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Published on: 17/03/2011

I am Bilabi Moses, a second year student of the Uganda Christian University. I come from Buboolo parish, Bukissa Village, Masaba sub-county in Sironko district of Eastern Uganda. Masaba sub-county is characterised as being hilly since it is in the Mt Elgon region and blessed with many rivers.

The sanitation and safety of the water here is still poor because of constant heavy rains that flood and contaminate the waters making it unsafe for drinking. The poor sanitation in Masaba communities is mainly due to ignorance and conservativeness since almost 60% of the population is illiterate. The water and sanitation problems have resulted in poverty because of constant visits to hospitals as a result of water and sanitation related diseases. In some places where our intervention in water has not reached, women move for fairly long distances to look for protected springs. The number of latrines in families is low compared to the population in that some families have resorted to sharing latrines and this is as a result of poverty, laziness and lack of knowledge on sanitation.

Intervention

As a young boy, the Masiyompo Movement which works in this sub-county, supported me as an orphan and this motivated me to take up some of the challenges they were facing in order to address the water and sanitation needs of the communities. In 2004, they saw the need to set up a sustainable water project in Masaba sub-county and this project was instituted. It has supplied several communities in sub-county with safe piped water using gravity flow technology. Today this has helped families to spend less on medication as it used to do because the water is 90% safe for consumption and free from contaminations by man and animals, unlike river water. Sanitation has improved at least by 10% from 30% to 40%.

In 2009, I started an active role in seeing that water and sanitation improves through my effort. I started going for various workshops on water and sanitation to gather more information on best practices from other organisations, donors’ advice and line ministry advice and bringing it home for practical experience. For example, I attended conferences in Speke Resort Munyonyo in October 2009 and East African sanitation conference on 2nd-4th March 2010.  I gave presentations there and got knowledge in an effort to improve the water and sanitation in our communities. This enabled me to bring home pictorials, books to our communities so that they can learn as they derive lessons on what they see.

Disseminating lessons to communities

We have developed an extensive base of WASH information so that communities are able to join hands in taking up the challenge of improving the accessibility of water and sanitation. I am also documenting several proposals requesting for funds so that our communities can access more water and improve their hygiene and sanitation state. I have imitated the idea of promoting learning forums at the parish level every five months where we call together community leaders of water and sanitation activities so that they can share achievements, problem and failures

Positive outcomes

A number of positive outcomes have been realised as a result our effort in struggling to address the water and sanitation issues of the communities in Masaba sub-counties:

  1. Firstly our effort has resulted in the construction of the multimillion gravity flow scheme. This has helped women and children to access clean safe water from nearby. It has reduced the prevalence of related diseases.
  2. In addition, through learning forums and community sensitisation, communities have gained more knowledge on sanitation promotion in homes and water management.
  3. On water management, we have instituted water management committees composed of three men and two women in every village were water has reached so that sustainability is realised.
  4. I have developed a data bank with pictorials showing water and sanitation activities so that communities can learn from within and outside their geographical locations hence improving the access.
  5. There is increased community participation and sharing of knowledge through door to door sensitisations, joint action on water and sanitation activities and learning forums.
  6. Sanitation and hygiene has improved up to 40% through effective and innovative approaches.

What have you done to ensure that you and your neighbour get water and improve hygiene and sanitation?

Dear ladies, gentlemen and children the access of water and sanitation calls for a joint effort and not only governments and donors as many of us think. As an individual what have you done to ensure that you and your neighbour get water and improve hygiene and sanitation? It calls for love for one another so that we realise the need for sharing the few water resources around us. It gives me pleasure to give this message and the contribution we have made including my effort to see communities in Masaba happy especially on the issue of water and sanitation.

One of the prize winning field stories in the Source stories contest.

Moses Bilabi is a 23-year old community water and sanitation promoter, Ugandan Christian University, Mbale campus, P.O.Box 189, Mbale,Uganda

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