In 2021, Drop in the Bucket’s drillers were looking at several schools in the Omoro district of northern Uganda. One of the schools we visited was Ogwari Community. Set up by concerned parents who wanted their children to get an education despite there being no schools nearby.
The water situation at the school was bad. The nearest water source was 2km away, which was far from ideal. It was what the locals call an unprotected well – basically somewhere the ground water came to just below the ground level. The people from the community dug down to make it easier to access the water. But it was still ground water and therefore prone to contamination.
This particular water hole was also being used by livestock and it was a common sight for people to walk up and see a pig standing in the water drinking.
In Feb 2021, Drop in the Bucket drilled a well at the Ogwari Community school. We drilled down to a depth of 50 meters to reach the aquifer. This water was very clean and safe to drink and due to the depth there was no risk of it being contaminated.
To read more about the Ogwari Community school click this link.