“The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns,” the Wednesday water quotes states.
Care and Assistance for Forced Migrants (CAFOMI) exercises a high level of hospitality to forced migrants to live in dignity away from the problems they are running away from in countries of origin. In this respect CAFOMI provides a series of assistance programs that include provision of hot meals, legal assistance, and Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services offered to the Persons of Concern (POC). This is done withsupport from the office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and funding from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Currently, there is an anticipation of an influx of refugee from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following the previous media reports and Press releases.In preparedness, CAFOMI WASH sector has embarked on a rigorous exercise of rehabilitating and repairing the gravity Flow System (GFS).Thereforethe WASH unit has set up a team of professional water engineers who have been working hardto deal with the leakages in the water transmission pipe lines in Bubukwanga transit center in Bundibugyo district, western Uganda.
According to Gilbert Ariaka, the CAFOMI WASH engineer in Ntoroko and Bundibugyo districts, the team hascompletedthe exercise of repairing the leakages on the GFS water transmission pipe line in Bubukwanga.
“Sealing these leakages has boosted the pressure of water and now we are receiving maximum quantity of water at our storage tanks, ready to serve the anticipated influx of refugees from DR Congo.”Ariaka further stated.
Water flows through the transmission pipes from the source at the top of Mountain Rwenzorito the E-dozer house for treatmentthen to the distribution systems. It is necessary to maintain these pipes in good condition to ensure continuous functionality of the water facility and avoid leakages that lead to low pressure of the water. Poor or insufficient water supply results to poor sanitation and hygiene, which couldlead to disease outbreaks within the transit center and the host community which CAFOMI must avoid.
Furthermore, the team has also taken an initiative to build a team of WASH volunteers at Bubukwanga transit centre, training them on water quality and quantity monitoring, testing free chlorine, testing the PH of water and also recording the tested parameters on paper.
CAFOMI sensitizes the host population on the importance of maintaining good personal and environmental hygiene. This is done through health education sensitization sessions on sanitation and hygiene, thus improving WASH in the Bubukwanga transit centers and surrounding host communities.