Suffering from avoidable health problems has become a tragic way of life in developing countries. Millions of people are challenged by the burden of infectious disease, malnutrition, and health complications simply because they do not have access to clean drinking water. Many diseases, such as bilharzia, are contracted from unsanitary water. Also known as snail fever or more formally as schistosomiasis, bilharzia, which was a problem for Kahangi village, is caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes from water snails.
The provision of safe clean water for drinking and other domestic use, entails also the safe disposal of waste (toilet and other waste) and health promotion activities to encourage protective healthy behavioral practices amongst the population. Nearly 90 percent of Uganda’s 37 million people live in small towns and rural areas, and roughly two thirds of them lack access to safe water.
More Water Facts:
- Over half the population in Uganda lacks a safe place to go to the toilet.
- 8 million People in Uganda don’t have access to safe water. This is almost a quarter of the population.
- Over 22 million people don’t have access to adequate sanitation in Uganda, almost two thirds of the population.
- Over 12,000 children die every year from diarrhea caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation in Uganda.
Pit latrine coverage in Uganda is low, 47%. A study done by UNICEF(1993) showed that pit latrine coverage was 20% and those families who have the pit latrines but do not using them, while others have them but in poor hygienic conditions, and yet others do not have them at all. As a result of this, there is a high incidence of diseases caused by poor sanitary conditions especially worm infestation and diarrhea diseases.
Together with our guests, Justice Tourism Foundation’s Philanthropy Program is working toward eliminating these problems among the local communities where we operate in Uganda. So far we have constructed five water sources (spring wells) using the gravitational water flow system. The water is filtered using traditional water filtering systems using lake sand, gravel stones and activated Charcoal, designed to deliver safe clean drinking water for the local communities. The traditional purification technology converts contaminated water into safe drinking water by removing a minimum of 99.9999% of bacteria, 99.999% of viruses and 99.99% of protozoan parasites. It prevents waterborne diseases common in Africa, such as diarrhea, typhoid, cholera, worms, and cryptosporidiosis. It’s chemical free, and does not require electrical power or batteries. And on top of that, we have constructed eight pit latrines for Kahangi village and neighbouring communities.