April 27-28, 2019, Monika Midverytė OFS, the coordinator of the social initiative Well4Africa visited the Kihani parish in the Ibanda district, Uganda, where a water supply system has been installed with the funds of the initiative.
The local project coordinators, secular Franciscans and Franciscan youth, led by Muhumuza Gilbert, showed the equipment: a water borehole equipped with an electrical pump, two water reservoirs with the capacity of 50,000 litres and twenty water taps scattered all over the village. The water supply system serves the local parish, St. Joseph elementary school, St. Anne secondary school, St. Agnes and Allied primary schools and nearby villages of Katunguru, Irwaniro and Kitambeva. The new water taps are being used by the residents of a total of ten villages.
Danson Kahuhikire, chief engineer of Wapah Uganda 2015, a company that implemented the project, assures that the water supply system has a one-year warranty. However, they will continue to consult the community free of charge even after this period expires. According to Mr. Kahuhikire, the existing groundwater body is sufficient to satisfy the needs of the growing community for the following 40 years. Its potency is 40,000 litres in twenty hours.
The water supply system has facilitated the everyday life of more than 700 local people, especially women and children. The head of St. Anne secondary school showed the construction site of a new school building, which will be necessary because more girls have started attending school after the installation of the water supply system.
On April 28, Sunday of Divine Mercy, a solemn Mass was celebrated in the parish, during which the water supply system was blessed. Secular Franciscans of all fraternity levels, project workers, engineers, students of the elementary and secondary schools and the entire village community attended the celebration. The people would not stop thanking the benefactors of the social initiative for the clean water closer to their homes.
The Well4Africa initiative continues and donations are welcome. Donate by visiting the website well4africa.eu. Thank you for your kindness.
