Over 1500 people live in the 3 hamlets of Kyengeza.  For a long time, the entire water supply consisted of a single hand pump. It took about two minutes of pumping to fill a 20-liter jerry can. Frequently, long lines of people formed.  It was mainly children who spent hours waiting there to finally get their turn; it was not unusual for them to linger there instead of being at school.

To meet the water needs of the 1,500 people in the area, pumping was done from sunrise to sunset. 12 hours a day, 600 liters an hour yielded 7,200 liters a day if all went well - not even 5 liters per person. And more and more often the pump was broken due to overuse. The only option left for the villagers was to draw contaminated water from open water holes miles away.

The village community approached KINDERN EINE CHANCE with a request for help. Together they considered what could be done. Drilling a second deep well would have been one option, but after a pump test we knew that the existing deep well could provide more than 3,000 liters per hour. Enough to install a solar pump and provide running water to the entire village.

Great cooperation with the community
During several village meetings it was discussed who would be willing to participate actively and financially in improving the whole village‘s water supply. Of the 406 households, it was decided that 335 would pay 2,000 Uganda Shillings per month, the equivalent of about 50 cents. The other 71 households were self-assessed by the village community as being in such need that they should be given free access to water.

With the help of Google Earth (satellite images from the Internet), plans were made for where the water tower and the three water tapping points would be built. 2,600 meters of trench were dug by the villagers and water pipes were laid. 

A deep well pump powered by 6 solar panels was installed. Our mechanics built a water tower with an 8,000 liter water tank and a water point was sited in each of the three hamlets of the village. Even in cloudy weather, more than 10,000 liters are pumped daily; on average, more than 15,000 liters are now available daily to the residents of Kyengeza.

A water committee elected by the villagers collects the fees and ensures that every part of the village is fairly supplied with water and that every household has access to drinking water.

Enormous impact on the quality of life
The impact on the village has been enormous. For women and children, the hard work of fetching water has been made much easier. They no longer have to lug the canisters over long distances and stand in line for hours. There is more time for other things, such as taking care of small children, cultivating the land, or for the children to go to school.

The fact that there is now suddenly twice as much clean drinking water available is also noticeable in terms of hygiene. Diarrheal diseases have become much rarer, says the mayor. And the woman who runs a kind of pharmacy in a small wooden shed laughingly adds, „You‘ve ruined my business!“

The people of Kyengeza are proud of their water supply, and we are proud of the team of young people we trained who implemented the project.

There is still much to do
Several mayors from other villages have already contacted us to ask if KINDERN EINE CHANCE could set up a water supply in their village, too. he regional governor wants to have a look at the water supply soon. He has already let it be known that there are a few villages that are even more in need and what if we could .....

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