WATER: Pumping sustainable community development, one drop at a time

Three in 10 Ugandans do not have access to safe drinking water close to their homes.

SPECIAL FEATURE | THE INDEPENDENT | When you hear about how Uganda is gifted by nature, you can be spoilt for choice as to what to point out when explaining that fact. It could be the amazing hospitable people, the good food or the fact that Uganda has majority of the rare mountain gorillas that share the Virunga massif with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It could also be the fact that Uganda is home to so many bird species that almost any trip outside of your house can turn into a ‘bird’ idea. And how about the fact that the country’s landscape is punctuated with over 100 lakes and so many rivers. Water bodies laden with so much fresh water.

With all this abundant water, you can be forgiven for not knowing that there are indeed some Ugandans without access to fresh water. And yet, water is life. It is important to note that is this not a problem unique to Uganda. The statistics on this are quite stark.

Three in 10 people do not have access to safe drinking water close to their homes. This means that they have to travel long distances in search of this water. In most cases, the women and children bear the burden of fetching this water from long distances to find water that may not even be safe. This alone reduces on the time they can be productive or in school respectively.

It is no secret that access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene is essential to a healthy learning environment for children. Particularly adolescent girls are faced with menstrual hygiene challenges. Promoting hygiene is, undoubtedly, one of the most effective health interventions a community can get.

And this is what Nile Safari Lodge has done for the Mubako community in Buliisa District. Buliisa district is one of the areas faced with challenges around accessing clean water a challenge that Nile Safari Lodge fully appreciates and is concerned about. This is why the lodge maintains two crucial boreholes in the village.

These two boreholes have certainly made a huge difference in the lives of the people in this community. They can be certain of a source of clean water. Water that they can use for drinking, cooking and washing. This initiative has gone a long way in offering improved living conditions for these people.

Nile Safari Lodge strongly believes that access to safe water is the most effective and powerful way to ensure sustainable community development. The investment in these two boreholes reflects the lodge’s corporate social responsibility ethos. This project is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals specifically number six which calls for access to water and sanitation for all by 2030.

Ensuring that the community has access to this vital resource benefits everyone and is proof of commitment towards engendering a bright future for the people living in these areas. After all, they are considered to be part of the wider Nile Safari Lodge family that deserves to enjoy the good life too.