When one water tap makes all the difference
The community water tap is positively influencing education, health and child protection outcomes in north-eastern Uganda
It’s 9:00 a.m. at Kamacharikol Centre Village in Kaabong District. The community water tap looks like a busy market place as mothers, girls, and boys laugh and jostle as they line up to collect water, all done in adherence to the Standard Operating Procedures in the fight against COVID-19. There is a long line of water jerrycans _ 20 litres for the adults and 5 litres for the children. The water pressure is so high that it takes under a minute to fill the containers and everyone disperses in different directions to attend to other duties.
The community water tap has become a welcome mainstay and lifeline for the village. Handed over to the community in November 2020, the tap is an extension of a larger motorized solar powered water system from the neighbouring Kamacharikol Primary School - installed by the Institute for Cooperation and Development (C&D) with UNICEF support and funding from the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
The taps that are opened daily from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and later from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., serve over 5,000 people from about 104 households in Kamacharikol and neighbouring villages.
The mothers and girls testify that the tap stand has relieved them from the daily burden of trekking to distant, unsafe water points, for dirty water after majority of the boreholes in their neighbourhood had broken down. With the new tap stand, water is closer to their homes and they can fetch multiple times a day.
20km for dirty water
Loongo Piriminah a pregnant mother who has just arrived at the tap stand recalls the times when they fetched water from a river, 20kms away.
“We relied on rainwater and rarely went to the river because of the distance. I would only go to the river once in 3 days thus bathing wasn’t a priority, and hygiene was poor. Today, I can visit the tap stand up to 10 times a day and bathe daily.”
12-year-old Nakiru Betty, also highlights that she used to trek to Peikale River for two hours to fetch water. She currently spends a maximum of 10 minutes to reach the new water source. “I use the clean water for cooking, bathing, and washing.”
Access to water as a means of child protection
Lemu John Benson the Chairperson of the Water User Committee and Scheme Operator mentions that before the community tap stand was installed, parents worried about the protection of their children especially girls who travelled to the distant riverbank. As a committee member of Kamacharikol Primary School, Lemu has seen the changes brought by the water system. “Previously our pupils reported late to school. They had to first fetch water for home use before reporting to school. But today, they can do that very fast then report to school in time for class, and for the first time ever, we registered a pupil with a first grade.” Lemu is also confident that the school attendance by girls has improved due to availability of water which enables them better manage menstrual hygiene.
The role of community in sustaining school water systems
UNICEF’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Specialist, John Bosco Kimuli-Sempala, explains that for all school water systems, a provision is made for the communities because it enhances community ownership of the water systems, thus enhancing sustainability.
“Over the years we have noticed that systems that lacked the community tap were facing serious operation, maintenance and vandalism challenges,” Kimuli mentioned. “However, this changed with community involvement, once they feel engaged, they maintain and protect the systems from vandalism”.
Operation and management of the community water tap
Through its implementing partner, the Institute for Cooperation and Development (C&D), UNICEF has trained communities on how to operate the community taps and keep them clean and protected from animals. Preventive maintenance which includes monitoring the system and occasional repairs of broken pipes and taps is also given priority.
To enhance accountability for system operation and maintenance, the school and community member have constituted a water user committee with representation from both entities.
Whereas the water is free of charge, a monthly user fee of one thousand Uganda Shillings is levied per household and the funds utilized to cover costs related to repairs. Additionally, experts from C&D periodically monitor the water system to ensure uninterrupted supply of safe and clean water.
Stationed in between households, the tap may seem like an insignificant element, but is changing the lives of countless women, children, and households in Kamacharikol.
Priminah, the pregnant mother, concludes with a smile,
“The water is also connected to the health facility so I will not have to carry water when I go to give birth.
