Why Many Ugandans Don’t Have Access to Water In Their Houses?

Thank you very much for keep supporting Faith Angels Ministry, from Uganda!

As a return to your valuable support, we would like to share with you this month’s Newsletter from the organization that we hope you’d enjoy!

This month we will talk about the problem that some communities have to get drinkable water in their houses.

 


Article written by Anisia, Customer NGO Specialist from Airfunding, based on an interview with Anklin, the founder of Back to School.

 

Why many Ugandans don’t have access to water in their houses?

 

Having drinkable water that arrives in your home is a kind of privilege that not every country has. But in most countries, it is normal to have access to water to clean the dishes, do laundry, or have a shower.

 

This is a privilege that many Ugandans don’t have. To have access to this water, people from Andrew’s community have to walk 5 km to get this water from a near lake and walk 5 km to bring the water to their homes.

 

The reason why many households don’t have access to water is that the government hasn’t installed water access in remote areas in Uganda, due to the lack of funds for creating these infrastructures.

 

To get a solution to this problem, Andrew, the founder of Faith Angels Ministry, has had the idea to install water tanks to keep the water from the rain and to use it for drinking, cleaning the dishes, the clothes, and to take a shower. To drink this water, they have to boil it first, and then it is ready to be consumed.

 

Every water tank costs approximately 228 USD and has a capacity of approximately 10.000 L. These tanks are a way to avoid walking such a long distance to just get water at home. Right now they have one tank in Faith Angels Nursery School, but their plan plan is to buy 150 of them to support 800 people.

 

Picture of the tank and the children

 

Drinking water from the lakes, even after the water has been boiled, has caused many diseases to the community and especially to the children. The most common diseases are constant diarrhea and dysentery.

 

Going to the hospital is also not an easy task, the nearest Health Care Centre is 10 km away and sometimes there is no transportation available, they have to go walking even when they are sick. This is only for primary attention, the nearest hospital is around 30 km away.

 

In order to prevent the health of the community, is it necessary to buy the water tanks so some diseases can be prevented, and Ugandans of the community don’t have to walk 5 or 10 km to just have access to water. The water from the rain is not 100% clean and it also has some risks but is definitely a better option than the water from the nearest lake due to contamination of the water.

 

People have been protesting to the government to have access to water, but it seems that still they should wait for a long time to get water at home. In the meantime, having water tanks is the best option, and we hope Faith Angels could manage to get the funds to guarantee all these people their right to have access to clean water.

A water tank in Faith Angels Nursery school

 

From Airfunding we would like to wish them luck with this project and to say thank you to the supporters for your contribution to the organization! Hopefully, having water at home won’t be a privilege for them soon!

 

Curiosity of the month: Traditional drinks in Uganda

 

Some women making Kwete

 

All tribes in Uganda have local drinks both alcoholic and non-alcoholic that are native to their people. Some are similar and only differ in names. Currently, local drinks in Uganda are no longer confined to a certain area or place. Even if a drink is originally belonging to a certain tribe, you will find lots of other people from different regions have absorbed it.

 

1. Obushera

To the Southwest of the country, the Bakiga people have a grained-based energy drink called Obushera/bushera. The drink is no longer confined to the Bakiga and lots of people from all over the country take it. Even some companies have industrialized it. This is simply a mixture of sorghum yeast, flour probably millet or sorghum, and water. The flour and water are cooked like porridge and when ready and the porridge starts to cool, the sorghum yeast is added to it. Then the bushera is left to ferment for 24hrs before consumption. All the bushera is to be consumed within 3days or else it will turn into alcohol. One is free to add sugar or honey to their bushera.

 

Obushera is a non-alcohol social drink but the Bakiga believe it is more than that. It has great help benefits such as fighting flu, malaria, and even backache.

 

2. Malwa

Malwa is an alcoholic drink driven from millet. It is one of the most popular in Uganda. It is an acclaimed drink that is involved traditionally in several activities such as weddings, deaths, etc. The Iteso are known to drop some little Ajono in the mouth of newborns to celebrate childbirth. A bride would be expected to prepare the drink for her in-laws as a sign of appreciation.

 

To make malwa, you have to dry the millet first in the sun or bake it before proceeding with making the drink. Malwa is left to ferment for a few days before it is ready to be consumed.

 

3. Banana Beer

Banana Beer aka Tonto is a very common drink in the central and western parts of the country which are the biggest producers of banana plants. Tonto is a traditional drink to over 13 million people. The drink is expected in every life-size occasion and every family strives to make sure their guests are served with the finest of the local brew. The wine is shared between people during celebrations such as weddings, burials etc.

 

Making Tonto is not easy at all and statistics have shown the production of the drink has gone down over the past years. However many locals still make Tonto. The bananas to be used are left to ripen in a pit for seven days. They are then mixed with grass, squeezed, trampled to get the juice out of it. This will be done by stepping on it like wine. The juice is mixed with sorghum, water and left to ferment for one or two days. The ready-made Tonto is served in calabash or big clay pots.

 

4. Kwete

Kwete is a drink that is made from either from sorghum or maize, yeast etc. The drink is creamy to light brow when finally being served. The good thing with Kwete is one can add sugar to their drink and it won’t affect the texture of the alcohol. The kwete is a flavored drink for lots of occasions traditionally such as birth rituals, weddings, and other celebrations. Kwete in more formal settings can be consumed in a cup or mug.

 

Some locals enjoying a drink together

 

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