Uganda 2013 - Water Filters, Sanitation Pads and Flip-Flops

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Hello all,

So, we were back in Uganda and had driven from Kampala to Gulu where we spent a couple of nights recovering from the flight and stocking up on supplies. Now we were heading further north to Pader Town, where we’d be staying, and Agago District, where we’d be distributing the Sawyer water filters, AFRIpads re-usable sanitation pads and durable Flip-Flops.

The Sawyer water filters (http://www.sawyer.com/sawyersaves/) are a fantastic innovation. In the UK, as in much of the developed world, we can access clean, safe and drinkable water at the turn of a tap and rarely need to be concerned about the source and reliability of the supply. In much of the developing world, Uganda included, it’s not so simple. As visitors to these countries we have to buy and drink bottled water and if we didn’t at best we’d have a dodgy tummy at worse we could end up with the life-threatening condition, like Cholera. In Uganda locals who can afford bottled water will also buy and drink it, but this is out of the reach – even at about 40p a bottle – for the majority of the population, especially those who live in remote rural areas as subsistence farmers (families growing food for themselves) earning much less than $1USD (about 65p) a day. Instead they rely on either communal boreholes (which pump water from underground sources), fixed rainwater tanks, fresh supplies (e.g. streams, although these are limited) or stagnant water supplies (dependent on rainfall). To access this water the people, usually the women and children, have to walk for several hours, several times a day to collect it and take it back to their homes (in the areas we visited walking time was typically 1 hour each way). They carry water in 25l jerry cans. The women carry them on their heads, often with a baby on their back, and men use bicycles with up to six full jerry cans strapped to it. Can you imagine having to do this just to access water? And after going through the intense physical effort to get it home to their families it’s unlikely to be clean and safe for drinking. Many families we spoke to admitted they didn’t have time to even boil it. At best not having clean water doesn’t help them get good nutritional value out of the limited food they do eat, and at worse it can make them very sick which combined with a lack of medical resources can result in death. So George suggested to Hugh and Becky that providing water filters might be a good way to help, so they investigated and found the Sawyer Point One filters. You can find more information on Hugh and Becky’s blog (http://outreachuganda.blogspot.co.uk/) but in summary the filters fix to a bucket, can deliver 1 litre of clean water in 60 seconds and removes 99.99999%!o(MISSING)f all bacteria like Salmonella and E.coli and the bacteria that causes Typhoid and Cholera. They cost apx £33, with buckets around £50. Hugh and Becky’s North Reach Uganda Project had raised funds to purchase 70, and Drew and I’s Believe in Better had purchased 10.

AFRIpads (http://afripads.com/) is a Ugandan social business that employs local women to make washable re-usable sanitary pads. In the developed world we have access to a range of affordable sanitary production (including re-usable sanitary pads, popular with the eco friendly) and to us these are a must have purchase, we wouldn’t be able to go about our lives without them during our monthly periods. In Uganda sanitary products are a luxury that can only be afforded by a minority of women and in the rural communities even if women can afford them they’re difficult to find. A Deluxe AFRIpads pack, containing 5 sanitary pads and a pair of knickers costs just under £5 which is out of the reach of so many, especially schoolgirls who were going to be our focus on this trip. If schoolgirls are unable to source reliable protection it impacts their attendance at school, often missing up to 5 days a month and can sometimes result in them dropping out completely. We wanted to help support them to stay in school and reduce their need to rely on local methods, including using old rags, leaves, cotton wool or even sitting on a pile of sand. The North Uganda Outreach Project had sourced 500 of them... and Becky and I would be delivering them to 4 schools.

Over the last few months George has been working with his local contacts to identify the communities and schools that would most benefit from the water filters and sanitation pads and Ben, who’d been helping him, would act as our guide (and friend) during the 4 days we spent in the Agago District. To maximise our impact we’d also decided to source a stock of durable Flip-Flops that we could give to people we saw walking without shoes... we’d given out some shoes on the way home from a clothes distribution last year and it made a big impact. So, Believe In Better had sourced 32 pairs so far and we planned to source more as the days went on – at £1 a time it’s a simple way to make a big difference.

Monday 10^th June 2013 – Gulu to Pader and Agago Districts

We were all up at 6am to pack up our stuff, the truck and head out from Gulu for Pader and Agago Districts, further north in a remote area near the Karamoja region which until recently had been a ‘no go’ area because of the Karamojong cattle raiders... The packing was a challenge and it’s fair to say that us Brits weren’t great at tying the tarpaulin so some of the locals working at the hotel helped us J Their knots were VERY impressive. We eventually got on our way, stopped to stock up on LOADS of water and fuel and had a slightly concerning conversation with the fuel station attendant who told us our tank was leaking, but we decided to chance it and assume she’d overfilled it (we didn’t run out of petrol...!). The road out of Gulu was typically bumpy but not too bad and we made it to Acholi Bur in good time before turning for Pader Town. We’d travelled the road before and were pleased to see a bridge that’d been finished since last year and one of the medical centres that’d we’d distributed clothes at. Pader Town was going to be our home for the next four nights and we met Ben who took us to the guest house. The CCF Pader Guest House was really nice and quite empty so we had a choice of rooms (didn’t choose wisely as later found ants in the bed and a leaking toilet...)

After dropping off our stuff we continued driving into Agago District to familiarise ourselves with the area and pay our courtesy visits to various county and local officials. Our meetings were interesting. We drove out to Labora, one of the communities we’d be working with, stopping on the way at a stagnant water pool where children had taken their animals to drink (the community used a similar water pool a little further way for themselves) and visited Lira-Kato school which would be first to receive the AFRIpads. The reception we got from the children was AMAZING! We took a (apparently short!) walk to the communities main source of water when their borehole (i.e. pump) is broken or low in water (as is currently the case). This short walk took over an hour, and is what the locals have to do several times a day to get water for washing, cooking and drinking. The water was basically in a pond, stagnant and clearly poor quality. We drove back, past the children singing ‘bye, bye, bye, bye’ and waving and screaming at us. I absolutely love those drives – watching the amazing people working hard to support their family, it all feels so vital.

We arrived back at the Guest House, pretty tired and ready for dinner which was waiting for us. We prepared for the next day - Drew and Hugh practising setting up a bucket and Sawyer water filter and Becky and I deciding who was going to say what at the school when we delivered the AFRIpads sanitation pads (we also wrote the boys a script...they’d have just ‘gone with it’). And each of us tried some Sawyer filtered water... and decided that if it didn’t make us sick the locals would be fine J We slept ok but had a few worries about the storm that was raging outside (we knew it’d cause us big road problems if it rained a lot).

Tuesday 11^th June 2013 – Pader and Agago Districts – Water Filters, Sanitation Pads and Flip-Flops

We were up at 6.15am and I had to go on the hunt for a working shower... because there was no water in the room. It was really cold but I thought ‘mind over matter’ and at least I’d found a shower! Breakfast at the hostel was nice and we were able to pack up all of the buckets, water filters and sanitation pads quickly. The road out of Pader Town wasn’t too bad considering the rain and there were a lot of people about, even someone having a fitness jog which we found encouraging and a sign of progress. We picked up Ben in Patongo and had a giggle when some locals on a corner shouted at Drew ‘Hey, brother of Rooney!’ (that wasn’t the only time he was likened to Rooney on this trip...!) and headed to Lira-Kato school for our first sanitation pads distribution. On the way we started handing out our Flip-Flops and people LOVED it.

At the school we met the headmaster who told us they’d identified 120 girls for the sanitation pads. We spent some time with his deputy Rosana, who was wearing a WHSmith top (I’d love to see some Nationwide uniform, I know it’s donated to worthy causes) and would be helping us (acting as a translator) with Alice, another teacher. We talked Rosana through the AFRIpads packs and what we’d be talking to the girls about (the men left the room) and then set ourselves up in a classroom. Once Drew and Hugh had carried the boxes they headed to a village to start the water filters distribution... Bex and I spent the next 1 ½ hours talking to the girls about menstruation and how the AFRIpads can help them. It went really well; we got them relaxed and listening with a game of ‘Rebecca Says’ and kept them giggling with some visual demonstrations. Bex was fantastic, and Rosana was amazing – she had such good rapport with the girls and kept encouraging them to talk in English. The girls seemed really happy and asked really smart questions at the end of the session. We handed out around 140 packs end and once finished sat in the school yard with Rosana and Alice and a soda (as a thank you from the headmaster) waiting for the boys to pick us up. Rosana told us that the school day in Uganda typically starts with registration at 7.30am, classes starting at 8am and then after a two hour break for lunch (when some children walk home, others stay in the school and most don’t eat unless it’s mango season) finishes at 3.30pm for games before home time at 5. It seems a long day, especially considering that once the children get home they usually have chores to do.

Hugh and Ben came to pick us up and also got invited for a soda, their water filters distribution had gone brilliantly and they’d given out nearly 60 of them. Drew was enjoying the atmosphere at the village so much that he’d decided to stay. In the end Drew appeared at the school (he’d walked a long way!) and got his soda. We said our byes and drove out towards the site of the water filters distribution... Drew and Hugh said it was really emotional, because people knew what clean water meant to them and some were quite overwhelmed with what they’d brought them. We passed the village leader who’d helped get everything organised and then started to see people walking towards us with buckets, as far as we could see into the distance – it was a wonderful sight. We drove past Jeng village to see a woman gathering her family to show them the filters, such a fantastic sight so we decided to go back to visit her. Ben asked if it’d be ok to go say hello and she insisted on giving us a demonstration! We all gathered and watched – she was impressive, delivered it pitch perfect! Drew had stayed in the truck because he was a bit emotional and an old woman came to see him to say thank you, for the Flip Flops we’d given her earlier. He came over to tell us and she followed him and was so overwhelmingly grateful and kept holding our hands and looking into our eyes. It was quite humbling. I enjoyed being part of that community, even for a short time. You can feel their sense of togetherness and all of the usual characters you would find in any community are there. We drove on towards home and continued handing out Flip Flops – it was so simple yet so effective – people start off looking suspicious (anyone would be alarmed seeing a truck full of people skidding to a halt beside them), then confused, then shocked and then we’d see a little smile creep in and we could see the gratitude in their faces. As we drove off we’d see them smiling and beaming at us from behind... it’s almost like the look on people faces when they’ve been caught on a candid camera show! We stopped for two mothers and their children who were at a bore hole and found Flip Flops for all of them. Again, that drive was fascinating – watching the people working the fields, manually, using their cattle to pull their ploughs.

Back at the hostel we realised we hadn’t booked dinner so took Francis the cook to the town to get some supplies. We bought some snacks and the papers and settled around a big table in the Guest House restaurant reading and chatting. Hugh and Becky’s friend Ajuga (apologies if that’s not spelled right), a specialist nurse (mainly in HIV and AIDs) from Gulu was in town so he came to meet us for dinner. We had a delicious cabbage curry and talked about HIV, AIDS, TB and other infectious diseases for hours. I learned more about HIV and AIDs than I ever have at any other time. It’s such a complex issue and so sad. In Africa the myths and lack of education and resources make it a much more difficult problem to solve. We were soon ready for bed and slept well.

Wednesday 12^th June 2013 - Pader and Agago Districts – Water Filters, Sanitation Pads and Flip-Flops

I was up bright and early and we left the Guest House on time, but because we had to buy more buckets and Flip Flops we were a bit late picking up Ben in Patongo. Pader Town is fascinating, I stopped with the truck whilst the others bought buckets and felt like I was in some surreal parallel universe – from the shop next door some reggae-happy hardcore-African music blend was blaring out, and from the other side the Backstreet Boys?! The aim for today was to deliver sanitation pads to two schools and arrange to deliver water filters to the community we’d first stopped at, and seen the horrible stagnant water where the children had taken their cows to drink (they were using a similar source a bit further away). As soon as we’d picked up Ben we started with the Flip Flops. We drove though the water filter village and spoke to two women who had jerry cans full of water on their heads - that’s 25 litres!!! African women are quite simply amazing. They confirmed that they were getting water from a stagnant source and told us where the leader was so we stopped to talk to some local men and arranged to come back later.

As we drove through Labora to our first school of the day we were reminded of the impact of the Lord Resistance Army’s (LRAs) conflict – a memorial to 60 civilians murdered by them. That conflict happened within the last 10 years. We stopped at Lira-Kaket school, which has around 900 pupils studying in bare, open classrooms with limited furniture. We met the headmaster and our teacher helper Alice and set up for the session. Bex and I needed the toilet before we started so were taken to the teachers latrine, which would be nicer than the children’s, and didn’t have a great time. Bex and I are pretty tough and will get on with anything but we opened the toilet door and a swarm of flies came at us so we had to be creative. We delivered the session under the shade of a big tree; it went well but we didn’t feel the same energy we’d felt in the first school - there were a lot of people milling about so it was distracting for the girls. The biggest laugh came when the AFRIpads poster blew off a tree and wrapped around my head - nobody could stop laughing! Class finished just before we finished, which was a bit awkward as most of the school crowded around to watch what we were doing! And just at the right time Drew and Hugh started playing football which made everyone go crazy and we soon lost our crowd because they were more interested (and there were hundreds of them) in chasing the boys around the fields. We distributed 105 sanitation pads at Lira-Kaket and whilst we’d been doing the presentation the boys had talked to the headmaster, who needed some help with the toilets. The majority didn’t have doors and most of the pit latrines were full. It would cost £250 to build some new ones.

We said our byes to Lira-Kaket and drove on towards Paimol school. It was a really bumpy journey and the road was in a sorry state - we came across one pickup truck stuck in a deep rut and it didn’t look like they’d be getting out for a while. As we drove towards Paimol the mountains got bigger and the scenery more dramatic – it was pretty stunning. Ben told us that we were on the slave trade route. At Paimol school, which has around 1000 children, we met the headmaster and Millie who would be helping us with the presentation. We spent an hour with the girls at Paimol, who were fantastic and asked such intelligent questions – like ‘What happens if you wash the pads in warm water?’ (we’d told them it was best to wash the pads in cold water to help reduce staining) and spoke brilliant English – a credit to Millie the English teacher. We gave out 126 packs to Paimol. By the time we’d finished I felt really poorly with a migraine, I’d ploughed on through – if I can get through work with a migraine I can make myself get through this - but now I needed to sit quietly in the car. As part of our session we ask the girls what symptoms come with their periods... and many said headaches. I know what they feel like and I am lucky, I have the benefit of good medication. Paimol school also had a need for some additional help; they’d been donated a solar panel which was sat in the headmasters office because they can’t afford to set it up and they need a fence to protect the girls in the boarding rooms who were very vulnerable – a very shocking and sad example of the needs of these people.

We headed home, giving out more Flip Flops (42 pairs so far) and were brave enough now to do it without Ben (who we’d needed to reassure people we weren’t crazy...!)... and had a delicious dinner. We spent the evening chatting and then had a good sleep.

Thursday 13^th June 2013 - Pader and Agago Districts – Water Filters, Sanitation Pads and Flip-Flops

I was up early again and full of beans! We stocked up in Pader Town with water, Flip Flops and one more bucket and got on our way. We picked up Ben on time in Patongo and headed for the water filter village. As they weren’t yet ready we arranged to come back later and drove on to Akwang primary school, the last to receive the sanitation pads. It was another long drive but we were back in the stunning scenery and amused ourselves managing the bumps (I was usually in the middle, between Drew and Bex and got a good work out trying to keep myself from landing on either of them as we went over big bumps!) and avoiding the stupid goats that don’t know what to do when they see a car! On arrival at Akwang we met the headmaster and Consetta, our teacher helper. Again, it went really well and we got a lot more questions when some of the senior girls joined us. As they’d missed the start I had to do a quick recap and started off looking to Consetta for translation only for her to proudly inform me that the older girls didn’t need it and they really didn’t – their English was fantastic! Drew wasn’t feeling great today so I had to help him at the toilet because there were LOADS of spiders and flies. In the end he couldn’t use the pit latrine because of the flies and spiders (wimp, Bex and I have to do it all the time) but I did sympathise a bit when I saw the hugest must horrendous spider that looked like something out of a horror film – apparently it wasn’t poisonous. We handed out over 100 sanitation pads and I was sad we were on our last school. I’d miss the smiles of the girls, their way of saying thank you with jazz hands and the way they say ‘uh’ and sharply tilt their heads up when responding to the teachers; all in unison even though there’s 100+ of them. We said our byes to Akwang which is set in the most beautiful location.

We headed out to the last community to receive water filters. The leader had got everyone organised and because we only had 19 filters left the community had decided they should go to the HIV positive families, because they are most at risk of infection and are less able to fight it. I thought that really demonstrated the community spirit, non HIV families also came to watch the presentation and none of them asked for a water filter. Hugh and Drew delivered the demonstration with Ben whilst Bex and I watched. The blokes were really good, must have been the script Bex and I wrote... 😉 Ben got one of the women up to demonstrate and she did so perfectly and when Ben asked the group what they thought of the filters one woman stood up to say “Thank you, this will prolong the lives of those of us with HIV”, with another saying “this will help to make us well’” Anyone who donated or contributed should be so proud that they’ve helped improve lives. It was brilliant to be part of the community spirit and nice to see them working together, we could learn something from them. Ben said someone else said it was nice to see that there was “somewhere out there who values them”. Once the demonstration was done the boys organised who was getting what with the leader (he had a list and was very organised and ordered) and Bex and I spent some time with the women. It was like one huge family; one mother had two twins strapped to her which were only a few weeks old, her second set of twins. They all wanted photos so they could seem themselves and we met many generations of the same family. I took a photo of a baby tied to a woman’s back; they were laughing at me because it’s so normal to them. We told them that we don’t do that at home and that we usually carry them on our fronts (I didn’t like to mention we also have pushchairs and solid pavements). An older lady was chattering on and one of the women translated and told us that ‘Grandma wants you to know that they have always carried them like that so they can work the fields’. They give birth and the same day are out working the fields or walking miles to get water. I was sad to leave that village. You could feel the strength of the community spirit and their gratitude and I had tears in my eyes when Hugh spoke to them as we left – he said “everybody has a right to clean drinking water , we were just lucky with where we were born – there is no need to thank us”.

We drove on home, handing out more Flip Flops on the way. We had another 40 or so and saw so many people without shoes, mainly woman and children. I felt we spread a lot of happiness with those Flip Flops! It was always interesting to see the reaction... because each person reacted in a different way. We saw some women without shoes with a man who had them, and the women gave the shoes to the man. We had some demands that made us chuckle e.g. not that colour or “I want a 40”. We had people running at us from all directions, and had to leave sharpish when we realised we’d stopped in the middle of a village without realising (it was one of our rules, because we’d never have enough for everyone, but sometimes you couldn’t see the huts!) And we saw a lovely sight that made my heart melt - an older couple walking together, he had shoes, she didn’t. We gave her shoes and she was happy and he expressed his gratitude to us for helping his wife whilst she put them and then as we drove off we saw them walking along hand in hand. Just something so simple, that costs £1 a time, can make such a difference.

As we’d finished our work in Agago District we had to say bye to Ben which was sad as he’d not only been a fantastic support, he’d also become a good friend; such a genuine, nice man who just wants to help his people and for that he deserves the best. He’s hoping to continue the work so we hope to see him again J

We were all quite quiet as we drove back to Pader Town; I guess we were reflecting on the last few days. Once back at the Guest House we were ridiculously tired and all wanted to go to bed at 7.30pm but pushed on through until 9pm. We still didn’t have any water in our rooms – hadn’t had any for two days – and were washing from jerry cans but despite the challenges we slept well.

On Friday the 14^th we were up early to have breakfast and start the drive back to Gulu. We were tired but felt we’d achieved a massive amount. Ben estimated that we’d touched around 1500 people (10-20 people per filter, nearly 500 sanitation pads and 80 pairs of Flip Flops) and the local councils were really impressed with what had been achieved. That’s really positive because with their support this will build and build. Our next focus is on how to ensure that what we’ve delivered is sustainable. The Sawyer water filters are guaranteed for 5 years but should last for 10. The AFRIpads sanitation pads provide a year’s supply so we need to find some way to help the girls after the year, and give their friends and families access to the AFRIpads products.

All in all it was a huge achievement. Thank you to Hugh, Becky and George for letting us be part of it and to their and our supporters as without you we wouldn't have been able to touch so many lives. Everyone can make a difference and together, if everyone did a little bit, we could change the world.

Next up, back to Gulu!

Thank you for reading.

Rachel

Trustee, Believe In Better

NOTE: I use these blog updates to capture my memories and share what I'm doing on my travels with friends, family and anyone who’s interested enough to read. The views are my own and I try my best to ensure any information I share is fair and accurate but I do sometimes get things wrong. I welcome any feedback so I can make improvements and corrections for future readers. Thank you.



If you’d like to support Believe In Better, our Charitable Trust (HMRC reference XT37841) and our work in Uganda you can do so in various ways:

· Donate (thank you)

-Bank details: Lloyds. Sort Code: 30-67-53. Account number: 21000468. Account name: Believe In Better.

You can stay anonymous, but if you let us know you’ve donated we can re-claim Gift Aid on your donation if appropriate. You can also tell us how you’d like your donation to be used (e.g. for water filters).

· Fundraise

· Volunteer or visit Uganda

…with or without us… Anyone is welcome and whilst you don’t need any specific skills or experience, anyone with a medical background (e.g. nurse, doctor) is always in high demand. We can help you plan a trip that includes a balance between volunteering, project work and seeing the sights of this beautiful country (that include mountain gorilla trekking and safari).

· Show your support

-‘Like’ the ‘Kigezi Healthcare Foundation (KIHEFO)’, ‘Kihefo (Kigezi Healthcare Foundation)’ and ‘North Uganda Outreach Project’ Facebook pages

-‘Subscribe’ to Hugh and Becky’s ‘Reaching out in Northern Uganda’ blog ‘http://outreachuganda.blogspot.co.uk/and KIHEFO’s blog http://kihefoblog.wordpress.com.

If you’d like to know more, or have any questions, please get in touch. We’ll have a website set up soon but in the interim - if you don’t know us - you can contact me through TravelBlog.

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Photos

Packing up!
Most of it fitted in the back of the truck, the rest came with Bex and I.

A short walk to get water...
It was hot.

...still walking to get water...
We were about half an hour into here.

Finding water!
It took us 1 hour, for this.

AFRIpads at Lira-Kato school
Bex ready to give sweets to anyone answering a question.

AFRIpads at Lira-Kato school
Bex giving the talk.

AFRIpads at Lira-Kato school
Me handing out the pads.

AFRIpads at Lira-Kato school
Bex and I with Rosana, Alice and some of the girls.

Good job Hugh, Drew and Ben.
People walking back from the Sawyer water filter demonstration with their buckets.

Sawyer water filters
Women who'd been at the demonstration showing her family, and Bex and I, how to do it.

Flip Flops for all!
We were able to give them to the women and all of the children, who'd been barefoot collecting water from a borehole.

AFRIpads at Lira-Kaket school
A game of 'Rebecca Says'!

AFRIpads at Lira-Kaket school
Bex and I giving the talk with Alice

AFRIpads at Paimol school
Bex in action

AFRIpads at Paimol school
Millie and I in action

AFRIpads at Akwang school
Becky and Consetta

AFRIpads at Akwang school
Consetta and I

Sawyer water filters demonstration
Ben, introducing Drew and Hugh

Sawyer water filters
Drew, Hugh and Ben in action.

Sawyer water filter - before and after.
Not only does it look cleaner and nicer to drink, the filter has removed 99.99999 of bacteria.

Ben, Hugh, Becky, Drew and I with the lovely community...
and their Sawyer water filters and buckets.

Comments

[Carol Duffy]

Wonderful work
We are friends of Hugh and Becky. Your blog was great to read- we are all very appreciative of the great work you all do in Uganda. I teach P7 classes and tell them every year of the work carried out by groups like yours and Hugh's hoping that they will feel some responsibility to help others in any way they can too. You have helped change many people's lives for the better. :-)

[Rachel Roo]

Thank you
Hi Carol! Thank you for your message, really appreciate it :) It's great to work with Hugh and Becky, know they're working on their blog as I type! Rachel