Today was a busy (and tiring) day and one I
will likely never forget. Today was the
day I saw first hand what the ‘slums’ are like.
We left the hotel before 8 am and travelled
to the office of another one WaterCans’ partner organizations who implement
projects (3rd one so far). They are known as CIDI which stands
for ‘Community Integrated Development Initiatives’. We did introductions
and then CIDI staff presented an overview of their work. Note that each
of the partner organizations has its own focus.
CIDI focuses on: (1) water, sanitation and hygiene, (2) sustainable
agriculture, (3) health care promotion, and (4) lobbying and advocacy.
After leaving CIDI’s office, we visited the
Lubiri Primary
School in Kampala. This is an inner city school with about 600
students. Upon arrival, the students
greeted us with songs. This was followed
by a ribbon cutting ceremony for the school’s new latrine funded by
WaterCan. This was followed by a
presentation by students (very good singing and dancing), local politicians,
and school management. Then the WaterCan
study tour members had a chance to give the school some gifts (school supplies,
tooth paste, and soccer balls). Shortly
after the ceremony, we left and headed for the slums.
 |
| Lubiri Primary
School Kids |
 |
| Ribbon cutting for new latrine at Lubiri Primary
School |
 |
| Kids signing inside Lubiri Primary
School |
Next, we were off to visit the Kampala slums. As soon as we got out of our vans, we were
immediately greeted by loud music and a place to sit for yet another
presentation about a WaterCan funded project. This project was a new Water Kiosk which
allows those living in a specific ‘zone’ in the slums to access clean water at a much
reduced rate (1/5 of the rate others in the slums would pay). It took me a while to get my head around how
those living in the slums pay for their water. Here is what I learned (simplified as much as
I can, but perhaps in some engineering lingo):
- Many people living in the slums get their water from a
spring. There is no cost for this
water but it is very dirty/contaminated. This is not the preferred option.
- For some, they can buy water through the National Water
& Sewage Corporation. This is the
same water that others in Kampala
use which are outside slums and in serviced areas. This water would be available near the
slums (still not real convenient) but the water rate is much higher than paid
by others in Kampala
(outside slums). The cost per jerry
can is 500 Uganda
shillings. If you do the math, a typical
person living in the slums would spend approximately ½ their annual earnings
just on buying water.
- For some lucky ones, where the community or local ‘zone’
has worked with CIDA (with funding from WaterCan) they can buy water at a Water
Kiosk at a cost of 100 Uganda shillings
per jerry can. This is the way to go!
I realize the above description might not make
a lot of sense. The bottom line is that those
people who live in a zone with a Water Kiosk can get clean water at a good rate
and are much better off than those from numbers 1 and 2 above. In total, we saw three separate Water Kiosks
and three separate latrines constructed with the help of CIDA and WaterCan
during our tour of the slums.
Overall, the slums were pretty bad but probably not as bad
as I thought they would be. However,
during the wet season I am told everything changes and there is lots of water,
mud, sewage, etc. floating around the street, houses, etc. The pictures below are provided to help me
relay what I saw today.
 |
| New Water Kiosk funded by WaterCan |
 |
| Movie Theatre |
 |
| Drainage Ditch |
 |
| Typical Street |
 |
| Typical Street |
 |
| Baby in tub (or bucket) |
 |
| New latrine funded by WaterCan |
 |
| Stagnent Drainage Water |
In the evening, we had a special night out
at the ‘Ndere Centre’ in Kampala. The Ndere group is made up of about 20
Ugandan dancers and musicians. They did
an excellent performance. We also
enjoyed a bar-b-q dinner at the Ndere Centre during the show.
