AGABA NURSERY & PRIMARY SCHOOL IN KABAJEKERE VILLAGE, UGANDA

FUNDED AUGUST 2, 2023

Agaba Nursery and Primary School is located in Kabajekere Village, within the Kakumiro District, in the Katikara Subcounty of Uganda. The school is a mixed boarding and day school with 520 pupils, and the village has 100 households.  Together that is over 1,020 people.

The only water source in the area is a dammed pond. Villages will do what they can to create these ponds, because it collects the water for the dry season. The villagers know that the water is contaminated with Typhoid and other bacteria, but they also know that without
that dirty water they will not survive the dry season.  Every village with this kind of water source experiences illness in every family every few months. Pregnant mothers, children and the elderly are especially vulnerable to water borne illness and there will be deaths every year. And since this is a school, there are hundreds of children gathering water from this source every day. The children aren’t always careful, and won’t wait for an adult to boil the water before they drink it. If they become sick they will be sent home from school, some will die, others that do get sick, but recover, miss so much school that they may never continue their education.

Their parents are using their life savings to buy medicine for their children, trapping whole families in a cycle of poverty all for the lack of clean water. They can no longer pay for tuition, they are working to keep their children alive.

This project will provide a borehole well and a mechanical hand pump, bringing clean water for all of the students and villagers.

CEED’S EXPERIENCE

CEED has been drilling clean water wells in Uganda for over a decade.  We have two small drilling rigs and one ‘Big Rig’ that can punch through layers of rock that the smaller rigs cannot. The CEED-Uganda Manager is Herbert Asiimwe. He has been with CEED for almost as long as we have been drilling.  He is well known in the area for his expertise.  And our drilling teams have an average of over 10 years of experience on drilling rigs.

CEED Uganda is also a non-profit organization.  All funds go to paying our teams, as well as buying the necessary drilling supplies, concrete, drill steel, hand pumps, etc.

WELL MAINTENANCE & REPAIRS

It is important that the villagers take full ownership of the wells we drill.  If they do not, then wells can fall into disrepair, not for the lack of funds, but because no on in the village will take responsibility to inform us that something is wrong.  To solve this issue CEED requires a Water Committee in each village.  The villagers each contribute a small amount of money to the village water fund.  That fund is then used for any future repairs.  We’ve never turned a village down for a repair if they didn’t have the actual repair cost.  But the very act of
gathering the funds and ‘buying in’ causes the villagers to take ownership of their well and to care for it.  The well space stays weeded and clean;  the pump is treated with care, and the village has water for years to come.

CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP

When we drill our wells we bring a solar projector and the ‘Jesus’ film that has been dubbed in the native language of the area. Dozens of villages come to see the film.  And since CEED is in the act of providing for their physical needs, this film has a great impact. After all if the Lord sent  money from the United States for a clean water well, then He must truly love the people of the village.  I have seen churches grow around well sites as villagers gain a practical understanding of how much the Lord cares about them.

And many of the schools in Uganda are run by Christians. The children will learn about the Lord as they go through their daily lessons. So the more children come to the school because of clean water, the more they can hear about the Lord and His love for them.

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.

The impact of clean water also has a ripple effect on the community. Parents currently spend much of their income on medical treatment for water-born illnesses, and occasionally animal bites and other injuries. When the well is drilled and the village can safely access clean water, the villagers will be able to use their income for other things like more seeds for crops, bricks for new buildings, and even new plots of land to grow food on. One well truly does change everything for a village.

PROJECT COSTS AND TIMELINE

Total Project Cost: $5,000

Cost break out:

• Materials:         $3,900
• Labor:                   $650
• Administrative:  $450

Future maintenance:  The villagers collect a penny or two a month from each household to keep for maintenance. This system ensures that the well is fully adopted by the village and cared for.

Other Costs:  If we hit rock, the well will need to be drilled by the big rig. That may cost more, but we will likely match funding from another source.

Funding Requested from ILW:  $5000

Date Funding Required:  As soon as possible

Estimated Project Start Date:  Within 2-3 weeks of funding date

Estimated Project Completion Date: Within 2-3 months of funding date