Community Constructed Shallow Wells
Our mission is to facilitate community health and well being in rural Uganda through sustainable health and development programs that have a real impact.
About You
About You
First Name
Kathleen
Last Name
Bongiovanni
Twitter URL
Facebook URL
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Uganda Village Project
Organization Website
Organization Country
United States, WA
Country where this project is creating social impact
Uganda, IGA
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
More than 5 years
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
Since 2003, the Uganda Village Project has been working with the people of Iganga to promote public health and sustainable development in the rural communities of this marginalized district in Southeast Uganda. Our organization represents a network of partnerships bridging disciplines and sectors working to innovate and support locally specific solutions that draw together multiple stakeholders for results-based programming. As an international nonprofit organization, we work directly with community based organizations and local government to utilize local knowledge and maximize community ownership.
The Uganda Village Project has provided secondary education scholarships to over 130 vulnerable children since 2004. UVP began constructing safe water sources in 2005, and following a few years of merely building sources when requested by partner communities, we determined that a more strategic and systemic model was needed. After more than a year of working with local leaders, engineers, rural families and community based organizations, UVP launched the Community Constructed Shallow Well project. We have built over 50 wells and have helped more than 8,400 people gain access to safe water.
We have enrolled 13 villages in the Iganga District into our Healthy Villages Program, which started in 2009. In 2010 alone, the Uganda Village Project was able to provide 7 community-constructed shallow wells providing safe water for rural villages, 26 scholarships for vulnerable children and orphans, 1253 mosquito nets to protect villagers against malaria, 32 widows assisted through dairy goat rearing program, 39 patients transported to 3 obstetric fistula repair camps, 953 tippy tap hand washing facilities built, 10 Village Health Teams trained to promote community health and well being, 62 latrines built, 516 maternal health consultations, 283 people received glasses, 54 people received cataract surgery, and 1419 people were screened for HIV.
References - Please provide two references with a two-sentence biography, email address, and phone number for each
Alison Hayward, MD, UVP Director. Emergency Medicine Physician, University Medical Center, Worcester, Massachusetts. 860-748-5358, director@ugandavillageproject.org Alison works as an emergency medicine physician at UMass University Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. She has been involved in Uganda Village Project as co-founder since its inception in 2003 and has served as director and assistant director since 2005.
Lawrence Mumbe, UVP Assistant Director. Program Officer for Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission programs in the AIDS Control Program at the Uganda Ministry of Health. Lawrence@ugandavillageproject.org Lawrence has been a tireless supporter of UVP in Uganda, serving as a volunteer on our summer teams for multiple consecutive years, including serving this summer on our Healthcare Team. Lawrence finds time for volunteer work despite also serving in a position as Program Officer for PMTCT (Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission) programs in the AIDS Control Program at the Uganda Ministry of Health.
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
Innovation
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Established (past the previous stages and has demonstrated success)
How long have you been in operation?
Operating for 1‐5 years
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
In the Iganga District in Eastern Uganda, access to water at all, let alone safe water, is greatly lacking in many rural villages. In the villages in which we construct shallow wells, villagers are often required to walk over 2km to access the nearest safe water source. Water sources that exist in the village are often severely contaminated, making cyclical bouts of severe illness and premature death a part of everyday life. According to the WHO, 16% of deaths in Ugandan children under the age of 5 are simply due to diarrhea. These deaths could be easily prevented with an ongoing source of safe water, supported by low cost public health interventions.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
The Uganda Village Project’s Community Constructed Shallow Well Program is a new use of an existing technology. The technology used in the program, the shallow well, is built using established construction methods. Where our program stands out is in the methodology used to ensure the sustainability of these water sources. Rural areas of Africa are littered with the remains of wells built by well-meaning humanitarians from around the world. Simply constructing a well, we have come to realize, is not enough. Uganda Village Project takes an innovative approach to program design and implementation to ensure that each well is community owned and will continue to be a source of safe water when UVP is no longer working in the community. This approach goes beyond solely constructing shallow wells; it includes accountability, training, capacity building and the establishment of strong community networks to ensure that the village has a sustainable source of safe water.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
Wells are built in communities that request a safe water source, and the site is chosen in consultation with the community, and must adhere to UVP’s standards. Before the well is sunk, the village must elect a Water and Sanitation Committee (WSC) and commit to providing ongoing governance of the well. The community must also sign a Memorandum of Understanding with UVP to formalize its commitment to ensuring the sustainability of its water source. The community also provides locally available materials, food and lodging for the mason (who is responsible for the technical aspects of the well construction), and labor for the digging of the well.
The election of a WSC to oversee well governance is a central component of UVP’s Safe Water Program, and distinguishes our program from other approaches. Our emphasis on strong shallow well governance is innovative. Responsible governance is necessary to guarantee the sustainability of a shallow well. WSCs are trained on safe water and sanitation techniques by the Iganga District Water Office in tandem with UVP, and are also responsible for presenting the shallow well governance plan to the village. The WSC is also closely involved in the monitoring and evaluation of the Community Constructed Shallow Well program in the community. The WSC is responsible for raising funds from the community on an ongoing basis in order to maintain the shallow well. Over the three years that UVP works with the community the capacity of the WSC is supported and developed so that they are able to govern the well effectively in the future.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
UVP’s Community Constructed Shallow Well Program takes a holistic approach to the safe water chain. This approach goes beyond solely constructing shallow wells; it includes accountability, training, capacity building and the establishment of strong community networks to ensure that the village has a sustainable source of safe water. We believe we have one of the most comprehensive approaches to safe water source construction for village communities worldwide. Although many charities construct wells, and a percentage of these tout community involvement and investment, we feel that attention should paid to our approach, which utilizes the best practices in the field to create a strategy that takes well construction programming to a level beyond the performance of other organizations.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Social Impact
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
UVP’s current Community Constructed Shallow Well Program methodology was put in place following the evaluation of our previous program approach in November 2009. The results of this evaluation showed us that the effectiveness of our previous program methodology was limited by a number of factors. These included relationships between UVP, the local government and the community; the effectiveness of the Water and Sanitation Committee (WSC) and overall well governance; and the incorporation of the safe water chain into community-level outreach workshops. Following the evaluation, completed in December 2009, UVP redesigned the program in order to capitalize on our strengths and reduce or eliminate the remaining challenges to the program. A key strength of our revised program is the emphasis on making the shallow well community-owned from the start of the project, the election of a WSC to oversee well governance, and our focus on working with local government in the Iganga District.
Please describe the goal of your initiative; outline what you are trying to achieve
The Uganda Village Project works with rural communities and local government to build Community Constructed Shallow Wells. While the wells are built using traditional methods, UVP takes an innovative participatory approach to program design and implementation to ensure that each well is community constructed, owned, governed, and maintained. UVP is able to help communities access a safe and sustainable source of clean drinking water, decreasing the risk of diarrheal disease and building village capacity.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
The Community Constructed Shallow Well Program has directly benefited 12 villages and increased access to safe water for 1,145 households (estimated 8,015 people at an average of seven people in each house). The people in these communities no longer need to travel two kilometers to reach a safe source of water, and connections between villages and the government has been improved through workshops and trainings conducted by UVP staff and sub-county officials. We hosted a Safe Water Conference in December of 2010, and attendees included officials from the Iganga District Water Office (DWO), the Iganga District community development office, the Red Cross, representatives of the Iganga NGO forum, and UVP staff. One major outcome of the conference was a list of challenges and potential solutions and action items for future safe water projects, and UVP is working to incorporate these suggestions into the Community Constructed Shallow Well model.
What is your projected impact over the next five years?
Over the next 5 years we hope to develop a more sustainable funding stream for the Community Constructed Shallow Well program that will allow us to continue our current well building efforts (10 wells per year), and possibly expand the program to 15 wells per year. If we are successful, after 5 years we will have provided wells to at least 50 villages, and directly impacted the lives of 35,000 people. We hope to see a sustained decrease in diarrheal disease, increased school attendance, and an increase in economic output as villagers are able to spend less time gathering water and more time farming or caring for livestock.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
We hope to fund and build 5 new wells in the Iganga District over the next 6 months.
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your six-month milestone
Task 1
Reach out to donor community to gather necessary financial support to build 5 wells.
Task 2
Increase communication with local government and community partners to strengthen relationships.
Task 3
Continue monitoring efforts with current wells to ensure that we are tracking progress and meeting our goals.
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
We hope to fund and build 10 new wells in the Iganga District over the next 12 months.
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your 12-month milestone
Task 1
Write grants to foundations that will enable us to attain a more sustainable funding model, and to fund the remaining 5 wells.
Task 2
Reach out to other organizations working on safe water and publicize the Community Constructed Shallow Well model.
Task 3
Conduct a rigorous evaluation of the Community Constructed Shallow Well program and plan to scale up.
Sustainability
Tell us about your partnerships
Our key partners in the Community Constructed Shallow Well Program are the communities themselves. Villages must request a well, sign an MOU, elect a Water and Sanitation Committee, and commit to providing ongoing governance of the well. We also partner with the local government, and have signed and MOU that commits to building 10 wells in the Iganga District every year. The District Water Office is responsible for testing the quality of the water in the wells after UVP has left the village, and for communicating these results to Sub-County officials who will relay them to the villagers.
Are you currently targeting other specific populations, locations, or markets for your innovation? If so, where and why?
Uganda Village Project’s mandate and mission is focused on the Iganga District, a Southeastern district of Uganda. Located in the middle of the Busoga region of the Basoga people, Iganga is one of the more marginalized districts of the country, and the people living there tend to have higher rates of poverty and poorer heath and education outcomes. Due to the high level of need in the Iganga District and limitations in funding, we currently have no plans to expand the Community Constructed Shallow Well Program beyond of the Iganga District.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
In order to insure the success of the Community Constructed Shallow Well program, UVP invests heavily in ongoing monitoring and evaluation. Monitoring efforts include 6 well assessments and focus on Technical Soundness, Social Impact, and Well Governance. Technical Soundness includes water quality testing to check for contamination, an assessment of the physical condition of the well, and well functionality. Social Impact is monitored through repeated administration of a short survey to 30 households that includes simple questions assessing knowledge of the safe water chain and water usage habits. Well Governance focuses on the success of funding collection for well maintenance, completion of necessary well repairs, and rainy vs dry season trends.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| water_slide1s1.jpg | 158.73 KB |
| water_slide2s1.jpg | 161.78 KB |
| water_slide4s1.jpg | 122.04 KB |
| water_slide5s1.jpg | 118.84 KB |
| water_slide8s1.jpg | 140.71 KB |
| water_slide9s1.jpg | 133.62 KB |
| water_slide10s1.jpg | 124.08 KB |
| water_slide11s1.jpg | 163.07 KB |
| water_slide12s1.jpg | 126.59 KB |
| water_slide14s1.jpg | 138.96 KB |
| water_slide15s1.jpg | 152.98 KB |
| water_slide16s1.jpg | 130.04 KB |
 | 21 weeks agoShantharam Shenai said: Dear Kathleen, It's so nice to learn of your noble effort to address one of the roots of the health issues, namely water. Human ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 23 weeks agoKathleen Bongiovanni updated this Competition Entry. |
| 23 weeks agoKathleen Bongiovanni submitted this idea. |
