area.  The ponds are full of frogs and snakes and the watering hole is used by both domestic and wild animals.  Illnesses like typhoid are rampant in water sources like this one.

The largest human cost is also the largest economic cost.  Illness can decimate a family quickly, not just health wise, but financially as well.  Medicine is extremely expensive in Uganda, and often must be retrieved over distances, since not every area has access to
clinics.  A day’s dose of medication for something like Typhoid is an average day’s wages.  So if someone is ill, not only do they lose out on any potential daily wages, that they could use to feed their family, they are actually losing two days’ worth for every day sick.  It’s a cycle that is difficult to get out of, especially considering that somewhere around 20 villagers can be sick with any of these illnesses at any given time.  That’s potentially 20 households suffering from loss of ability to purchase food.  The impact is great, and the solution is clean water.

The funding for future repairs and maintenance is a two-part process.  When the village, or school in this case, is chosen for a well, they sign a contract stating that they will do their best to set aside a few pennies per month to help cover the cost of future repairs.    In the past, we did not do this and the villagers did not step in to take care of the well because they did not fully feel like it was theirs. This method acts as a guarantee that they will take ownership of the well.  This ‘buy in’ is the key to CEED’s long term success.  Because the villages have the contract for care of the well, in their minds the wells belong to them, and they work hard to make sure that the pump is cared for, and the well base is kept free of plant that could damage the concrete or well casing.  This means that our wells have a very long life span, in contrast to the poorly maintained government wells.

In 2020 CEED took the opportunity to do a survey of 20 villages that have access to one of our wells.  On average each village experienced a 70% reduction in illness across the board.  Typhoid, Cholera, parasites, and water born illnesses dropped significantly.  We do understand that there are, of course, other factors that play a part in community health, but it all must start with access to clean water.  This survey is unique in that we have yet to find another study that isolates the impact of a well itself.

We also learned that water is at the core of the poverty cycle in the area. When the villagers are sick, they cannot work, and most medicines and doctor’s visits require on average a day’s wage for a dose. This means that either another adult must work to cover the costs, or the person in need of treatment must use his wages when he returns to cover the cost. One illness can jeopardize job and food security for a whole family. And when some 20 odd villagers are potentially ill at once time, 20 households can be thrust back into a poverty cycle at any given time.

We are also known for requiring domestic violence contracts from the villages where we know that it is an issue.  If the village wants the well, the husbands must agree to be kind to their wives. So far it has been a very effective tool for improving the lives of the village
women on top of the other improvements that come from clean water.

The village is surrounded by two schools and a Pentecostal church, all of which could benefit from this well.  Schools in Uganda are able to teach Christian principles and biblical truths in a way that American schools cannot. In addition, when we dig, our wells we bring in a solar powered projection system and play the Jesus film to everyone who comes to watch the well be dug.  The film is in
their local dialect, and everyone who lives in the area around the village will come to watch the machinery working. It becomes quite the event with hundreds of locals watching the story of Jesus unfold. And when the well is dedicated, a minister from a nearby church will come to bless the new well, growing the connection between villages and churches within a walkable distance.

COMPLETED FEBRUARY 16, 2023

Bad news, good news.

Bad news:  Completion of the well at Kakifulukwa Village was delayed by an extended rainy season, and then by logistics problems getting the inscribed plaque for the well.  We had to wait for the plaque to be fitted. The casing was delayed due to weather.

Good news:  The well was successfully drilled in late October, and the villagers have had fresh, clean water available to them!  

Well Statistics
Project Type:     borehold with hand pump
Water Flow:       3500 ltr/hr, 58.3 ltr/min
Well Capacity:   15.4 gal/min
People Served:  1,428

Below are some pictures from the drilling process.

Inscribed casing and run-off trough

The following pictures were captured at the dedication celebration. 

The wooden enclosure installed around the well is intended to protect the well from vandals, not to prevent people from using it. 
The well is and will be accessible to everyone who wants to access the well. This will be especially poignant in this location, as there is a Muslim mosque nearby, farther than the Pentecostal church.  A well that is donated by a Christian organization, and inscribed with a bible verse, is a powerful outreach tool to the local Muslims. Christianity is the majority in Uganda, so there aren’t many of our locations that are likely to have as much of a mixing of religious beliefs. And the Jesus film is one of the only outreach tools that doesn’t draw an outcry from Muslim teachers (likely because they cannot deny the history, even as they do not acknowledge the message), so this well is in a perfect spot to reach those who do not know the gospel.

There is a run-off trough at the base of the pump, and in a drought the village may offer water to local farmers for irrigation.

The grateful people of Kakifulukwa Village