Water
The Most Essential Necessity
This critical undertaking was our very first project in the winter of 2020.
Kyojjomanyi Village is in what is called a "dry corridor." There are seasonal rains, but water is not dependable.
Fr. Peter Walusimbi
When young Fr. Peter, a seminarian ministering at Saints Faith, Hope, and Charity Church in Illinois, shared with the congregation the daily struggle of his home village in Uganda, it was difficult to comprehend.
He described how women and children walked at least 30 minutes each way just to collect dirty water from a pond. Once they filled their heavy jerry cans, they made the long trek back—carrying the very resource essential to their families’ survival.
For them, this was not a choice, but a necessity. Time that could have been spent in school or work, was consumed by this exhausting task. And then they had to gather firewood, so they could boil it for at least 10 minutes so it was safe to drink.
Drinking pond water was simply a way of life for them.
Although the Ugandan government then brought water to the village from an unreliable source, the school, located two kilometers away, was still without access. SMG did get some rainwater off of its roofs to add to the water supply.
That is when T.H.R.I.V.E. Foundation began to implement improvements, and extended the government pipeline to the school. But this water still needed to be boiled. And worse yet, this source ran dry periodically, so SMG had to buy trucked-in water at much higher cost.
T.H.R.I.V.E. FOUNDATION
BROUGHT FRESH WATER TO SMG
T.H.R.I.V.E. Foundation then decided that the school needed a permanent solution that would provide a dependable supply throughout the year of clean water that would not require boiling. The solution was to partner with Wells of Life and drill a borehole. After drilling its deepest well ever, and not striking water, the team drilled another well and successfully struck water in this dry region in September, 2023.
What joy! Water is a true blessing in this area!
Next, villagers were hired to dig trenches for a pipeline distribution network, the first one Wells of Life ever built, to bring this water to multiple locations on SMG’s campus. For example, we installed a passive solar hot water heater for the laundry.
With this distribution system in place, along with the captured rainwater, the school has now achieved a self-sufficient, cost-effective, dependable supply of water, eliminating dependence on the unreliable government supply, the precious time spent collecting water and firewood, as well as the pollution and deforestation associated with boiling unclean water.
As SMG further develops its campus, the pipeline distribution will be extended to additional points of use. The rainwater catchment program will similarly expand. And we hope to introduce water conservation and recycling practices to get even more benefit from this essential resource for sustainably improving the lives of the children and villagers of Kyojjomanyi.
