Water Compass

Would you imagine that 1.8 BILLION people globally use a source of drinking water contaminated with feces?

Children in Sembabule district collecting water from a near-by swamp for use in their homes. Sembabule like a few other districts in Uganda is struggling to stop water contamination which is a result of the increasing use inorganic fertilisers, pesticide and herbicides in the region. These are posing a health risks to the communities as recent scientific studies have revealed high levels of water contamination in the area. © Jjumba Martin / Water Compass

A young girl holds two glasses of water collected from two different sources. To the left, the typical appearance of water collected from swamps. To the right, water collected from a clean water installation. © Jjumba Martin / Water Compass

I was recently on assignment with water_compass an organization trying to make clean water accessible to people along the cattle corridor ( specific in Sembabule and Masaka) but targeting communities where disease transmission is most likely occur.During the 2 days’ shoot, a number of facts were broken to my ears and they’re quite worrying.

Imagine;
– Diarrheal disease is the second leading cause of death of children under five years of age in Uganda.

– 35% of the rural population in Uganda does not have access to a safe water source

– Hygiene and sanitation related diseases currently contribute to 70% of the disease burden in Uganda.

– Only 17% of the rural people in Uganda have access to improved sanitation

In this region, a twenty-litre jerry can of water can range from UGX 500 to 2000 shillings during the dry seasons, which is very expensive for the locals whose main source of income is farming.

Water Compass has been able to build such solar-powered facilities, which pump water from the ground, ready to drink and at a very affordable price of 100 Ugandan shillings.

Water Compass strives to combat these statistics by drilling and installing solar powered pumping systems to bring clean water to the people in water-stressed villages in this part of Uganda. Currently, Water Compass is looking to drill a new water source and install a solar-powered pumping system to bring clean water to two communities in central Uganda known as Mbirizi B and Mbirizi C. Using a solar-powered pump, as opposed to a more commonly used hand pump means that water can be piped to communities and greatly reduce the distance and time it takes people to collect water