Author: dangieschen

Drop in the Bucket is Drilling Water Wells for Health Centers in Uganda

Post author By dangieschen
Post date August 27, 2020

Water Wells for Health Centers in Uganda

Around the world, millions are navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. And in rural Uganda communities have the added challenge of living without access to clean water. One place lack of water becomes a striking concern is rural health centers and clinics.

Rural clinics are the first line of health defense for remote communities throughout Africa. These local medical facilities, often staffed with only nurses, midwives or medical assistants, are the thing that stands between life and death for vulnerable and sick community members.

These are small but crucial institutions. They may be stark, with few instruments and minimal staff but they are a true lifeline.

The Deadly Lack of Clean Water

Since the majority of households have only a bicycle for transportation, each day, in villages throughout Uganda, sick, injured and pregnant patients are walked, wheeled or physically carried into these rudimentary facilities with life-threatening conditions such as malaria, typhoid, infections, and yes… flus and viruses.

Although there are many challenges faced by the tireless healthcare workers, one of the biggest concerns is lack of clean water.

Imagine having to collect unclean water to clean a wound, give a feverish child some medicine or clean off a newborn baby. And now, as the COVID-19 pandemic rages, imagine adding the responsibility of protecting the community and patients from the deadly and highly-contagious virus.

Last month, as we wrapped up our most recent drilling projects, the local leaders from Pader district requested a meeting with us. They drove two-hours to our office to discuss the possibility of DROP drilling water for some of their desperate rural health centers. And although we did not have the funding at the time, we knew we had to try and help. This is why we are reaching out to you. We know times are tough for everyone right now, but if you are able to help, we could use your support.

How you can help!

So, for the remainder of 2020, DROP is dedicating our entire focus to raising money to drill wells for 20 health centers in Pader District of northern Uganda.

Please join us and support our campaign – 20 wells for 20 clinics in 2020 .

Thank you for your support.

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August Drilling Updates

Post author By dangieschen
Post date August 26, 2020

Socially distanced hygiene and sanitation trainings being carried out by Drop in the Bucket in Uganda.

The Difficulties of Working in Africa During Covid

The COVID-19 crisis has had an enormous impact on the whole world for most of this year. Working in Africa during Covid was always going to be challenging. But here in Uganda, life has been at a standstill. Schools have been closed since March and gatherings of over a dozen people are banned. All of the country’s borders have been tightly shut down. Since the need for clean water is so urgent, Drop in the Bucket has been allowed to keep drilling, although under strict guidelines.

We recently finished drilling 12 wells for communities and schools in Pader and Nwoya districts of northern Uganda. And, last month, we were given the green light to finally begin our community trainings. With guidance from the local Covid-19 task forces, we have now completed training all of the village water management committees. These groups were trained on strategies for proper care and maintenance of the new wells. The participants were required to wear face masks and sit in marked positions that adhere to the social distancing guidelines during the trainings. We also included an additional hygiene component that focuses on COVID-19 related procedures for operating the hand pumps and keeping the community safe. Water users are also required to wear face masks around the wells at all times, avoid congregating, and wash their hands before pumping water.

It has been a long three months of working without community involvement. Because of COVID-19, the communities were not even allowed to watch drilling progress. This was not normal and we missed them.

Our 20 wells for 20 Health Centers in Uganda Campaign

Our 2020 campaign will be aimed at providing clean water for 20 clinics and health centers in northern Uganda. Please consider supporting this campaign as we work to help these communities stay healthy and fight the virus. Working in Africa during Covid may be challenging, but at Drop in the Bucket we have never backed away from a challenge.

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World Refugee Day 2017

Post author By dangieschen
Post date June 20, 2017

Today is World Refugee Day. Drop in the Bucket’s team spent the day in the Palabek refugee settlement in Uganda where we are working to provide clean water to the 31,000 South Sudanese who have fled their homeland because of famine and conflict. More than three million people, or a third of South Sudan’s population, have fled their homes, creating Africa’s biggest refugee crisis since the Rwandan genocide. These refugees have been given a small plot of land in Uganda and are now attempting to start over in their new country.

This morning as we drove out to the settlement to do our work, the reality of being a refugee became very personal. A young South Sudanese student who is being sponsored to attend high school in Uganda is interning with the DROP drilling team for this summer. His name is John Lual Deng and he is studying Agriculture at Kampala University. Deng grew up in a refugee camp in Kenya during the war. But because of the opportunity he has been given to attend school, he is excelling academically.

John Luol Deng tending to a lamb in Uganda

Deng’s dream is to teach his people about farming. He believes that South Sudan has vast potential to grow food and should never experience death because of famine! His dream is for his children to know a life without war and suffering, a place where people live peacefully and abundantly. His face lights up when he talks about more efficient methods of irrigation and organic fertilizers. His dreams may be big but they are attainable and he is prepared to work for them.

Today Deng is working to provide clean water to the refugee camp. He believes in DROPs mission to provide clean water to these people as they take the first steps toward building their new lives. They may have only a few possessions but what they do have is hope…. hope for a new beginning…. a land where their children can live without fear….. and a place where they can get an education and thrive.

On this International Refugee Day, as we look around at the Palabek refugee settlement, we do not see the faces of sad desperate people. We see a bit of optimism and a glimmer of a new beginning. We see vast human potential!

Please help us make this possible

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Check out our latest Video

Post author By dangieschen
Post date December 2, 2016

Award winning music video director Nathan Karma Cox recently came out to Uganda to check out our work firsthand. He put together this video with graphics from our friend Rodrigo Gava.

The music is a remix of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs song “Under the Earth” that they were kind enough to give us to use in the video. Special thanks to Karen, Nick and Brian from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tony and Laura from Ciulla Management, Joe Betts from BMG and everyone from UMG for making this happen and being so supportive.

Also special thanks to Nathan Cox, Rodrigo Gava and of course Nick Launay and Ming Vauze for their amazing remix.

We hope you enjoy the video and if you do please consider sharing it on your social media channels.

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Rhoda Anayo VSLA Group Member

Post author By dangieschen
Post date October 29, 2015

Meet Rhoda Anayo

Rhoda Anayo is a passionate entrepreneur, wife, and mom to six children, all of whom attend school. Her eldest son is a senior in high school and wants to continue his education at a university, but will first need to pass his exams at the end of this year. Rhoda’s husband grows sugar cane, which Rhoda is then able to sell at her savvy makeshift market stall.

Rhoda started her business in July of 2014 and now, over a year later, she has made 300,000 shillings (close to 90 US dollars). Compared to what businesswomen make in America per year, this might not seem like a lot, but in Uganda, Rhoda’s starting business is proving to be quite successful. She got this opportunity by borrowing money from the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) Drop in the Bucket requires of her village, Dokolo Komuda.

How a VLSA Group Works

The Dokolo Komuda VSLA works in a systematic way so that community members have a chance to start any business venture. The association began with each member paying 1,000 shillings per week (less than one US dollar per week) in order to build the total savings pool. Members can now borrow up to 250,000 shillings (around 70 US dollars) with a one-time interest rate of 20 percent. They have 30 days to repay the amount borrowed including interest.

Changing Lives Through Empowerment

For someone like Rhoda, daily life would normally involve domestic tasks such as cleaning, cooking, and taking care of her children, but with the VSLA, Rhoda can now spend some of her time making money to better provide for her family and help her community. Rhoda started her business by borrowing 100,000 shillings (almost 30 US dollars) in order to buy the necessary items to put together her market stall – flour, sweets, soap, bread, and other small items. She paid her loan with the added interest back shortly. She again borrowed 200,000 shillings (almost 60 US dollars) in order to increase her inventory and make even more profit. Rhoda makes 80,000-100,000 shillings per week, which means she is extremely successful based on how much she initially borrowed.

Rhoda is so grateful she was given the chance to start her own business. She has noticed that since her market stall was up and running, her family’s total income increased, making it easier to meet their immediate needs, such as schooling costs, clothing, food, etc. Her children can now have better lives and more opportunities. Rhoda has big plans for the future of her business. She wants to start cultivating rice in the nearby swamps, which would make her even more money and provide her community with a steady food staple.

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Progress at Madera

Post author By dangieschen
Post date June 16, 2015

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has donated to our fundraising campaign to provide clean water and toilets at the Madera School for the Blind in Uganda. This is the largest project we have ever taken on for a single school and it is considerably more expensive than anything we have done in the past, but it is also one of the projects we are most proud of.

Here are some photos that show the construction that is coming along nicely. Both sets of septics are now finished and both sets of toilets are almost done. In the photos you can see a sink and the boys urinal that are close to being finished. We still have to finish the showers and we still need to raise some money for the solar pump. If you are interested in making a donation please click here
Thank you so much for making this all possible with your amazing generosity and support.

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Progress at the St Francis Madera School for the Blind

Post author By dangieschen
Post date June 16, 2015

An update on our work at the St Francis Madera School for the Blind

Construction at the boys’ urinal at the St Francis Madera school for the blind in Uganda.

Two sight impaired children walk past the new toilets at the St Francis Madera School for the Blind

Here are some photos that show the construction that is coming along nicely. Both sets of septics are now finished and both sets of toilets are almost done. In the photos you can see a sink and the boys urinal that are close to being finished. We still have to finish the showers and we still need to raise some money for the solar pump. If you are interested in making a donation please click here

Thank you so much for making this all possible with your amazing generosity and support.

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Madera School For the Blind

Post author By dangieschen
Post date February 17, 2015

Help Shine a New Light for Blind Children in Uganda
Every child deserves a clean and safe place to learn and play. Help us build a proper sanitation facility for the only School for the Blind in Uganda.
For many parents in Uganda, just taking care of basic needs for themselves and their children can be challenging. Taking care of a blind child with special needs is just not possible for many families.
The St. Francis Primary School for the Blind fulfills those needs. Since 1955, it has been the only school in all of Uganda dedicated to educating visually impaired children.
One of the biggest problems facing the school is sanitation. The school’s only toilet is a single dirty pit latrine that would be intolerable even for children with sight. Moreover, this single toilet is currently shared among the boys and girls. The school desperately needs better and separate toilets.
Drop In The Bucket is a nonprofit organization that has been building wells and sanitation systems in schools throughout Africa. We have reconfigured the design of our toilet specifically for these children. The total cost of the project will be $80,000.
If you could imagine what your day would be like without a toilet, please consider making a donation. Just a $20 donation will help provide a cleaner place for these kids to thrive.

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This is Winnie Ayute

Winnie Ayute (15 years), Agama Primary School:

I’m in Primary Six and our school is one of the largest schools in the district. There are 790 pupils including 342 girls. Before Drop in the Bucket drilled a well on the school compound, nearest source of water was a swamp at the Agule village which is about two kilometers away. We used to fetch water, which meant carrying 20-litre jerry cans on our heads. We hated the task because it is very far to walk and we had to walk through bushes. Because the filled jerry cans were heavy we would have to stop and rest along the way. Our teachers would angry when we were late getting back to class.
Sometimes boys from the village would wait for us at the water source and would mess with us. Usually they were just playing, but they would grab our containers, which made us even later. After school I would walk home at 5pm in the evening. Once I was home I would be told to fetch water from the same source for our home. At school we would fetch water in a group but at home I would go alone, which would scare me.

We are now happy that we no longer walk distances to fetch water. The bore hole Drop drilled at our school is located within the compound and it has clean water for us to drink and wash. I also come here to collect water when I return home, so I’m saved from walking in the bushes and I will no longer be disturbed by boys. I feel I’m safe now because of Drop in the Bucket and the well.

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Check out our Holiday Video

Post author By dangieschen
Post date December 21, 2014

We just launched our new fundraising platform that allows people to contribute the individual items that it takes to build a well, and our good friends at Kilograph helped us put together this great Holiday video.
You can check out the video here
Or go straight to this link to see how you can help.

CLEAN WATER CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

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