By CAFOMI Communications unit
With funding from United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), Care and assistance for forced migrants (CAFOMI) in partnership with international organization of Migration (IOM), recently trained 18 water user committees in Sironko and Bududa on how to maintain hygiene and sanitation around water sources. The initiative is part of a project titled the “WASH rapid response project”.
The project aims at providing safe water, sanitation and hygiene services to the communities that were affected by the floods and mudslides that occurred in Sironko and Bududa in 2019. It also targets to train and equip 18 community based WASH management committees at existing water points in Bududa and Sironko with sanitation and hygiene skills.
Water and sanitation are essential for life and health, but they are also essential for dignity, empowerment and prosperity. Water and sanitation are human rights, fundamental to every child and adult. But in Uganda, poor sanitation and hygiene, as well as unequal access to safe drinking water, make thousands of children very sick and at risk of death.
Through the WASH rapid response project, CAFOMI has been able to repair some of the water sources and also train 156 water user committees comprising of both men and women on how to maintain hygiene and sanitation around the water sources.
“We were taught how to keep the water sources clean by fencing them to avoid animals from contaminating them,” one of the beneficiaries in Sironko, Nawumbe Rebecca expressed.
The two day training majorly focused on equipping these committees with basic knowledge and skills for operation and maintenance of water sources, that is promoting good hygiene and sanitation at household and around water points.
“Clean water and hygiene move hand in hand, so it’s prudent to equip these communities with basic skills of maintaining cleanliness, not only around water sources but also in their homes”. Lillian Lanyero the sanitation officer of CAFOMI said.
The committees also took it upon themselves to replicate what they had been taught by teaching the communities how to implement the same.
“I and my family were encouraged to use tap water since it is clean and available, wash hands frequently and boil drinking water.” Buteme Margaret a resident of Bukalasi in Bududa said.
Margaret further expresses that this has helped maintain cleanliness and also avoid water related ailments in her home.
Alex Gidudu the District Water Officer Sironko, in his submission, appreciated the work that has been done in the district, but also stated that there was still dire need for the implementation of more software activities such as the sensitization of people on how to affront the aspect of good hygiene in the villages because of the still increasing number of water related diseases in the area.
This indicates that there is still need for an extensive education on hygiene and sanitation in the communities of Bududa and Sironko.