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Rotary Areas of focus: (i) Water and sanitation.
Overview of Rwenshande Villlage.
Rwenshande village, Nyabushozi Division, Kiruhura District, Uganda, is found in the western region of Uganda. It has a population of over 6000 people 45 % of whom are semi-illiterate. The major economic activity in Rwenshande village and Kiruhura district in general is livestock farming mainly dairy farming.
Crop farming is done at subsistence level and crops mainly grown are millet, cassava and maize. The village is also characterized by short and undulating hills with also wide valleys. It has Savannah woodlands type of vegetation with a wide cover of thorny shrubs and the district has no gazetted natural forests with only existing forests that are being man made for economic and subsistence purposes. The target communities have about 875 households and they mostly use valley dams and spring water. A Jerri can of water goes for (sh.500-700, even 1000) Ugx shillings. The high cost is attributed to difficulty faced during water collection at the lake throughout dry seasons. it’s more complex to fetch water due to high altitudes & mud around the shores. The community has got a both public & private schools, churches, mosques, and a Health center III.
Issue description
There is high level of school dropouts (girls) in the three public schools in Rwenshande village due to lack of water for menstrual hygiene. The available government school in the community has no reliable source of water save for a nearby well that dries up during dry season. The community has health center that equally lack reliable source of water and sanitation facilities. High levels of neonatal and postnatal cases are reported due to mothers and expectant women walking long and risky routes in
search of water. During dry season there is high levels of mortality of livestock especially cows reported. at 2% per 1000 cows in 2020 and 3% per 10000 in 2021. Airborne diseases such as typhoid, cholera, and dysentery are common in Rwenshande community. To mitigate the WASH problem, community members contributed money to construct one borehole that currently is not enough to serve three public schools, a health center, and individual households more than 6000 people. During extreme conditions of drought and high mortality rates of livestock, families migrate to the unknown in search of
grass for cattle and safe water for home use, in the process interrupting studies of students who have to change schools, and in some communities, this has resulted into inter-tribal conflicts and death resulting from land reclaim and ownership. It is on this basis that the Rotary Club of Kampala Munyonyo seeks to support Rwensande community with a WASH project that will address highlighted problems.
Major objective of the project.
The major objective of the project is to build the local capacity of Rwensande community members to sustainably maintain and manage the available water sources (wells and one borehole), improve access to safe water and sanitation facilities in three public schools and one health center, and create to promote hygiene practices and sanitation behaviors in schools and household communities.
The objective will be achieved through the following activities:
• Awareness campaign for WASH & Environment protection
• Trainings for WASH, water harvesting, water filtration using bio-sand filters.
• Hydrological surveys
• Boreholes drilling, testing and casing.
• Solar pump installation and fabrication of panel stands.
• Construction of Water tank storage of 20,000 liters
• Construction of sanitation & hand washing facilities in schools & the community
• Piping, tap stands, taps and other accessories.
• Water filtration system construction and installation
Sustainability
For sustainability, the project will target project team and staff in the project area to maintain the water establishment through some affordable cost sharing.
Expected Results
• 7 WASH trainings targeting 1100 students, OVER 2500 COMMUNITIES people.
• Construction of water supply infrastructure at Primary & Secondary School
• Hand washing facilities in schools
• 4 Safe Water User Community Corps set up - trained in
repair & maintenance of all mechanical components, as well as, installation, monitoring & maintenance of Bio-sand filters.
• 1 Solar-powered borehole & water distribution systems
• Teachers & SMC trained in Menstrual Hygiene management.
• Total Population Served: 4400
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