In the morning, we planned for the workshop, which will cover the following main points:
1. Causes of water contamination
There are germs in the water. These germs can stay afloat in the water, but they also like to be attached to particles in the water. These germs make you sick.
2. Biosand filtration
A layer of sand can trap the particles in the water, removing most of the germs. We can flow dirty water through this sand layer to clean the water. However, the water can also carry sand with it into the outlet. In order to trap the sand inside the filter, we can layer some larger gravels at the bottom of the filter, since the gravels can admit the water but not so much sand. However, there are also free-floating germs in the water, which are too small for the sand to remove physically. Incidentally, over time, the living matter already present in the water gets trapped at the water-sand interface, forming a living bio-layer. These living things like to eat up the free-floating bacteria, which makes the water even cleaner. However, this bio-layer is very sensitive, and can die easily. In order to keep it alive, it needs to be always immersed in water---it is important to keep a standing water. To do this, we need to engineer the water tube such that it comes up to the top, so that we do not need to constantly input water in order to keep standing water.
3. Solar pasteurization
Many people boil their water, since the heat kills the germs. Instead of getting heat from the firewood, we can also get heat from the sun. But the heat from the sun is much less intense than that from the firewood, so we will need to leave the water out in the sun for a long time before the water can be safe to drink. One simple way to do this is to fill a transparent plastic bottle with water, leave it out on the rooftop for one day on a sunny day or two days on a cloudy day. This method is called SODIS. A more advanced way involves building reflective surfaces (e.g. using aluminium foil) to reflect and concentrate the sunlight in order to heat up the water more efficiently. This method is called a solar cooker. The downside to the solar methods is that these are limited by sunlight and cannot be used when it rains, and that it takes a long time to treat water.
Joseph came later in the morning, and we went with him to visit Peter's household. The family has 7 children and 2 adults, and uses about 5 jerry cans of water collected from BH4, of which 1 jerry can is used for drinking, both in the form of tea and of water. The family sometimes boil their water, nsuing firewood collected from the forest, because boiling water can kill germs. The family is unwilling to help us test the prototypes, though they express interest if we construct the prototypes ourselves and have them test it. This is fine---we have three families. And Joseph also expressed some interest in helping us test a Biosand filter.
Upon returning to the clinic, we went through our workshop plan with Joseph (our translator) to make sure that he understands all the key concepts. Of all the points, the most difficult to score is the development of the bio-layer, which is not really intuitive. Joseph thinks that most of the people would be interested in SODIS because this is a simple method. In the mean time, we filled the black-painted jerry can with Nalongo water and put it into our solar cooker. We also layered a plastic film on the top to cover the cooker such that there is less convection. The clinic's cook saw our set up; Kevin explained the idea to her, but she remains unconvinced that it would be powerful enough to treat water.
We read the results of the Petrifilm tests from water samples gathered at 14:30 on 1/11, from BH4 and P1, as well as control (C), which is our drinking water. The results are given as follows. We strongly suspect that we have accidentally mislabelled the BH4 and P1 samples:
BH4 Enterobacteria sample 1: 36 (many dots without bubbles)
BH4 E. coli/coliform sample 1: 0/15 (many dots without bubbles)
BH4 Enterobacteria sample 2: 59 (many dots without bubbles)
BH4 E. coli/coliform sample 2: 1/23 (many dots without bubbles)
P1 E. coli/coliform sample 1: 0 (5 dots without bubbles)
P1 Enterobacteria sample 1: 1
P1 E. coli/coliform sample 2: 0
P1 Enterobacteria sample 2: 0
Control Enterobacteria: 0 (about 3 dots without bubbles)
Control E. coli/coliform: 0 (about 40 dots without bubbles)
Later, we sifted through our new pile of sand, with the constructive or destructive help of some kids, and it was another arduous process. This process continued until about 3 p.m., at which time we had a late lunch of rice, posho (??), and ground nut sauce.
We prepared some "posters" for the workshop (consisting of half A4 papers with drawings and some elementary Luganda labels with the help of John and Francis). One woman (whom we approached earlier in our interviews) appeared at 3 p.m. (but we didn't find out until about 4 p.m.) and waited for about 1 hour. Then at 4 p.m. about 4 more people showed up. Joseph, whom we had gone through the workshop materials this morning and was supposed to translate for us, went to look for the other households (whom we talked to yesterday). So we started, with John as our translator. More people trickled in, and a few went away, but the maximum was about 11 people, which was beyond our expectations (we had expected the 3 families from yesterday, plus maybe 2 more add-ons from one of the previously visited families).
John first started with reference to Helen and Becca's last meeting, in terms of Petrifilm tests and the recommendation to boil water. We emphasised that we are doing tests, and do not currently know which method works well for people. We will give them ways (e.g. Petrifilm) to monitor the water: we do not want them to drink water treated using our technology unless we know that they are as good as boiled water. We then had John go through the ideas of Biosand filter, SODIS, and solar cooker. We had some demonstrations, including the Rwanzori water bottle sand filter from yesterday, the empty bucket with the outlet pipes attached, the four SODIS plastic bottles which had been sitting on the roof for 2 days, and the solar cooker with the black-painted jerry can of water (which we put in this morning from Nalongo water). People were caught up a little on the idea of using the principle of hydrostatic pressure to maintain a standing water to keep the bio-layer alive (it was not an intuitive concept, and John needed to demonstrate with a kettle). People also had a chance to feel how warm the water in the solar cooker was. Even though we took it out of the sun when we started the workshop (it was getting cloudy and thundery but never rained), about 1.5 hours into the workshop, the water was still very warm---perhaps about 50C---how we wish we had a thermometer!
At the end, we took down the names of the people who attended, alongside with their interests (either bucket or cooker; no one chose SODIS). We explained to them that due to the limited time, resources, and scope of our test (we don't know if any technology works well), we can only accommodate a limited number of households. But here is a complete list of the participants with their preferences:
Kyeyune Jawada - cooker
Mbazira Edward - bucket
Gertrude Buyoudo - cooker
Richard Njagala - cooker/bucket
Eddie Muwuza - cooker
Nyanbi Najibu - cooker
Ssebulime Medi - bucket
Jjavuga - bucket
Niusima Noleda - bucket
Bafeyo Hadija - bucket
Joseph - bucket/cooker
As can be seen, the divide between the cookers and the buckets are about half and half. We plan to take perhaps 2 cookers and 2 buckets. This includes Eddie (cooker), who is quite involved with the clinic, and Joseph (bucket), who has been translating for us and knows what we are doing. We are impressed by a lady (Gertrude Buyoudo) who showed up at 3 p.m. and asked several questions. The fourth one (a bucket) is to be decided. Our plan is to go to Masaka tomorrow to look for the materials needed to construct the prototypes---wish us luck!
We then did some Petrifilm tests with the SODIS water (drawn from P1 and BH4, in both big 1.5 L and small 0.6 L bottles) as well as the solar cooker water (drawn from P1). Finally, we got together to talk more generally about our goals and plans over the remaining two weeks. It is important to push the workshop/prototype before the medical mission arrives. Then, based on our discussions with the different households, and based on Mike's inclination, we want to look at what may be wrong with the BHs, and find possible ways to address these efficiently.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
January 12, 2010 - Ddegeya
We had some more conversation with John and the other Engeye staff this morning, just to throw around ideas about the workshop. At the end, we have decided that it makes more sense to approach about three or four households who either are involved with the clinic (e.g. Eddie, Peter), or live near the clinic, such that the post-trip follow-up will be more tractable. For the workshop, we also plan just to hold it for these selected households to sketch out the water treatment options available, and gauge their interest in any particular technology. Since materials (sand, etc.) are pretty heavy to carry, we will probably visit the different households individually, carry the components (sand, gravels) with us, and work together with them in the household to build the prototype (they will still be the ones doing most of the assembling).
As for the 14 households we have already visited and mentioned about the workshop, it would look bad if we did not follow through with our "promise" of some sort of workshop. Joseph is of the opinion that these households would not mind if the idea of workshop were not followed through. However, in the case our separate prototyping with the other selected households are successful, we can then revisit these 14 households again, describing our workshop technologies to them and asking about their opinions on whether they would be interested in these if we were to implement them in the future (in the manner of another survey). This would also allow us to take some water samples from the households for testing (which we have not done in our initial survey so far), and possibly allow Kevin to conduct a PSC survey on Tish's behalf (on a variety of intermediate technologies, of which our water treatment is a subclass).
We found that due to the rain yesterday, the sand pile was still wet, so we could not do any sieving this morning. Instead, we performed a run of SODIS, using two big and two small plastic bottles. We gathered water from BH4 and from P1 into each of a big-small bottle pair, left those on the south side of the sleeping quarter's corrugated roof (thanks to Mike), and would see what happens (e.g. by colifirm count).
We then operated on a cardboard box to make a simple solar-based water pasteurizer. This was not overly complicated, mainly involving cutting the cardboard box to the right dimension, and layering the interior and flaps with Al foil. The intended container of water treatment is a 5 L jerry can, which we painted black using the black paint we got in Masaka on Sunday. The jerry can was left to dry in the sun. The black paint was awful---it was not water soluble; Kevin got a lot on his hands and spent about 30 minutes washing those off, with water, soap, sponge, and then finally some paint thinner.
We then made a turbidity measurement of the water from P1, P2, and BH4 using a turbidity tube. The results, though somewhat surprising, are given as follows:
P1 (Nalongo): less than 5 NTU
BH4 (Nalongo): less than 5 NTU
P2 (bamboo forest): about 10 NTU --- the sight is mainly obscured by floating hair-like algae.
We noted that after the heavy rain yesterday, the water-gathering traffic was reduced significantly. It would be useful if we could spend a day quantifying the water-gathering data, such as the sphere of influence of Nalongo (or the other sources such as BH6/P3). But this will take time and is something we might attempt only after the more important stuff (e.g. workshop, boreholes) has been carried through satisfactorily.
In the afternoon, we started sifting the sand again, which by this time was adequately dry. However, the little remaining wetness in the sand meant a slow and painful process. Joseph was supposed to show up at 3 p.m. or so to accompany us to the selected households. However, according to Francis, Joseph felt unwell today, so we asked Francis to accompany us. We first visited the house of Njagala Bendicto. The family collects water from Nalongo (about 5 jerry cans per day), and drinks about 20 L per day. Drinking is via both tea and plain water. Water is boiled using firewood, gathered at the family's forest. The family will be able to make the workshop tomorrow at 4 p.m.
The second family is that of Namagemse Jokieria, which has 5 people, including 1 child. The family uses about 6 jerry cans of water from Nalongo, 5 L of which is for drinking, 20 L, cooking food, and 20 L, washing utensils. The family drinks both tea and plain water. Drinking water is boiled using firewood, which is bought. The family will also be able to make the workshop tomorrow at 4 p.m.
We dropped by Eddie's house, but no one was at home, so we left Francis to pass the message onto Eddie. Francis would also want us to visit Peter's house tomorrow as the fourth household for workshop.
While we were moving around with Francis, Francis got a mobile phone call from John, informing us that two people have shown up for the "workshop" today. While during our previous interviews, we told the households that John would reconfirm the workshop time, our expectation was that the workshop would be held on Tuesday, and Joseph apparently acted on this expectation in his translation/communications. We told John to tell these visitors that the workshop will take place tomorrow. If more people than the four selected households show up, we will simply have to explain to them that we are limiting the prototype tests to those who live closest to the clinic (we simply do not have enough materials to build one for every house), though these people are welcome to stay and watch.
Having gotten back to the clinic, we discovered another pile of sand that John purchased for us (we have been using a wrong pile). We first tested the old sand (from the wrong pile) by building a toy model of the slow sand filter in a 1.5-L Rwanzori mineral water bottle (with the top cut off and holes punched into the base). We piled about 0.5 cm of gravel to the bottom before heaping about 5 cm of unwashed sand to the top. The water that passed through came out much more turbid than expected. The flow rate was about 1.5 L for 8 minutes, which was satisfactory.
We then got some sand from the new pile and washed it under BH4's water 8 times, until the sand-water suspension became much more transparent. We then built a toy model using this fine sand. The first 1.5 L, which took about 5.5 minutes to fill, was still dissapointingly turbid. However, the subsequent water became much less turbid. We kept the filter running for about 8 L of water, with flow rate of about 5.5-6 minutes per 1.5 L. This seemed a much better outcome. We also tested the turbidity of the water. The original water (from a blue rain-collecting drum with somewhat dirty-looking water) had a turbidity of around 7 NTU. The first passage through the sand filter yielded water with turbidity of around 20 NTU. Subsequent passages lowered the turbidity to around 10-15 NTU. Since we did this test upon sunset, we were uncertain whether or not gradually diminishing lighting could have affected our measurements.
Kevin finally remembered to pay John for the sand and the gravel today (totaling 250,000 UGX). For some reason, the clinic did not collect a lot of electricity from the sun today (even though the morning and parts of the afternoon were relatively sunny, and it did not rain), so in the evening we had to cut back our electricity use, walking about in our headlamps. Some people were trying to do some acrobatics on the front porch. Eddie and Dora wanted to learn Chinese from Kevin; when asked why, they said that it is so that they could watch and understand kung fu movies a little better. We learnt how to pronounce water ("amazzi" in Luganda) carefully (which sounds very similar to the Luganda word for feces). The phrase of the day is "Amazzi bwe bulamu", which means that "water is life". A scouting party was sent out to get some drinks, as usual, and dinner was had at about 9:30 p.m., with some usual fares plus some sensational pastegetti with tomatoes.
As for the 14 households we have already visited and mentioned about the workshop, it would look bad if we did not follow through with our "promise" of some sort of workshop. Joseph is of the opinion that these households would not mind if the idea of workshop were not followed through. However, in the case our separate prototyping with the other selected households are successful, we can then revisit these 14 households again, describing our workshop technologies to them and asking about their opinions on whether they would be interested in these if we were to implement them in the future (in the manner of another survey). This would also allow us to take some water samples from the households for testing (which we have not done in our initial survey so far), and possibly allow Kevin to conduct a PSC survey on Tish's behalf (on a variety of intermediate technologies, of which our water treatment is a subclass).
We found that due to the rain yesterday, the sand pile was still wet, so we could not do any sieving this morning. Instead, we performed a run of SODIS, using two big and two small plastic bottles. We gathered water from BH4 and from P1 into each of a big-small bottle pair, left those on the south side of the sleeping quarter's corrugated roof (thanks to Mike), and would see what happens (e.g. by colifirm count).
We then operated on a cardboard box to make a simple solar-based water pasteurizer. This was not overly complicated, mainly involving cutting the cardboard box to the right dimension, and layering the interior and flaps with Al foil. The intended container of water treatment is a 5 L jerry can, which we painted black using the black paint we got in Masaka on Sunday. The jerry can was left to dry in the sun. The black paint was awful---it was not water soluble; Kevin got a lot on his hands and spent about 30 minutes washing those off, with water, soap, sponge, and then finally some paint thinner.
We then made a turbidity measurement of the water from P1, P2, and BH4 using a turbidity tube. The results, though somewhat surprising, are given as follows:
P1 (Nalongo): less than 5 NTU
BH4 (Nalongo): less than 5 NTU
P2 (bamboo forest): about 10 NTU --- the sight is mainly obscured by floating hair-like algae.
We noted that after the heavy rain yesterday, the water-gathering traffic was reduced significantly. It would be useful if we could spend a day quantifying the water-gathering data, such as the sphere of influence of Nalongo (or the other sources such as BH6/P3). But this will take time and is something we might attempt only after the more important stuff (e.g. workshop, boreholes) has been carried through satisfactorily.
In the afternoon, we started sifting the sand again, which by this time was adequately dry. However, the little remaining wetness in the sand meant a slow and painful process. Joseph was supposed to show up at 3 p.m. or so to accompany us to the selected households. However, according to Francis, Joseph felt unwell today, so we asked Francis to accompany us. We first visited the house of Njagala Bendicto. The family collects water from Nalongo (about 5 jerry cans per day), and drinks about 20 L per day. Drinking is via both tea and plain water. Water is boiled using firewood, gathered at the family's forest. The family will be able to make the workshop tomorrow at 4 p.m.
The second family is that of Namagemse Jokieria, which has 5 people, including 1 child. The family uses about 6 jerry cans of water from Nalongo, 5 L of which is for drinking, 20 L, cooking food, and 20 L, washing utensils. The family drinks both tea and plain water. Drinking water is boiled using firewood, which is bought. The family will also be able to make the workshop tomorrow at 4 p.m.
We dropped by Eddie's house, but no one was at home, so we left Francis to pass the message onto Eddie. Francis would also want us to visit Peter's house tomorrow as the fourth household for workshop.
While we were moving around with Francis, Francis got a mobile phone call from John, informing us that two people have shown up for the "workshop" today. While during our previous interviews, we told the households that John would reconfirm the workshop time, our expectation was that the workshop would be held on Tuesday, and Joseph apparently acted on this expectation in his translation/communications. We told John to tell these visitors that the workshop will take place tomorrow. If more people than the four selected households show up, we will simply have to explain to them that we are limiting the prototype tests to those who live closest to the clinic (we simply do not have enough materials to build one for every house), though these people are welcome to stay and watch.
Having gotten back to the clinic, we discovered another pile of sand that John purchased for us (we have been using a wrong pile). We first tested the old sand (from the wrong pile) by building a toy model of the slow sand filter in a 1.5-L Rwanzori mineral water bottle (with the top cut off and holes punched into the base). We piled about 0.5 cm of gravel to the bottom before heaping about 5 cm of unwashed sand to the top. The water that passed through came out much more turbid than expected. The flow rate was about 1.5 L for 8 minutes, which was satisfactory.
We then got some sand from the new pile and washed it under BH4's water 8 times, until the sand-water suspension became much more transparent. We then built a toy model using this fine sand. The first 1.5 L, which took about 5.5 minutes to fill, was still dissapointingly turbid. However, the subsequent water became much less turbid. We kept the filter running for about 8 L of water, with flow rate of about 5.5-6 minutes per 1.5 L. This seemed a much better outcome. We also tested the turbidity of the water. The original water (from a blue rain-collecting drum with somewhat dirty-looking water) had a turbidity of around 7 NTU. The first passage through the sand filter yielded water with turbidity of around 20 NTU. Subsequent passages lowered the turbidity to around 10-15 NTU. Since we did this test upon sunset, we were uncertain whether or not gradually diminishing lighting could have affected our measurements.
Kevin finally remembered to pay John for the sand and the gravel today (totaling 250,000 UGX). For some reason, the clinic did not collect a lot of electricity from the sun today (even though the morning and parts of the afternoon were relatively sunny, and it did not rain), so in the evening we had to cut back our electricity use, walking about in our headlamps. Some people were trying to do some acrobatics on the front porch. Eddie and Dora wanted to learn Chinese from Kevin; when asked why, they said that it is so that they could watch and understand kung fu movies a little better. We learnt how to pronounce water ("amazzi" in Luganda) carefully (which sounds very similar to the Luganda word for feces). The phrase of the day is "Amazzi bwe bulamu", which means that "water is life". A scouting party was sent out to get some drinks, as usual, and dinner was had at about 9:30 p.m., with some usual fares plus some sensational pastegetti with tomatoes.
January 11, 2010 - Ddegeya
This morning, Joseph brought us to St. Gertrude's private school. Beyond the school in the dense wood, we encountered a BH, which we think might be BH2. Nearer to the school inside a roofless building was another BH (whose cap was off), and we think that this might be BH3. Helen and Becca should double-check that our designation is correct.
According to Joseph, BH3 was built about 15 years ago, and stopped working around the year 2000. It used to give good and clean water (people used not have to wait), but dried up suddenly. Joseph thinks that it is the fault of the eucalyptus forest---at the time the BH was dug, the trees were still young, but after the trees matured, the BH dried up. The BH used to support the school and about 15 houses. When BH3 became dry, a rich family dug BH2, which was used by the school and about 20 households for maybe 3 years until it dried too. Unlike BH3, BH2 never yielded much water even at the start, and the water was coloured---Joseph thinks that this is due to the tree roots, which might compete for water. Since this BH stopped functioning, the school has increased their rain collection drums to 4 (this supplied enough water for only about 3 months in a year). When this was not enough, the school---as well as the nearby houses---now collect water from Nalongo.
We tried to take the head of BH2 apart, which looked like a Mach 3 pump according to Dave. BH2 had no chain---nothing was attached. The top flange had only 2 bolts. The middle flange had 4 long bolts. When all those were removed, it revealed a plastic sleeve (with blue interior). As we shone flashlight down, we saw some reflection. As Mike dropped a pebble down, we affirmed that there is still water at the bottom of BH2. We then visited BH3 nearer to the school. The top of the BH3 was missing, which made it somewhat of a hazard. Judging by the number of concrete rings, the borehole is at least 20 ft deep. There is no water at the bottom.
According to Joseph, beyond the forest near BH2 is another building near which an open pond can be found. He claimed that this pond is dry. Dave wanted to see this, but at this point we experienced a sudden downpour, so we took shelter in the school. During this time, Kevin asked more questions about the history of these BHs (detailed above), and had Joseph teach him some Luganda. When it became clear that the rain would not subside after about 45 minutes of waiting, we resolved to walk back to the clinic in the rain.
In order to prepare for the workshop tomorrow, we started building our Biosand filter today. The first challenge was to drill a hole on the side of the plastic container near the bottom (for the outlet). Dave brought a drill, but was unable to find the correct drill tip (Goose, the dog at the clinic, might have taken it). The clinic has a drill, but according to Francis, this has not been working. We tried to charge it up anyways. After having blown a fuse, and having waited for several hours, we still saw no signs of life in this drill. Our next plan was to take a sharp knife and cut a roughly circular opening. This proved moderately successful.
The second challenge was to drill some holes in the outlet pipe to be placed inside the container to collect filtered water. We first tried to hammer nail into the pipe's side. Then Mike found a screw and used Dave's drill to drill the screw into the pipe and back out, yielding two moderately successful holes. Then Mike got ambitious and tried to unsuccessfully drill a hole directly using another drill tip. Unfortunately, this tip somehow got stuck inside Dave's drill, rendering it unusable for drilling. We then reverted back to drilling holes with nails and a hammer. This processed was streamlined and in about an hour, we had a collector pipe with about 10 holes drilled into it.
After lunch, we took water samples from BH4 and P1 and did two Petrifilm tests of coliform/E. coli and Enterobacteria on each. We also took some "clean" water that we are drinking and did a Petrifilm test on it. We hope to have some suitable results to show tomorrow at the workshop.
In the afternoon, we found a piece of wood and made a frame for the smallest sieve (for the fine sand). We also drilled more holes to the collector tube, which now really reminds us of some woodwind musical instrument that does not function. At about 3:30 p.m., Joseph showed up, so Kevin left with him to conduct more household interviews, while Mike and Dave were left to figure out how to piece the outlet pipes together with the joints with epoxy and duct tape---hopefully a waterproof design, at least temporarily.
Four households were visited today. For three of them, the interviews were mainly conducted in English. The answer patterns matched up quite well with the translated responses we got from Joseph from earlier households, so it is quite likely that the previous answers were faithful translations and not something Joseph made up for our convenience. This still leaves the truthfulness of some answers in question (for example, if a household is embarrassed about not boiling water, the answer we get might be an affirmative, though we did implement some checks---such as by asking them to estimate the time it takes to boil certain volume of water), but well, I guess there are certain things we just can never find out by asking. Once again, where there are reasons to doubt Joseph's translation, the statement is enclosed by three asterisks ***...***.
Household 12
Mrs. Nakiwala Gerfrude lives on the Masaka-Mbarara Road past the Trading Centre, and has never been approached before for a similar interview. Her household has 9 people, 7 of whom are school children. The family uses about 5 jerry cans of water, collected mainly from P3. The family used to collect water from the nearby BH6, but it stopped functioning last year---there is something wrong with the machines. Someone constructed this BH, and the family paid no fees to use it. Sometimes the family also uses Nalongo---both P1 and BH4. The family prefers the pump, ***which gives clean water***. Nalongo is visited only during the drought season. Children make 1 trip daily to collect water in 5 jerry cans, carried on a bicycle, and it takes about 30 minutes for a return trip.
Of the 5 jerry cans of water, about 2 jerry cans are used in the kitchen. The family drinks about 10 L of water for 2 days. The family boils drinking water using firewood collected from its own forest. Water should be boiled according to doctors from Masaka/Kinoni. It takes about 20 minutes to boil 10 L of water, and the family keeps it boiling for 5 minutes in a saucepan.
The family practises rainwater collection in 2 drums. There is some gutter on the roof, but this does not cover everything. In a heavy rain like today, all the drums are full, and the water is expected to last 4 days (10 jerry cans). When there is new rain, the family sometimes pours away the old water ***because mosquitoes might be breeding inside***. The family boils rainwater. The family thinks that the rainwater is clean---just imagine that it is clean. Even if the clinic sets up a rainwater collection and storage facility, the family would still prefer gathering water from P3, because the clinic is too far.
The family would be interested in the workshop. The evening time is not so busy for the family, and it is the interviewee who will come.
Household 13
Mr. Ddungu Pauline speaks good English. He has been approached once for an interview by the Ugandan government (South County), though no mzungus (foreigners) have approached him for an interview before. There are 12 people in his family. There are 16 children, though some are married, so 8 people are living in the house. Some of these children go to school. The family carries about 6 jerry cans of water per day, using P3. The family does not use BH6 because it has a strange smell probably due to the vegetation---a smell that cannot be described. During the rainy season, this smell worsens. BH6 also does not provide enough water. Children collect water 3 times a day, travelling on foot and carrying 2 jerry cans. The distance to P3 is about 0.25 km, and it takes about 20 minutes per trip. Sometimes the family also collects water from Nalongo---P1, because P3 is not a reliable pond. In fact, P3 is dry for about 2 months every year.
During washing day, the family needs 2 additional jerry cans of water. Otherwise, cooking/kitchen takes up about 5 jerry cans. The family also drinks about 15 L of water per day, tea inclusive. The family boils water using firewood collected from its own forest. It takes about 15 minutes to boil water (for 15 L, this takes much longer---60 minutes). The family keeps the water boiling for 5 minutes---the container depends on what is available.
The family practises rainwater collection. In fact, Kevin saw a huge (about 4 m in diameter and 4 m high) concrete tank with roof gutter. Joseph speculates that the top is covered (to avoid mosquitoes), except for a small hole near the roof gutter outlet. The family informs us that the tank actually does not work well---there is leakage, and about 12 jerry cans of water can be collected when it rains heavily, yielding 3 days of water. The family collects both old and new rains without discarding the old. The family boils rainwater, because of the dust. The family would be interested in using a potential rainwater storage system at the clinic.
The family would also be interested in attending the workshop---after 4 p.m. is ideal, and the attendee can be available for about 2 hours.
Household 14
Mrs. Nalukwaga Betty lives by the Masaka-Mbarara Road beyond the Trading Centre, and speaks proficient English. Her household has 7 people, 5 of whom are school children. The family uses about 3 jerry cans of water for cloth-washing, 2 jerry cans for cooking/washing, and drinks about 3 L daily. Water is collected from P3---the water from BH6 is believed to be spoilt. The family thinks that the BH6 chain is not functioning. BH6 was built in 2003, and stopped working in 2008. No attempts have been made in fixing it. The family is also aware of BH5, which stopped working in 2002. BH5 was broken; a local engineer came but did not fix the problem. The family used to pay 500 shillings/month to use BH5 (for a couple of months before it broke), to Madina (see household 6), who used to maintain it. The family also collects water occasionally from BH4 during drought. However, it might also use water from P1 if there are many people at BH4. The family thinks that BH4 yields purer and safer water than P1, which has algae growing in it. Children carry water twice a day (morning and evening) using 2 jerry cans.
The family boils drinking water using purchased firewood, which costs about 150 shillings a piece. This translates into about 300 shillings a day for cooking and boiling. It takes about 2 hours to boil water in a kettle (I don't know if this is the interviewee misunderstanding the question or if it is a failure of an answer truthfulness check), and heat is turned off instantaneously after boiling point is reached. Boiled water is stored in different jerry cans from those used for water collection.
The family collects rainwater via several jerry cans; there is no roof gutter system. Sometimes rainwater is also stored in saucepans. During heavy rains, about 5 jerry cans of rainwater can be collected, which can provide about 1 day of water. The family boils rainwater---even though rainwater is cleaner than well water, it is still not clean enough. The family would be interested in using the clinic's potential rainwater collection and storage.
The family would be interested in attending the workshop---after 2 p.m. and for a maximum of 2 hours per day.
Household 15
Hope runs a hair salon, and speaks proficient English. Her family of 4 has 2 school children. The family requires about 5 jerry cans per day, and there are 20 L in a jerry can. The family collects water from both P3 and BH6---there is nothing wrong with BH6. The kids are too young to carry water, so they must pay someone to fetch water. The family does not purchase bottled water---this is too expensive.
The family uses about 2 jerry cans per day for washing, and half a jerry can for cooking. About 5 L is drunk daily. Water is boiled using both charcoal and/or firewood, bought, costing about 5000 shillings per month. Water in a saucepan takes about 15 minutes (the family is very unsure) to boil, and is kept boiling for 5 minutes. Boiled water is transferred to a jerry can (Kevin didn't find out if this is same or different from the jerry can used for collection).
Rainwater is collected in a drum, which yields 5 jerry cans. There is roof guttering. During heavy rains, about 10 jerry cans can be collected, yielding sufficient water for a week. The family boils rainwater but thinks that rainwater is cleaner than P3/BH6---"pure white".
The family would be interested in attending the workshops. 3-4 p.m. would be a convenient time, and the interviewee would be available for about 2 hours per day.
In the meanwhile, Dave and Mike finished assembling the outlet tube and epoxy-glued everything in place. The Biosand filter looks ready, except without the sand and the gravel.
Later in the evening, John and Joe came back from Kampala. They were expecting to bring back some medicine from JMS, but having waited for a whole day without having had their order gone through, they returned to Ddegeya. After dinner, we had a chat with John regarding our plans. Over the next few days, he will be very busy with the preparataion of the medical mission, and hence will not be able to really assist us in the workshops. He suggested that we revisit the households again with Joseph to announce the time and location of the workshop. His impression is that the majority of villagers drink water in the form of tea, which means that they would boil their water anyways---even if they had some sort of Biosand filter. People generally do not just drink "unflavoured" water as we might often do. He had thought that the community, Helen, and Becca reached an agreement last time in which we would find ways to protect the water at the source, and at first he was sceptical about the effectiveness of household water treatment. We explained that the household water treatment could be our short-term attempt at solving a problem that requires a much more long-term planning. So the bottom line is: we will not have a lot of John's help probably for the duration of our trip. Most of the translation/community interaction will have to be done with Joseph. We will talk to him tomorrow morning to see when he will be available to walk us around the village again to announce the workshop to a few households. In this light, the workshop will take place at earliest on Wednesday, and we will have it span over fewer days.
According to Joseph, BH3 was built about 15 years ago, and stopped working around the year 2000. It used to give good and clean water (people used not have to wait), but dried up suddenly. Joseph thinks that it is the fault of the eucalyptus forest---at the time the BH was dug, the trees were still young, but after the trees matured, the BH dried up. The BH used to support the school and about 15 houses. When BH3 became dry, a rich family dug BH2, which was used by the school and about 20 households for maybe 3 years until it dried too. Unlike BH3, BH2 never yielded much water even at the start, and the water was coloured---Joseph thinks that this is due to the tree roots, which might compete for water. Since this BH stopped functioning, the school has increased their rain collection drums to 4 (this supplied enough water for only about 3 months in a year). When this was not enough, the school---as well as the nearby houses---now collect water from Nalongo.
We tried to take the head of BH2 apart, which looked like a Mach 3 pump according to Dave. BH2 had no chain---nothing was attached. The top flange had only 2 bolts. The middle flange had 4 long bolts. When all those were removed, it revealed a plastic sleeve (with blue interior). As we shone flashlight down, we saw some reflection. As Mike dropped a pebble down, we affirmed that there is still water at the bottom of BH2. We then visited BH3 nearer to the school. The top of the BH3 was missing, which made it somewhat of a hazard. Judging by the number of concrete rings, the borehole is at least 20 ft deep. There is no water at the bottom.
According to Joseph, beyond the forest near BH2 is another building near which an open pond can be found. He claimed that this pond is dry. Dave wanted to see this, but at this point we experienced a sudden downpour, so we took shelter in the school. During this time, Kevin asked more questions about the history of these BHs (detailed above), and had Joseph teach him some Luganda. When it became clear that the rain would not subside after about 45 minutes of waiting, we resolved to walk back to the clinic in the rain.
In order to prepare for the workshop tomorrow, we started building our Biosand filter today. The first challenge was to drill a hole on the side of the plastic container near the bottom (for the outlet). Dave brought a drill, but was unable to find the correct drill tip (Goose, the dog at the clinic, might have taken it). The clinic has a drill, but according to Francis, this has not been working. We tried to charge it up anyways. After having blown a fuse, and having waited for several hours, we still saw no signs of life in this drill. Our next plan was to take a sharp knife and cut a roughly circular opening. This proved moderately successful.
The second challenge was to drill some holes in the outlet pipe to be placed inside the container to collect filtered water. We first tried to hammer nail into the pipe's side. Then Mike found a screw and used Dave's drill to drill the screw into the pipe and back out, yielding two moderately successful holes. Then Mike got ambitious and tried to unsuccessfully drill a hole directly using another drill tip. Unfortunately, this tip somehow got stuck inside Dave's drill, rendering it unusable for drilling. We then reverted back to drilling holes with nails and a hammer. This processed was streamlined and in about an hour, we had a collector pipe with about 10 holes drilled into it.
After lunch, we took water samples from BH4 and P1 and did two Petrifilm tests of coliform/E. coli and Enterobacteria on each. We also took some "clean" water that we are drinking and did a Petrifilm test on it. We hope to have some suitable results to show tomorrow at the workshop.
In the afternoon, we found a piece of wood and made a frame for the smallest sieve (for the fine sand). We also drilled more holes to the collector tube, which now really reminds us of some woodwind musical instrument that does not function. At about 3:30 p.m., Joseph showed up, so Kevin left with him to conduct more household interviews, while Mike and Dave were left to figure out how to piece the outlet pipes together with the joints with epoxy and duct tape---hopefully a waterproof design, at least temporarily.
Four households were visited today. For three of them, the interviews were mainly conducted in English. The answer patterns matched up quite well with the translated responses we got from Joseph from earlier households, so it is quite likely that the previous answers were faithful translations and not something Joseph made up for our convenience. This still leaves the truthfulness of some answers in question (for example, if a household is embarrassed about not boiling water, the answer we get might be an affirmative, though we did implement some checks---such as by asking them to estimate the time it takes to boil certain volume of water), but well, I guess there are certain things we just can never find out by asking. Once again, where there are reasons to doubt Joseph's translation, the statement is enclosed by three asterisks ***...***.
Household 12
Mrs. Nakiwala Gerfrude lives on the Masaka-Mbarara Road past the Trading Centre, and has never been approached before for a similar interview. Her household has 9 people, 7 of whom are school children. The family uses about 5 jerry cans of water, collected mainly from P3. The family used to collect water from the nearby BH6, but it stopped functioning last year---there is something wrong with the machines. Someone constructed this BH, and the family paid no fees to use it. Sometimes the family also uses Nalongo---both P1 and BH4. The family prefers the pump, ***which gives clean water***. Nalongo is visited only during the drought season. Children make 1 trip daily to collect water in 5 jerry cans, carried on a bicycle, and it takes about 30 minutes for a return trip.
Of the 5 jerry cans of water, about 2 jerry cans are used in the kitchen. The family drinks about 10 L of water for 2 days. The family boils drinking water using firewood collected from its own forest. Water should be boiled according to doctors from Masaka/Kinoni. It takes about 20 minutes to boil 10 L of water, and the family keeps it boiling for 5 minutes in a saucepan.
The family practises rainwater collection in 2 drums. There is some gutter on the roof, but this does not cover everything. In a heavy rain like today, all the drums are full, and the water is expected to last 4 days (10 jerry cans). When there is new rain, the family sometimes pours away the old water ***because mosquitoes might be breeding inside***. The family boils rainwater. The family thinks that the rainwater is clean---just imagine that it is clean. Even if the clinic sets up a rainwater collection and storage facility, the family would still prefer gathering water from P3, because the clinic is too far.
The family would be interested in the workshop. The evening time is not so busy for the family, and it is the interviewee who will come.
Household 13
Mr. Ddungu Pauline speaks good English. He has been approached once for an interview by the Ugandan government (South County), though no mzungus (foreigners) have approached him for an interview before. There are 12 people in his family. There are 16 children, though some are married, so 8 people are living in the house. Some of these children go to school. The family carries about 6 jerry cans of water per day, using P3. The family does not use BH6 because it has a strange smell probably due to the vegetation---a smell that cannot be described. During the rainy season, this smell worsens. BH6 also does not provide enough water. Children collect water 3 times a day, travelling on foot and carrying 2 jerry cans. The distance to P3 is about 0.25 km, and it takes about 20 minutes per trip. Sometimes the family also collects water from Nalongo---P1, because P3 is not a reliable pond. In fact, P3 is dry for about 2 months every year.
During washing day, the family needs 2 additional jerry cans of water. Otherwise, cooking/kitchen takes up about 5 jerry cans. The family also drinks about 15 L of water per day, tea inclusive. The family boils water using firewood collected from its own forest. It takes about 15 minutes to boil water (for 15 L, this takes much longer---60 minutes). The family keeps the water boiling for 5 minutes---the container depends on what is available.
The family practises rainwater collection. In fact, Kevin saw a huge (about 4 m in diameter and 4 m high) concrete tank with roof gutter. Joseph speculates that the top is covered (to avoid mosquitoes), except for a small hole near the roof gutter outlet. The family informs us that the tank actually does not work well---there is leakage, and about 12 jerry cans of water can be collected when it rains heavily, yielding 3 days of water. The family collects both old and new rains without discarding the old. The family boils rainwater, because of the dust. The family would be interested in using a potential rainwater storage system at the clinic.
The family would also be interested in attending the workshop---after 4 p.m. is ideal, and the attendee can be available for about 2 hours.
Household 14
Mrs. Nalukwaga Betty lives by the Masaka-Mbarara Road beyond the Trading Centre, and speaks proficient English. Her household has 7 people, 5 of whom are school children. The family uses about 3 jerry cans of water for cloth-washing, 2 jerry cans for cooking/washing, and drinks about 3 L daily. Water is collected from P3---the water from BH6 is believed to be spoilt. The family thinks that the BH6 chain is not functioning. BH6 was built in 2003, and stopped working in 2008. No attempts have been made in fixing it. The family is also aware of BH5, which stopped working in 2002. BH5 was broken; a local engineer came but did not fix the problem. The family used to pay 500 shillings/month to use BH5 (for a couple of months before it broke), to Madina (see household 6), who used to maintain it. The family also collects water occasionally from BH4 during drought. However, it might also use water from P1 if there are many people at BH4. The family thinks that BH4 yields purer and safer water than P1, which has algae growing in it. Children carry water twice a day (morning and evening) using 2 jerry cans.
The family boils drinking water using purchased firewood, which costs about 150 shillings a piece. This translates into about 300 shillings a day for cooking and boiling. It takes about 2 hours to boil water in a kettle (I don't know if this is the interviewee misunderstanding the question or if it is a failure of an answer truthfulness check), and heat is turned off instantaneously after boiling point is reached. Boiled water is stored in different jerry cans from those used for water collection.
The family collects rainwater via several jerry cans; there is no roof gutter system. Sometimes rainwater is also stored in saucepans. During heavy rains, about 5 jerry cans of rainwater can be collected, which can provide about 1 day of water. The family boils rainwater---even though rainwater is cleaner than well water, it is still not clean enough. The family would be interested in using the clinic's potential rainwater collection and storage.
The family would be interested in attending the workshop---after 2 p.m. and for a maximum of 2 hours per day.
Household 15
Hope runs a hair salon, and speaks proficient English. Her family of 4 has 2 school children. The family requires about 5 jerry cans per day, and there are 20 L in a jerry can. The family collects water from both P3 and BH6---there is nothing wrong with BH6. The kids are too young to carry water, so they must pay someone to fetch water. The family does not purchase bottled water---this is too expensive.
The family uses about 2 jerry cans per day for washing, and half a jerry can for cooking. About 5 L is drunk daily. Water is boiled using both charcoal and/or firewood, bought, costing about 5000 shillings per month. Water in a saucepan takes about 15 minutes (the family is very unsure) to boil, and is kept boiling for 5 minutes. Boiled water is transferred to a jerry can (Kevin didn't find out if this is same or different from the jerry can used for collection).
Rainwater is collected in a drum, which yields 5 jerry cans. There is roof guttering. During heavy rains, about 10 jerry cans can be collected, yielding sufficient water for a week. The family boils rainwater but thinks that rainwater is cleaner than P3/BH6---"pure white".
The family would be interested in attending the workshops. 3-4 p.m. would be a convenient time, and the interviewee would be available for about 2 hours per day.
In the meanwhile, Dave and Mike finished assembling the outlet tube and epoxy-glued everything in place. The Biosand filter looks ready, except without the sand and the gravel.
Later in the evening, John and Joe came back from Kampala. They were expecting to bring back some medicine from JMS, but having waited for a whole day without having had their order gone through, they returned to Ddegeya. After dinner, we had a chat with John regarding our plans. Over the next few days, he will be very busy with the preparataion of the medical mission, and hence will not be able to really assist us in the workshops. He suggested that we revisit the households again with Joseph to announce the time and location of the workshop. His impression is that the majority of villagers drink water in the form of tea, which means that they would boil their water anyways---even if they had some sort of Biosand filter. People generally do not just drink "unflavoured" water as we might often do. He had thought that the community, Helen, and Becca reached an agreement last time in which we would find ways to protect the water at the source, and at first he was sceptical about the effectiveness of household water treatment. We explained that the household water treatment could be our short-term attempt at solving a problem that requires a much more long-term planning. So the bottom line is: we will not have a lot of John's help probably for the duration of our trip. Most of the translation/community interaction will have to be done with Joseph. We will talk to him tomorrow morning to see when he will be available to walk us around the village again to announce the workshop to a few households. In this light, the workshop will take place at earliest on Wednesday, and we will have it span over fewer days.
January 10, 2010 - Masaka
We counted the Petrifilms collected from BH4 and P1 on 01/08 at 13:50. The results are as follows:
P1 E. coli / coliform test:
Red dots (coliform) associated with bubbles - 14 (Kevin's count) or 18 (David's count)
Blue dots (E. coli) associated with bubbles - 1 (Kevin's count) or 1 (David's count)
Total number of red dots (bubbles or no bubbles) - 138 (Kevin's count) or 300 (David's extrapolation from a particular grid)
Total number of blue dots (bubbles or no bubbles) - 1 (Kevin's count) or 1 (David's count)
BH4 E. coli / coliform test:
Red dots (coliform) associated with bubbles - 0 (Kevin's count) or 0 (David's count)
Blue dots (E. coli) associated with bubbles - 0 (Kevin's count) or 0 (David's count)
Total number of red dots (bubbles or no bubbles) - 6 (Kevin's count) or 8 (David's count)
Total number of blue dots (bubbles or no bubbles) - 0 (Kevin's count) or 0 (David's count)
P1 Enterobacteria test:
Dots associated with bubbles - 32 (Kevin's count), 50 (David's count), or 25 (Mike's count)
Total dots (bubbles or no bubbles) - 594 (Kevin's count)
BH4 Enterobacteria test:
Dots associated with bubbles - 8 (Kevin's count) or 8 (David's count)
Total dots (bubbles or no bubbles) - 9 (Kevin's count) or 9 (David's count)
There is some discrepency between ours and Helen and Becca's results. We have no information about the data variance to determine whether or not this is significantly different. But the counts are likely to vary with season anyways. We plan to do more Petrifilm tests on BH4 and P1 on Monday, to be shown on Tuesday's workshop.
Later in the morning, Dave and Kevin tried to sieve more fine sand using the smallest-sized sieve. After a while, some kids came and started helping out, not that we endorse child slavery. Pretty soon (maybe 45 minutes later), we ended up with about a tray of fine sand. This is probably still a small fraction of what we would need for one filter. We do not have a finer sieve to rule out the smallest particles (< 0.5 mm in diameter), which we want to avoid in order to maintain some consistency in size. Dave is hoping that washing the sand might wash these particles away, though we might also end up losing some sand.
At around noon, we decided that it was time to go to Masaka (on a Sunday morning, most Christian shops would be closed). On a Sunday, it was quite difficult flagging down a taxi for 5 people (Mike, Dave, Joe, Monica, and Kevin). Eventually we got one, which carried us in the direction of Mbarara for a while before turning back, picking up passengers heading for Kampala. Ultimately, there were 25 passengers in the taxi, with 7 people in the first row (where Dave and Kevin were located). Mike earned a marriage offer, and Monica provided our whereabouts such that this offer could be carried to completion.
We arrived in Masaka and ate at Bananah Chick (???), ordering mostly beef curry. Almost all of us were overcharged. Having gotten a power converter for Joe, we headed to the hardware street and started looking for PVC pipes and joints. The task turned out to be a little difficult, given that most stores did not have an extensive selection of products. With much help from Joe and a lot of debate, we decided to buy 2 metres of 3/4'' PVC pipes and an adapter (???) intended to penetrate the plastic container. We will first try to play around with the pipes, testing to see if we can bend the pipe simply by heating, without the need to fit it to joints or sealants. We also purchased black paint, paint brush (for solar cookers), and some nails (for the sieve frame, which we might make out of bamboo). We were unable to find a thermometer. Joe mentioned that on Monday JMC would ship some medicine to the clinic, and we could see if there are cardboard boxes appropriate for the solar cookers. Then Monica and Joe ordered chips from a backalley takeaway, and we did some more grocery shopping at Masaka's supermarket. On our way back, Joe and Monica left us at Kinoni to get some more grocery, and we returned to Ddegeya at about 5:30 p.m.
In the evening, Dave and Kevin helped Joe and Monica make some chapati, though without the supervision of Susan or Dora, the first few were somewhat failures (Kevin got fired as a chapati flipping technician).
P1 E. coli / coliform test:
Red dots (coliform) associated with bubbles - 14 (Kevin's count) or 18 (David's count)
Blue dots (E. coli) associated with bubbles - 1 (Kevin's count) or 1 (David's count)
Total number of red dots (bubbles or no bubbles) - 138 (Kevin's count) or 300 (David's extrapolation from a particular grid)
Total number of blue dots (bubbles or no bubbles) - 1 (Kevin's count) or 1 (David's count)
BH4 E. coli / coliform test:
Red dots (coliform) associated with bubbles - 0 (Kevin's count) or 0 (David's count)
Blue dots (E. coli) associated with bubbles - 0 (Kevin's count) or 0 (David's count)
Total number of red dots (bubbles or no bubbles) - 6 (Kevin's count) or 8 (David's count)
Total number of blue dots (bubbles or no bubbles) - 0 (Kevin's count) or 0 (David's count)
P1 Enterobacteria test:
Dots associated with bubbles - 32 (Kevin's count), 50 (David's count), or 25 (Mike's count)
Total dots (bubbles or no bubbles) - 594 (Kevin's count)
BH4 Enterobacteria test:
Dots associated with bubbles - 8 (Kevin's count) or 8 (David's count)
Total dots (bubbles or no bubbles) - 9 (Kevin's count) or 9 (David's count)
There is some discrepency between ours and Helen and Becca's results. We have no information about the data variance to determine whether or not this is significantly different. But the counts are likely to vary with season anyways. We plan to do more Petrifilm tests on BH4 and P1 on Monday, to be shown on Tuesday's workshop.
Later in the morning, Dave and Kevin tried to sieve more fine sand using the smallest-sized sieve. After a while, some kids came and started helping out, not that we endorse child slavery. Pretty soon (maybe 45 minutes later), we ended up with about a tray of fine sand. This is probably still a small fraction of what we would need for one filter. We do not have a finer sieve to rule out the smallest particles (< 0.5 mm in diameter), which we want to avoid in order to maintain some consistency in size. Dave is hoping that washing the sand might wash these particles away, though we might also end up losing some sand.
At around noon, we decided that it was time to go to Masaka (on a Sunday morning, most Christian shops would be closed). On a Sunday, it was quite difficult flagging down a taxi for 5 people (Mike, Dave, Joe, Monica, and Kevin). Eventually we got one, which carried us in the direction of Mbarara for a while before turning back, picking up passengers heading for Kampala. Ultimately, there were 25 passengers in the taxi, with 7 people in the first row (where Dave and Kevin were located). Mike earned a marriage offer, and Monica provided our whereabouts such that this offer could be carried to completion.
We arrived in Masaka and ate at Bananah Chick (???), ordering mostly beef curry. Almost all of us were overcharged. Having gotten a power converter for Joe, we headed to the hardware street and started looking for PVC pipes and joints. The task turned out to be a little difficult, given that most stores did not have an extensive selection of products. With much help from Joe and a lot of debate, we decided to buy 2 metres of 3/4'' PVC pipes and an adapter (???) intended to penetrate the plastic container. We will first try to play around with the pipes, testing to see if we can bend the pipe simply by heating, without the need to fit it to joints or sealants. We also purchased black paint, paint brush (for solar cookers), and some nails (for the sieve frame, which we might make out of bamboo). We were unable to find a thermometer. Joe mentioned that on Monday JMC would ship some medicine to the clinic, and we could see if there are cardboard boxes appropriate for the solar cookers. Then Monica and Joe ordered chips from a backalley takeaway, and we did some more grocery shopping at Masaka's supermarket. On our way back, Joe and Monica left us at Kinoni to get some more grocery, and we returned to Ddegeya at about 5:30 p.m.
In the evening, Dave and Kevin helped Joe and Monica make some chapati, though without the supervision of Susan or Dora, the first few were somewhat failures (Kevin got fired as a chapati flipping technician).
January 9, 2010 - Ddegeya
In the morning, water collection from Nalongo already began at 6:30 a.m. in earnest, in half-light.
Kevin checked the developing Petrifilm tests. The results did not seem very promising---he was unable to see any dots at all.
At 9:30 a.m., Joseph showed up and we went to BH6/P3. Along the way, there were many children with jerry cans who were also on the way to collect water from these functioning sources. P3 has milky water, with tadpoles and lilies in it, and is about 5-6 m long and about 4 m wide. The soil near P3 was clumpy---according to Dave, it stuck together rather well, and could be rolled into a ball. P3's water, according to Mike's estimate, was at least 3-ft deep. During our time there, 1 child carrying two jerry cans collected water directly from the pond. When asked why he didn't collect water from the nearby BH6, he responded that the water from the BH was smelly (of fish).
We then visited BH6. The soil near BH6 was about the same as that near P3, except drier. There were quite a few (maybe 5) children pumping water. The water was also milky and somewhat turbid. The yield was moderate, appearing less than that of BH4 (Nalongo). One woman was washing and drying clothes nearby. According to Joseph, she used water from P3. When we tried to pump from BH6, the handle felt moderate resistance. It took several (e.g. about 10) strokes before any water came out. According to Dave and Mike, this is normal for BHs.
We then revisited BH5. Mike and Dave took the top cover off, and we saw chains with spider webs---to our disappointment from yesterday's expectations, we could not see much into the BH. We suspected a segmented pole. Mike and Dave then tried to take the pump head off. The four bolts on the pump head was extremely difficult to take off, keeping getting stuck---and it is quite clear that this probably wasn't opened for some time.
In the meanwhile, some kids gathered around and started offering some assistance to Mike and Dave. Two women came, and Kevin started an ad hoc interview with them, with the help of Joseph's translation. The details are given as follows:
Household 6
The woman's name is Mrs. Madina Mamutalanzi. She lives near the Trading Centre, and owns farmlands near BH5, as well as a garden near the Trading Centre. She practises subsistance farming, and had been picking ground nuts before we came to BH5. When BH5 was built about 10 years ago, she was in charge of it, collecting 500 UGX/month from about 30 households nearby to maintain BH5's operation. BH5 used to give good water that is steady through the seasons. Ever since BH5 broke down about 5 years ago, she stopped her role as the BH manager. She tried to get more pipes, and said that we should at least remove the pump head (apparently no one before us had done this successfully). She suspected the leakeage of water to be part of the BH problem. She also commented that in 2008, before Helen et al. came, someone from the village council also tried to open BH5 (but did not). If we managed to have BH5 fixed, she would be interested in resuming her role as the BH manager.
Ever since BH5 stopped working, Mrs. Mamutalanzi has had the kids gather water from P3. When asked why water was collected from P3 as opposed to the nearby BH6, she said that BH6 has not been functioning well---some problem with the machine. Her family of 5 people (4 of which are children) needs about 4 jerry cans of water per day---and 1 daily trip is sufficient. She boils water for drinking; when asked why, she said that this kills germs. She buys either firewood or charcoal to boil water. The cost is about 1000 UGX/day, which she considers to be expensive. Having boiled the water, this is put into small jerry cans (5 L) different from the jerry cans used for P3. Of the 4 jerry cans, about 2 are used for washing (not a daily activity), 10 L for cooking, 5 L for drinking, and the remainer, for washing house and/or bathing.
She practises rainwater collection in 4 jerry cans (and possibly small drums). During a heavy rain, 7-8 jerry cans' worth of water can be collected, which can last the family about 3 days. The family also boils rainwater. If the clinic were to set up some rainwater collection and storage facility, she would still prefer water from P3 (which we guess is probably nearer than the clinic).
The woman is generally not busy, and would be interested in coming to our workshops. She suggests a time of 3 p.m., though Kevin responded that this must be arranged with John.
During this time, Dave and Mike had succeeded in removing the four bolts and taking off the pump head. However, they were unable to detach the rod from the chain because of a frame.
We then crossed the Masaka-Mbarara Road to visit BH7, which is also non-functioning. BH7 was surrounded by dense vegetation, obviously abandoned for a while. According to Joseph, a rich house naer the Masaka-Mbarara Road built this BH maybe about 10 years ago, and this BH was also used by about 20 households from Bunyere (according to Joseph, Ddegeya is south of the road; north of the road, the name becomes Bunyere). This BH never gave enough water even at the start. Now this rich family pays someone to fetch water from Nalongo, according to Joseph. Mike and Dave, together with the help of some following kids, tried to take away the pump covering and the pump head, which proved a little easier this time. When the pump covering was removed, we saw that there used to be a beehive inside near the chains. We however encountered the same problem, and could not detach the rod from the chain. Mike and Dave contemplated taking apart the middle flange with the four bolts (the pump head just mentioned refers to the top flange with the four bolts). We might do this later.
On our way back to the clinic along the Masaka-Mbarara Road (near the Trading Centre), we saw that the side of the road has been dug, and there are some pipes. These are apparently for a telecommunications service from Kampala. We also came across a water pumping station, which brings water from Masaka to Kinoni.
Near noon, we returned to the clinic. We tried to think of ways to put together the sieves of different sizes. Dave wanted to find/purchase wood such that we could make a frame out of it for the sieves. Francis had a better idea: behind the clinic, there was a pile of bricks. We removed some of these and built a base, sandwiching one of the sieve screens between a brick layer. This proved moderately successful, but the screen seemed a bit small: it would take a long while to get ample amount of fine sand. Francis said that there is a neighbour who may have one of the larger screens, and he would like to ask if it could be lent. We probably do not need a larger screen for the larger-sized sieves, since it is likely that sieving the fine sand will be the rate-limiting step.
Joseph arrived at about 3:30 p.m. and we went for more household interviews. The results are given as below. Towards the latter few interviews, Joseph got a bit tired/impatient, and sometimes would give "translations" to questions even though the family has spoken very little. These statements are surrounded by three asterisks ***...***.
Household 7
Mrs. Nalongo Ssemjengo's family practises subsistance farming, and has never been interviewed before. Normally, there are 7 people in this family, 2 of which are children. Currently, two adults are away for holiday. Normally, the family uses about 2 jerry cans of water, but in the days of washing, they may need 4 jerry cans (2-3 for washing). Cooking and dish-washing take about 1 jerry can, and drinking, 5 L. The family collects rainwater from Nalongo (BH4 and P1)---usually children but sometimes also Mrs. Nalongo Ssemjengo. Water is fetched about 3 times a day, each trip taking about 30 minutes minimum, but sometimes children play. The family collects water from both the pump and the pond---the pond when the waiting time the pump is more than 10 minutes, or when the pump is not functioning. Mrs. Ssemjengo thinks that the pump water is very clean---she can see it with her eyes. She knows about P2 but does not use it, because the water is not clean from the bamboo.
The family boils drinking water---they collect firewood from an eucalyptus forest. It takes 30 minutes to boil 5 L of water, and the water is kept boiling for about 5 minutes in a saucepan. Water is tehn stored in 5 L jerry cans, and drunk from cups. We inspected one of those jerry cans, and the can appears quite old. The bottom of the can interior appears black---we do not know if it is the plastic surface that is tainted black, or if it is the sediments.
The family practises rainwater collection in small jerry cans and saucepans. There are a few containers, totaling to about 20 L (???). Rainwater is boiled before drunk, because the family was taught by health workers (Engeye) that rainwater is dirty. When it rains again and the old rainwater is not finished, the family does not throw the old rainwater away but let the new rainwater accumulate on top. Even in the rainy season, the family always need to go to Nalongo. When asked if the family would be interested in using rainwater collected at the clinic, Mrs. Ssemjengo responded that the answer is obvious---the water will be clean. The family will be willing to wait for 10 minutes in line for this water.
Household 8
Mrs. Sauda (???) Muwanika's family (we found out later that this turned out to be a village elder) has a farm/plantation, and speaks no English. There are 6 people in her family, 4 of which are school-aged children. The family needs about 6 jerry cans of water per day: 3 for cooking/washing/bathing, 1 for feeding the cow, and 2 for cloth-washing. The family keeps the rest (???). Water is collected from Nalongo---sometimes BH4, and sometimes P1. The family considers the pond water to be not very clean, because there are stones and leaves in it. The family is willing to wait for about 20 minutes at the pump before heading to the pond. Children usually take turns getting water---they go on bicycle, and the trip takes about 30 minutes. The family makes about 3 trips per day, carrying about 2 jerry cans of water per trip. Mrs. Muwanika is unaware of P2, though the kids may.
For drinking, the family boils 10 L of water, which lasts for about 2 days. The family boils water because this kills germs. The family buys firewood---about 1000 shillings per day for both boiling water and cooking. This is not considered a major cost---medication, school fees, and food (the family does not raise enough food itself) cost more, with food being the most expensive. It takes about 30 minutes to heat up 10 L of water, and this is kept boiling for 10 minutes. Boiled water is stored in one 10-L jerry can, drunk from cups. When asked to show us this jerry can, the family stated that this time the water in it has not been boiled. So cross-contamination could be possible. Sometimes the family also takes tea in flasks.
The family collects rainwater in a drum, though this is not filled. The roof has no gutters. During heavy rains, the water in the drum can hypothetically last for a month (though it is not clear if this ever was a reality since the family indicated that the drum is not filled). Extra water is always obtained from Nalongo. Rainwater is boiled because roofing is not always clean. However, compared to Nalongo water (P1), the family thinks the rainwater is cleaner; they mention soil erosion as a reason. The family also thinks that compared to the borehold (BH4), the rainwater is dirtier. The family would be willing to go to the clinic to get rainwater from a storage, because it is believed that this water might be treated by the clinic. The family would also like to see our workshop. The ideal time for the workshop is 3 p.m., and the family's available time depends on the interest of the workshop. It would most likely be the husband who would attend the workshop.
Household 9
Mrs. Marian and Ide Kakimbo are two widows (around 70 years old) of the late Mr. Kakimbo. There are other wives who also have died. We note that there is a kerosene lamp in the living room. The kerosene costs about 1800 UGX/L, and according to Joseph, is used by the rich. The family consists of 10 grandchildren (of which 1 goes to school currently), though four of them are currently in Kampala. There are 4 adults, bringing the total family size to 14. The family practises subsistance farming, but also weaves baskets/mats for sale. For a total of 14 people, the family needs about 4 jerry cans of water. During days of cloth-washing, 2 more jerry cans of water are needed. Water can also be used to clean house and cook. About 5 L is drunk per day. The children collect water from Nalongo---sometimes the pump, but if the pump is not functioning, then the pond. The family thinks that the pump has the better water since it is not contaminated with leaves. The family is not aware of P2. The family also occasionally goes to BH6 during times of drought, but does not collect from the nearby P3. The family considers BH6 water to be nearer but dirtier than BH4---the BH6 water tastes salty.
The family boils drinking water. Firewood is used for this purpose, and if the small forest does not provide sufficient firewood, then it is bought at 5000-10000 UGX/month. It takes about 30 minutes for 10 L of water to reach boiling, and once so, it is kept boiling for 5 minutes in a saucepan or kettle. Boiled water is transferred to small jerry cans (5 L), and drunk from cups. We saw that these jerry cans are actually juice containers---they are quite black inside.
The family always collects rainwater in 3 drums---though these are becoming quite old (23 years). It used to be that a drum can yield about 12 jerry cans of water, though now this has been reduced to 8 jerry cans because of leakage. The drums can fill up. If this happens, then the family does not need to go to Nalongo for a couple of months. It is only during times of climate change (seasonal or long-term global???) that the family goes to the well. ***The family would gather rainwater from the clinic, because the clinic has clean water.*** The family would like to learn more about our workshops. Evenings (3 p.m.) is a good time. The two widows would be the ones coming, even though they are about 70 years old.
Household 10
Mr. Muhamed Mayinja has a large and rich house! The religion is probably Islam. There are 6 people in the family, 4 of which are children. 2 go to school, while 2 are too young. The family collects about 5 jerry cans of water per day: 2 for washing, 2 for cooking, 2 for bathing, and about 10 L for drinking. The water collection is done by children at Nalongo---BH4 only. It takes the children about 30 minutes to fetch water, and they make about 3 trips per day, carrying about 2 jerry cans per trip.
To treat the water, the family has two options. They can boil 20 L of water, which lasts for 2 days, or put a pill of Water Guard (??) inside 20 L. A pack of 15 pills costs 1500 UGX (which, Mike speculates, may be cheaper than buying firewood to boil water). The family can also collect firewood from a forest. If boiled, the 20L of water takes about 5 minutes to heat up (we noted that this figure sounds unrealistic but did not argue with them) and the family keeps the water boiling for 30 minutes. Boiling is done in a saucepan or kettle---and boiled water is stored in a different jerry can from the ones to fetch water.
The family collects some rainwater in a drum---there are no roof gutters. The drum is sufficient for 200 L, or 10 jerry cans of water. During heavy rain, the drum can fill up, giving the family a few days of water without needing to go to Nalongo. The frequency that this happens depends on whether it is the rainy or the dry season. The family does treat rainwater the same way before drinking, because there is dust on the roof. If the clinic were to provide rainwater catchment and storage, the family would gather water here because the water is nearer and probably more clean.
We did not ask the family about the workshop---since the technologies we introduce will probably not have so much impact on their lives, and since Joseph seems itching to leave.
Household 11
Mrs. Nasuna's family are subsistance farmers. There are 8 people in the family, 6 of which are school children. The family needs about 4-5 jerry cans of water per day, gathered from P3 because BH6 is not functioning well. The problem with BH6 is probably with the chain---it yields little water. The family used to collect water from BH5 many years ago and used to pay 500 UGX/month for its maintenance. Someone was responsible for maintaining this BH (see the description in Household 6 for cross-reference) but this person no longer lives in this village. BH5 dried gradually, but used to give water year-round. The family only uses Nalongo when P3 is dry. If using Nalongo, they gather water from BH4, except when it is crowded---they are willing to wait for about 5 minutes. The children fetch water on bicycles, and it takes about 30 minutes per trip. Two trips are made per day---morning and evening---and each trip about 3-4 jerry cans of water are filled.
The family spends about 2-3 jerry cans of water washing clothing, 2 jerry cans for kitchen/cooking, and 10 L of water for drinking. The family drinks boiled water, though children don't mind drinking unboiled water. The family boils water using firewood---the yield from its forest is insufficient, so they often have to purchase additional firewood, at about 2000 UGX/week. The family does not consider this to be a significant cost---medication and school fees are the most significant ones. It takes about 30 minutes for 10 L of water to go to boiling, and the water is kept at boiling for about 10 minutes. Boiling is done in a saucepan, and then stored in small 3L jerry cans. We saw a couple of these---they are again a little old but functional. The interior is slightly blackened. Water is drunk from glasses.
The family collects rainwater in a drym. ***This yields about 10 jerry cans of water. The family also has roof guttering---though this is small.*** During heavy rain, the drum can fill up, yielding water for a couple of days. ***During this time, the family needs not fetch water from elsewhere.*** This happens occasionally. The family boils rainwater before drinking---there are flies and mosquitoes breeding in the drum. The children may not. The family thinks that the rainwater is cleaner---they can just see and prove. Even if the clinic were to set up a rainwater collection system, the family would still gather water from BH6 mainly due to the distance.
The family would be interested in our workshop. Evenings (***e.g. 3 p.m.***) is good. Mrs. Nasuna would attend herself, and she would be available until whenever.
It was close to half past six when we finished these interviews. Joseph indicated that he would not be available tomorrow (Sunday), but he could show us more boreholes on Monday morning, and do some more interviews Monday afternoon. We might use tomorrow for a shopping trip to Masaka. During the night, Kevin became Dora's humble apprentice in chapati-making (with curry powder and a lot of oil), while Dave became a prospective apprentice. After dinner, Joe, Mike, Dave, and Kevin walked to a store near the Tracing Centre to get some drinks and supplies. Having returned to the clinic, Joe and Mike had a very involved discussion about terrorism, military presence, and U.S. policies from 2000-present. Dave continued his discussion about British English.
Kevin checked the developing Petrifilm tests. The results did not seem very promising---he was unable to see any dots at all.
At 9:30 a.m., Joseph showed up and we went to BH6/P3. Along the way, there were many children with jerry cans who were also on the way to collect water from these functioning sources. P3 has milky water, with tadpoles and lilies in it, and is about 5-6 m long and about 4 m wide. The soil near P3 was clumpy---according to Dave, it stuck together rather well, and could be rolled into a ball. P3's water, according to Mike's estimate, was at least 3-ft deep. During our time there, 1 child carrying two jerry cans collected water directly from the pond. When asked why he didn't collect water from the nearby BH6, he responded that the water from the BH was smelly (of fish).
We then visited BH6. The soil near BH6 was about the same as that near P3, except drier. There were quite a few (maybe 5) children pumping water. The water was also milky and somewhat turbid. The yield was moderate, appearing less than that of BH4 (Nalongo). One woman was washing and drying clothes nearby. According to Joseph, she used water from P3. When we tried to pump from BH6, the handle felt moderate resistance. It took several (e.g. about 10) strokes before any water came out. According to Dave and Mike, this is normal for BHs.
We then revisited BH5. Mike and Dave took the top cover off, and we saw chains with spider webs---to our disappointment from yesterday's expectations, we could not see much into the BH. We suspected a segmented pole. Mike and Dave then tried to take the pump head off. The four bolts on the pump head was extremely difficult to take off, keeping getting stuck---and it is quite clear that this probably wasn't opened for some time.
In the meanwhile, some kids gathered around and started offering some assistance to Mike and Dave. Two women came, and Kevin started an ad hoc interview with them, with the help of Joseph's translation. The details are given as follows:
Household 6
The woman's name is Mrs. Madina Mamutalanzi. She lives near the Trading Centre, and owns farmlands near BH5, as well as a garden near the Trading Centre. She practises subsistance farming, and had been picking ground nuts before we came to BH5. When BH5 was built about 10 years ago, she was in charge of it, collecting 500 UGX/month from about 30 households nearby to maintain BH5's operation. BH5 used to give good water that is steady through the seasons. Ever since BH5 broke down about 5 years ago, she stopped her role as the BH manager. She tried to get more pipes, and said that we should at least remove the pump head (apparently no one before us had done this successfully). She suspected the leakeage of water to be part of the BH problem. She also commented that in 2008, before Helen et al. came, someone from the village council also tried to open BH5 (but did not). If we managed to have BH5 fixed, she would be interested in resuming her role as the BH manager.
Ever since BH5 stopped working, Mrs. Mamutalanzi has had the kids gather water from P3. When asked why water was collected from P3 as opposed to the nearby BH6, she said that BH6 has not been functioning well---some problem with the machine. Her family of 5 people (4 of which are children) needs about 4 jerry cans of water per day---and 1 daily trip is sufficient. She boils water for drinking; when asked why, she said that this kills germs. She buys either firewood or charcoal to boil water. The cost is about 1000 UGX/day, which she considers to be expensive. Having boiled the water, this is put into small jerry cans (5 L) different from the jerry cans used for P3. Of the 4 jerry cans, about 2 are used for washing (not a daily activity), 10 L for cooking, 5 L for drinking, and the remainer, for washing house and/or bathing.
She practises rainwater collection in 4 jerry cans (and possibly small drums). During a heavy rain, 7-8 jerry cans' worth of water can be collected, which can last the family about 3 days. The family also boils rainwater. If the clinic were to set up some rainwater collection and storage facility, she would still prefer water from P3 (which we guess is probably nearer than the clinic).
The woman is generally not busy, and would be interested in coming to our workshops. She suggests a time of 3 p.m., though Kevin responded that this must be arranged with John.
During this time, Dave and Mike had succeeded in removing the four bolts and taking off the pump head. However, they were unable to detach the rod from the chain because of a frame.
We then crossed the Masaka-Mbarara Road to visit BH7, which is also non-functioning. BH7 was surrounded by dense vegetation, obviously abandoned for a while. According to Joseph, a rich house naer the Masaka-Mbarara Road built this BH maybe about 10 years ago, and this BH was also used by about 20 households from Bunyere (according to Joseph, Ddegeya is south of the road; north of the road, the name becomes Bunyere). This BH never gave enough water even at the start. Now this rich family pays someone to fetch water from Nalongo, according to Joseph. Mike and Dave, together with the help of some following kids, tried to take away the pump covering and the pump head, which proved a little easier this time. When the pump covering was removed, we saw that there used to be a beehive inside near the chains. We however encountered the same problem, and could not detach the rod from the chain. Mike and Dave contemplated taking apart the middle flange with the four bolts (the pump head just mentioned refers to the top flange with the four bolts). We might do this later.
On our way back to the clinic along the Masaka-Mbarara Road (near the Trading Centre), we saw that the side of the road has been dug, and there are some pipes. These are apparently for a telecommunications service from Kampala. We also came across a water pumping station, which brings water from Masaka to Kinoni.
Near noon, we returned to the clinic. We tried to think of ways to put together the sieves of different sizes. Dave wanted to find/purchase wood such that we could make a frame out of it for the sieves. Francis had a better idea: behind the clinic, there was a pile of bricks. We removed some of these and built a base, sandwiching one of the sieve screens between a brick layer. This proved moderately successful, but the screen seemed a bit small: it would take a long while to get ample amount of fine sand. Francis said that there is a neighbour who may have one of the larger screens, and he would like to ask if it could be lent. We probably do not need a larger screen for the larger-sized sieves, since it is likely that sieving the fine sand will be the rate-limiting step.
Joseph arrived at about 3:30 p.m. and we went for more household interviews. The results are given as below. Towards the latter few interviews, Joseph got a bit tired/impatient, and sometimes would give "translations" to questions even though the family has spoken very little. These statements are surrounded by three asterisks ***...***.
Household 7
Mrs. Nalongo Ssemjengo's family practises subsistance farming, and has never been interviewed before. Normally, there are 7 people in this family, 2 of which are children. Currently, two adults are away for holiday. Normally, the family uses about 2 jerry cans of water, but in the days of washing, they may need 4 jerry cans (2-3 for washing). Cooking and dish-washing take about 1 jerry can, and drinking, 5 L. The family collects rainwater from Nalongo (BH4 and P1)---usually children but sometimes also Mrs. Nalongo Ssemjengo. Water is fetched about 3 times a day, each trip taking about 30 minutes minimum, but sometimes children play. The family collects water from both the pump and the pond---the pond when the waiting time the pump is more than 10 minutes, or when the pump is not functioning. Mrs. Ssemjengo thinks that the pump water is very clean---she can see it with her eyes. She knows about P2 but does not use it, because the water is not clean from the bamboo.
The family boils drinking water---they collect firewood from an eucalyptus forest. It takes 30 minutes to boil 5 L of water, and the water is kept boiling for about 5 minutes in a saucepan. Water is tehn stored in 5 L jerry cans, and drunk from cups. We inspected one of those jerry cans, and the can appears quite old. The bottom of the can interior appears black---we do not know if it is the plastic surface that is tainted black, or if it is the sediments.
The family practises rainwater collection in small jerry cans and saucepans. There are a few containers, totaling to about 20 L (???). Rainwater is boiled before drunk, because the family was taught by health workers (Engeye) that rainwater is dirty. When it rains again and the old rainwater is not finished, the family does not throw the old rainwater away but let the new rainwater accumulate on top. Even in the rainy season, the family always need to go to Nalongo. When asked if the family would be interested in using rainwater collected at the clinic, Mrs. Ssemjengo responded that the answer is obvious---the water will be clean. The family will be willing to wait for 10 minutes in line for this water.
Household 8
Mrs. Sauda (???) Muwanika's family (we found out later that this turned out to be a village elder) has a farm/plantation, and speaks no English. There are 6 people in her family, 4 of which are school-aged children. The family needs about 6 jerry cans of water per day: 3 for cooking/washing/bathing, 1 for feeding the cow, and 2 for cloth-washing. The family keeps the rest (???). Water is collected from Nalongo---sometimes BH4, and sometimes P1. The family considers the pond water to be not very clean, because there are stones and leaves in it. The family is willing to wait for about 20 minutes at the pump before heading to the pond. Children usually take turns getting water---they go on bicycle, and the trip takes about 30 minutes. The family makes about 3 trips per day, carrying about 2 jerry cans of water per trip. Mrs. Muwanika is unaware of P2, though the kids may.
For drinking, the family boils 10 L of water, which lasts for about 2 days. The family boils water because this kills germs. The family buys firewood---about 1000 shillings per day for both boiling water and cooking. This is not considered a major cost---medication, school fees, and food (the family does not raise enough food itself) cost more, with food being the most expensive. It takes about 30 minutes to heat up 10 L of water, and this is kept boiling for 10 minutes. Boiled water is stored in one 10-L jerry can, drunk from cups. When asked to show us this jerry can, the family stated that this time the water in it has not been boiled. So cross-contamination could be possible. Sometimes the family also takes tea in flasks.
The family collects rainwater in a drum, though this is not filled. The roof has no gutters. During heavy rains, the water in the drum can hypothetically last for a month (though it is not clear if this ever was a reality since the family indicated that the drum is not filled). Extra water is always obtained from Nalongo. Rainwater is boiled because roofing is not always clean. However, compared to Nalongo water (P1), the family thinks the rainwater is cleaner; they mention soil erosion as a reason. The family also thinks that compared to the borehold (BH4), the rainwater is dirtier. The family would be willing to go to the clinic to get rainwater from a storage, because it is believed that this water might be treated by the clinic. The family would also like to see our workshop. The ideal time for the workshop is 3 p.m., and the family's available time depends on the interest of the workshop. It would most likely be the husband who would attend the workshop.
Household 9
Mrs. Marian and Ide Kakimbo are two widows (around 70 years old) of the late Mr. Kakimbo. There are other wives who also have died. We note that there is a kerosene lamp in the living room. The kerosene costs about 1800 UGX/L, and according to Joseph, is used by the rich. The family consists of 10 grandchildren (of which 1 goes to school currently), though four of them are currently in Kampala. There are 4 adults, bringing the total family size to 14. The family practises subsistance farming, but also weaves baskets/mats for sale. For a total of 14 people, the family needs about 4 jerry cans of water. During days of cloth-washing, 2 more jerry cans of water are needed. Water can also be used to clean house and cook. About 5 L is drunk per day. The children collect water from Nalongo---sometimes the pump, but if the pump is not functioning, then the pond. The family thinks that the pump has the better water since it is not contaminated with leaves. The family is not aware of P2. The family also occasionally goes to BH6 during times of drought, but does not collect from the nearby P3. The family considers BH6 water to be nearer but dirtier than BH4---the BH6 water tastes salty.
The family boils drinking water. Firewood is used for this purpose, and if the small forest does not provide sufficient firewood, then it is bought at 5000-10000 UGX/month. It takes about 30 minutes for 10 L of water to reach boiling, and once so, it is kept boiling for 5 minutes in a saucepan or kettle. Boiled water is transferred to small jerry cans (5 L), and drunk from cups. We saw that these jerry cans are actually juice containers---they are quite black inside.
The family always collects rainwater in 3 drums---though these are becoming quite old (23 years). It used to be that a drum can yield about 12 jerry cans of water, though now this has been reduced to 8 jerry cans because of leakage. The drums can fill up. If this happens, then the family does not need to go to Nalongo for a couple of months. It is only during times of climate change (seasonal or long-term global???) that the family goes to the well. ***The family would gather rainwater from the clinic, because the clinic has clean water.*** The family would like to learn more about our workshops. Evenings (3 p.m.) is a good time. The two widows would be the ones coming, even though they are about 70 years old.
Household 10
Mr. Muhamed Mayinja has a large and rich house! The religion is probably Islam. There are 6 people in the family, 4 of which are children. 2 go to school, while 2 are too young. The family collects about 5 jerry cans of water per day: 2 for washing, 2 for cooking, 2 for bathing, and about 10 L for drinking. The water collection is done by children at Nalongo---BH4 only. It takes the children about 30 minutes to fetch water, and they make about 3 trips per day, carrying about 2 jerry cans per trip.
To treat the water, the family has two options. They can boil 20 L of water, which lasts for 2 days, or put a pill of Water Guard (??) inside 20 L. A pack of 15 pills costs 1500 UGX (which, Mike speculates, may be cheaper than buying firewood to boil water). The family can also collect firewood from a forest. If boiled, the 20L of water takes about 5 minutes to heat up (we noted that this figure sounds unrealistic but did not argue with them) and the family keeps the water boiling for 30 minutes. Boiling is done in a saucepan or kettle---and boiled water is stored in a different jerry can from the ones to fetch water.
The family collects some rainwater in a drum---there are no roof gutters. The drum is sufficient for 200 L, or 10 jerry cans of water. During heavy rain, the drum can fill up, giving the family a few days of water without needing to go to Nalongo. The frequency that this happens depends on whether it is the rainy or the dry season. The family does treat rainwater the same way before drinking, because there is dust on the roof. If the clinic were to provide rainwater catchment and storage, the family would gather water here because the water is nearer and probably more clean.
We did not ask the family about the workshop---since the technologies we introduce will probably not have so much impact on their lives, and since Joseph seems itching to leave.
Household 11
Mrs. Nasuna's family are subsistance farmers. There are 8 people in the family, 6 of which are school children. The family needs about 4-5 jerry cans of water per day, gathered from P3 because BH6 is not functioning well. The problem with BH6 is probably with the chain---it yields little water. The family used to collect water from BH5 many years ago and used to pay 500 UGX/month for its maintenance. Someone was responsible for maintaining this BH (see the description in Household 6 for cross-reference) but this person no longer lives in this village. BH5 dried gradually, but used to give water year-round. The family only uses Nalongo when P3 is dry. If using Nalongo, they gather water from BH4, except when it is crowded---they are willing to wait for about 5 minutes. The children fetch water on bicycles, and it takes about 30 minutes per trip. Two trips are made per day---morning and evening---and each trip about 3-4 jerry cans of water are filled.
The family spends about 2-3 jerry cans of water washing clothing, 2 jerry cans for kitchen/cooking, and 10 L of water for drinking. The family drinks boiled water, though children don't mind drinking unboiled water. The family boils water using firewood---the yield from its forest is insufficient, so they often have to purchase additional firewood, at about 2000 UGX/week. The family does not consider this to be a significant cost---medication and school fees are the most significant ones. It takes about 30 minutes for 10 L of water to go to boiling, and the water is kept at boiling for about 10 minutes. Boiling is done in a saucepan, and then stored in small 3L jerry cans. We saw a couple of these---they are again a little old but functional. The interior is slightly blackened. Water is drunk from glasses.
The family collects rainwater in a drym. ***This yields about 10 jerry cans of water. The family also has roof guttering---though this is small.*** During heavy rain, the drum can fill up, yielding water for a couple of days. ***During this time, the family needs not fetch water from elsewhere.*** This happens occasionally. The family boils rainwater before drinking---there are flies and mosquitoes breeding in the drum. The children may not. The family thinks that the rainwater is cleaner---they can just see and prove. Even if the clinic were to set up a rainwater collection system, the family would still gather water from BH6 mainly due to the distance.
The family would be interested in our workshop. Evenings (***e.g. 3 p.m.***) is good. Mrs. Nasuna would attend herself, and she would be available until whenever.
It was close to half past six when we finished these interviews. Joseph indicated that he would not be available tomorrow (Sunday), but he could show us more boreholes on Monday morning, and do some more interviews Monday afternoon. We might use tomorrow for a shopping trip to Masaka. During the night, Kevin became Dora's humble apprentice in chapati-making (with curry powder and a lot of oil), while Dave became a prospective apprentice. After dinner, Joe, Mike, Dave, and Kevin walked to a store near the Tracing Centre to get some drinks and supplies. Having returned to the clinic, Joe and Mike had a very involved discussion about terrorism, military presence, and U.S. policies from 2000-present. Dave continued his discussion about British English.
January 8, 2010 - Ddegeya
In the morning, we had a simple breakfast of peanut butter and bread slices, and then met with Joseph. We briefly formulated a plan about the household interviews as well as our meeting with the community elders. Tom mentioned that currently that the villagers now spend a lot of resources on boiling their water (e.g. with firewood), and he imagined that the villagers would be very happy if we could find a way to clean their water without firewood. This point was accorded by Joseph. At 9:45 a.m., we set out on the large footpath branching out from the Masaka-Mbarara Road, bearing south from the clinic.
There were many houses beside the road. The houses---built mainly with bricks and corrugated roofs---were accompanied with plantations of bananas, corns, potatoes, coffee trees, yams, sweet potatoes, and a few mango trees. According to Joseph, most families practise subsistence farming primarily, though coffee is a cash crop. Since it is the school break, some children carrying water were commuting along the road. After maybe 15-20 minutes, we turned west from the main road onto another smaller footpath (Joseph told us that if we turned left, this smaller footpath would lead us to a seasonally functioning borehole, which we would visit later). After some walk, we arrived at the house of Salongo Kivumbi, the current community chairperson (whose first name is related to being a twin---remember the word Nalongo). According to Joseph, the community chairperson is elected once every five years. The chairperson then appoints other people on the committee, playing different roles such as defence, women's affairs, etc. The chairperson of Ddegeya (level 1) reports to another committee (level 2), which oversees a larger area (perhaps 3 villages or so). There are regular meetings, usually over the weekends. There are five levels of representation before the parliament, but any problems tend to get reported quickly nowadays thanks to mobile phones.
We took a seat in Salongo's house, and he took out a guestbook for us to sign. Most of the conversation was between Salongo and Joseph in Luganda, though Salongo also spoke a little English, and kept emphasising that his village is poor---they cannot afford water technologies (e.g. storage tanks). According to Salongo, the biggest problem is the boreholes. There used to be a borehole task force, but that was disbended since most of the boreholes stopped working. Salongo asked when it would be that we would be able to fix the boreholes, and we emphasised that we could try to diagnose the problems and fix the boreholes, but it would be up to the borehole task force to maintain these in working order afterwards. Salongo also noted that there was a bad smell emenating from many of the non-functional boreholes. Afterwards, he accompanied us a little while as we retraced our steps towards the main south-running road (that branched off from the Masaka-Mbarara Road).
This time, we continued east (across from the south-running road) to visit the borehole that only works seasonally. According to Joseph, this borehole works about 6 months in a year during the rainy season, and has just stopped working. While the borehole is giving out water, approximately 20 households obtain water from here in lieu of Nalongo. When the borehole is not working, some households obtain water from a pair of newly dug open sources about 200 m (very rough estimate) south of the borehole (we will come to these open sources later). Of the numbered boreholes in Helen and Becca's report, we are not clear on what this borehole corresponds to. According to Joseph, Michael Thornton visited this borehole in the summer and tried to take it apart. We tried to pump---and as expected, no water came out. However, the handle moved quite easily, and Mike claimed that he could still feel some suction. The soil around this area is sandy in texture. Our initial suspicion was that this borehole was not drilled deeply enough, but our consequent visit to the nearby new open sources had evidence that questions this suspicion.
We next walked downhill slightly (bearing approximately south) past a fenced area where someone was making some bricks. Here there was an attempted digging but is a dry source. The size of this dry source is about 4 m by 2 m. David suggested that we should try to dig a little deeper to see if we can reach the water table (which theoretically shouldn't be more than 2-3 m below ground level).
About 50 m (rough estimate) away (bearing south, still slightly downhill), we reached the two newly dug open sources (that Joseph claimed that were not there when Helen and Becca visited). The smaller pond was about 2 m in diameter (according to Mike, about 4-6 feet in diameter). The water was quite turbid, and the depth was around 50-60 cm. At the bottom of the pond, the soil was sandy. The larger open source was about 4 m by 2 m. Though we didn't measure it, Joseph said that it was deeper---about 7 m deep!! The soil was quite sandy here as well. Since the water level of these two open sources was about 2 m below ground (and there is water even as the borehole nearby ran dry), and there was no significant elevation rise between here and the borehole, it became a little perplexing why the borehole stopped working when the rainy season stopped. Any thoughts?
As we went uphill from this borehole, there was more sandy soil. We crossed the south-bearing main road again and went a different footpath towards the village. We were quite close to a large house with a power line running nearby (and we could even hear the traffic on the Masaka-Mbarara Road), when Joseph turned left off the path (bearing west??) and we came to a perenially non-functioning borehole. This borehole, which we think corresponds to BH5 in Helen and Becca's report, has a blue label to its side that says:
UNICEF Serial #3739
India Mark III ??? O.M. Deep Well Hand Pump
Mfd by: Balaji Industrial and Agricultural Castings
There was no information regarding the year or the depth of the borehole. According to Joseph, this borehole worked initially when installed (for maybe 1 year), but have since stopped working for many years. When we tried to pump, the handle felt sticky, with a large resistance. So we suspect that it could be a mechanical problem. This borehole was set up, according to Mike, quite elegantly, and we think it would be easy just to take the cover up and directly peek inside. The soil near this borehole is "hard-packed clay" (Mike), though everywhere plants still managed to break through the soil and prospered. This borehole felt higher in elevation, probably one of the highest ones in Ddegeya (Joseph thought this could also refer to BH7 in Helen and Becca's report, but we settled for BH5 ultimately).
Having returned to the clinic, we did two Petrifilm samples from BH4 and P1 (both Nalongo-drawn), for E. coli and Enterobacteria. We were not sure if we did the Petrifilm tests correctly (Kevin screwed up two samples and Dave's Petrifilms had pink liquids leaking out of the circular boundary). While the package of the Petrifilm said that the product should be stored at 8C, Kevin was of the opinion that this was both unnecessary and unrealistic. The manual suggested several incubation temperatures from 30 to 37C. Joe informed us that an incubator, if there is one in stock in Kampala (JMS), would cost 3,000,000 UGX. We decided to "incubate" these samples at room temperature, on the top shelf inside the sleeping quarters. We will see how long it takes for the dots to develop.
We had a late lunch consisting mainly of yesterday dinner's leftovers, plus mangoes. In the afternoon, under the tutelege of the local kids, Dave has become an expert in Luganda. At 3:30 p.m., Joseph showed up again, and we started our household visits. Though some people spoke some English (others not), we had Joseph translate for us. We tried to cross-check our answers to gauge the accuracy of the answers given by the households, but we still need to take everything they say with a grain of salt. We have found that the standard unit of volume in this part of the world is in terms of jerry cans. Approximately speaking, 1 jerry can is equivalent to 20 L. Also, 7 jerry cans make about 1 drum (about 140 L).
Household 1
Mrs. Majinha Farida runs a shop with a small clinic on the Masaka-Mbarara Road at the Trading Centre, and sells some drugs. She sees about 5 people per day---the number if variable seasonally, but tends to increase in the rainy season. She speaks some English, and this is the first time that anyone has interviewed her. There are 13 people in her family (mostly children). The children are of the school age, and are back home during the holidays. The family uses about 20 jerry cans of water per day, for bathing, cooking, an drinking. Their main source is from Nalongo---both BH4 and P1. They know about P2 (the small pond inside the bamboo forest) but do not use it because of the leaves make it appear that the pond water is not clean. The children take turns collect the water---it takes about 30 minutes of waiting at Nalongo usually. Water collection is usually done twice, morning and evening. Each trip can take up to 2 hours (sometimes the children could be playing along the way). The children never miss school by collecting water.
Drinking water is sometimes boiled (water used for washing is not boiled), but sometimes children just cannot wait (like they may not wait to collect water from BH4 by Nalongo). The household drinks about 5 L of water per day. Depending on the volume, it is estimated that it can take 30 minutes to heat up the water, and the water is held at boiling (note that due to elevation this will be lower than 100C) for 10 minutes. The family buys firewood at 100 shillings/piece, and it takes about 4 pieces to boil water at one setting. Sometimes children also collect firewood, and the family uses both bought and collected firewood, roughly in half-half proportions. The water from BH4 or P1 is initially collected in jerry cans. If the water is used for non-drinking purposes, these are poured into a drum. If the water is for drinking, this is put inside a ceramic pot for boiling.
During the raining season, the family uses one open drum to collect rainwater---no additional gutters on the ceiling, etc. If a rain is particularly heavy and the drum is completely filled, then the family can skip going to Nalongo for a few days (2 days, according to a later figure). The family also boils collected rainwater if it is to be used for drunking. If the clinic installs some long-term rainwater storage facility, they are willing to collect water from the clinic. When the drum is completely filled, the time required to collect water per day is close to nil. The family notices that the rainy season changes---it has shifted to later (but with duration kept approximately the same).
The family will also be interested in our workshop on water treatment (such that it bypasses the need to use firewood to sterilise water). The mother is quite busy with the shops, and thinks that she can only devote about 30 minutes per day for the workshops.
The family also occasionally have stomach worms (which Mike speculates could have come from either food or water). The family explains that they boil water to fight germs.
Household 2
Mrs. Kyaddondo Jafari's family practises subsistance farming, and are located beside the Masaka-Mbarara Road a little further down from Household 1 near the Trading Centre. No one has approached her for an interview before. While interviewing us, she was peeling green bananas into a basket. She spoke no English, so Joseph did translation completely for us. Her household, which practises subsistence farming, has 15 people, 13 of which are school-aged children, who are now at home during the holidays. The household uses about 5 jerry cans of water per day, divided as follows roughly: 3 jerry cans for cloth-washing, 2 jerry cans for cooking, and about 20 L for drinking (sorry we couldn't get the numbers to add up with Mrs. Jafari, try as we did). The children take turns gathering water from Nalongo---usually only from BH4, but if BH4 breaks, then also from P1, but they never miss school because of water collection. The family is unaware of P2. It takes about 30 minutes per children to get Nalongo water, but the trip often takes about 1 hour (the children could be playing along the way, etc.). The family claims that they boil all their drinking water---1 jerry can can last about 2 days (sorry this number also disagrees with what has been given above). However, Mike said anecdotally that he just saw one of the kids drinking water directly out of a jerry can. For boiling, the firewood is mostly collected from a family-owned eucalyptus forest, and is purchased when what is collected is not sufficient. The firewood, if purchased, costs about 500 UGX for 20 L per day, which the family considers to be a minor cost. It takes about 5 minutes to heat the water up, and the family holds the water at the boiling point for another 5 minutes. The family utilises pot and smaller jerry cans to store water used for different purposes, and claims that the jerry cans are specifically labelled for the different purposes, though we did not verify.
Rainwater collection appears to be an important practice in this family, which uses a large drum for the rainwater collection (without any other rooftop installations). If a rain is heavy enough, a filled drum can sustain the family for a week without needing to go to Nalongo. When asked if the family would be willing to collect stored rainwater from the clinic as opposed to the Nalongo water, the family responds that the answer is obvious---they would use rainwater because it is cleaner. However, the family still boils rainwater because they do not consider it clean enough. The family appears to collect all the rainwater, and does not make a distinction between first and later rains.
The family would be interested in attending our workshops, and they would devote about 30 minutes per day at a maximum attending these.
Household 3
Also located on the Masaka-Mbarara Road near the Trading Center. This household was too busy to talk to us.
Household 4
Mr. Kirembeka Swahib lives on a footpath off the Masaka-Mbarara Road just south of the Trading Centre---close to the road but not on the road. It takes about 5 minutes of walk to the clinic. No one has approached him for an interview before. He has a family of 5, with 3 children, and practises subsistance farming, selling some coffee as well. There are other family members who are either in Kampala working, or are married. The family uses about 5 jerry cans of water per day, with the following approximate breakdown: 3 jerry cans for cloth-washing, 1 jerry cans for cooking, some for drinking tea, some for watering the plants, and some for cleaning for entering the mosque (located at the Trading Centre). The family only drinks tea---twice a day (at first we thought this was implausible, but Tom held a different view). The family uses only BH4. The children, who are mostly school-aged, are too young to collect water. Sometimes Mr. Swahib collects water himself, and sometimes pays for someone else to bring the water, which costs about 1000 UGX. The family boil water for tea, but otherwise do not boil water for other purposes. The family first claim that they do not use firewood, and then later under more questioning say that they sometimes use charcoal and sometimes firewood. Then they say that they use no charcoal and only firewood---collected from the forest (family-owned).
The family does collect rainwater in one big drum and one small drum. However, Mike noted anecdotally that even though there was some short and intense rains the past two days, the big drum that the family owns (fixed to the ground) appears completely empty. We did see a little water---which appears highly contaminated---in the small drum. According to the family, during heavy rains, the filled drums can last the family for 5 days. It is estimated that there is about 1 week per year during which time there is no need to go to Nalongo. If the clinic has some rainwater storage facility, the family would prefer the clinic's rainwater because P1 is contaminated (though BH4 is not contaminated). Mr. Swahib anticipates that the family may have to go back to P1/BH4 if the line-up at the clinic is long. The family is willing to spend about 20 minutes waiting. Kevin wanted to ask why it matters if the water is contaminated if the family drinks tea and always boils their water, but Joseph wanted to leave at this point.
Mr. Swahib mentioned that the government is installing running water for households along the Masaka-Mbarara Road---so far 3 families (thereabouts) have received pipes---non-functional. According to Mr. Swahib, the government will pump water from Masaka. At first Mike questioned this notion, but Monica thought that this was not so far-fetched given that Masaka is the location of the nearest lake. Monica has also seen workers digging (presumably for the same water works) beside the Masaka-Mbarara Road since about 2 months ago, though it is not clear how long the project will take to finish, if at all. Mr. Swahib later showed us the government pipe---which is a coil of black pipe about 10 m long and not connected to anything yet.
Mr. Swahib also asked if we can fix BH5, as well as another source (BH7??). The family used to collect water from here. The family also mentions that there are other villages with non-functioning BHs. Some of these BHs are within the family's reach as well.
If the family were taught some filtering technologies, they plan to filter water before boiling it for tea.
Household 5
Mrs. Nakarembe Cissy lives in a house off the Masaka-Mbarara Road close to household 4. She speaks some English, though Joseph still did some translation. Her household cooks indoors in the kitchen, and when we visited, there was a lot of smokes, smelling strongly of firewood, coming out from the kitchen windows (it had no chimney). The walls immediately outside the windows were blackened. Fortunately, the sleeping quarters is elsewhere. The family practises subsistance farming, and has 7 people, 4 of which are children. The family needs about 5 jerry cans of water per day: about 1 for bathing, 1 for cooking, 3 for washing, and about 3 L for drinking. The family collects water from a pond and a nearby BH that we have not visited (down the road---maybe P3 and BH6???). The BH works seasonally, though Mrs. Cissy does not know if it is working now, as it is the children who take turns collecting the water. It takes about 30 minutes per trip for water collection, and about 2 trips are needed per day. The children go to school, so often collect water before or after school.
Mrs. Cissy boils drinking water, with either firewood or charcoal, both bought. Firewood costs about 1000 shillings per bundle, which is sufficient for 2 days. The family finds it expensive to afford the firewood. Once the water is boiled, it is kept boiling for 2-5 minutes. Boiling is done is a saucepan or a kettle, and boiled water is transferred to a small pot. There appears to be a separation of containers.
Rainwater collection is practised. Once the drum is filled in a heavy rain, the water can last the family about 2-3 weeks, during which time there is no need to go the BH. During the rainy season, there can be a few months (???) during which time there is no need to collect water from the BH. Collected rainwater is still boiled before drinking, as it is not clean. New rainwater is always preferred: if it starts raining again and the collected rainwater from the previous rain has not been finished, the family will pour the old rainwater away and start the collection anew. When asked why, Mrs. Cissy claims that she has seen mosquitoes in the old rainwater.
If the clinic has some rainwater storage system, the family would still prefer collecting from their present BH, since the BH is closer to their home (about 15 minutes walking). Mrs. Cissy does not really have time to attend our workshop, but her husband may. Her husband's availability and willingness to participate are uncertain at this point.
The interviews took about a little more than 30 minutes per household, and we wrapped things up at 18:19. On our way back, Joseph told Kevin about the education situation in Uganda. It costs about $25 per month to attend private primary school, and public primary schools are only about $5 cheaper---and as such many households cannot afford children to go to school. The fees are more expensive on the secondary school level. Secondary school concludes with the A-levels, much alike the British system. University takes about 3-4 years to finish depending on the subject and the workload. There are some government scholarships but those are highly competitive. Most primary and secondary school students live at home; most university students live on campus.
Upon returning to the clinic, we found Tom/Joe to be playing guitar, and many local kids around. Apparently, one of the kids pushed Goose (a dog that John got last week whose original name was Banana) off and she suffered an injury either at the right paw or arm. It took us a while to figure out what was wrong, as she simply wailed when trying to walk gingerly. Dinner was served at about 9 p.m.. Tom (and unexpectedly Joe) made superb chapati. We combined this with our usual fare described yesterday. Everyone had some fun making fun of British English, and the word of the day was the verb bugger. According to Francis, Kevin looks like a North Korean.
Tomorrow, Joseph will bring us to see some more BHs in the morning. We plan to meet at 9 a.m., and the process will take only about 1 hour or so. We then plan to assemble the mesh and start assembling the water filter. Dave is worried about how to drill a hole to the side of the plastic bucket without also making the filter leaky (because the hole obviously will not be a perfect fit). Duct tape or some other waterproof adhesives might work. In the afternoon (circa 3 p.m.), Joseph plans to take us to visit a couple more households.
There were many houses beside the road. The houses---built mainly with bricks and corrugated roofs---were accompanied with plantations of bananas, corns, potatoes, coffee trees, yams, sweet potatoes, and a few mango trees. According to Joseph, most families practise subsistence farming primarily, though coffee is a cash crop. Since it is the school break, some children carrying water were commuting along the road. After maybe 15-20 minutes, we turned west from the main road onto another smaller footpath (Joseph told us that if we turned left, this smaller footpath would lead us to a seasonally functioning borehole, which we would visit later). After some walk, we arrived at the house of Salongo Kivumbi, the current community chairperson (whose first name is related to being a twin---remember the word Nalongo). According to Joseph, the community chairperson is elected once every five years. The chairperson then appoints other people on the committee, playing different roles such as defence, women's affairs, etc. The chairperson of Ddegeya (level 1) reports to another committee (level 2), which oversees a larger area (perhaps 3 villages or so). There are regular meetings, usually over the weekends. There are five levels of representation before the parliament, but any problems tend to get reported quickly nowadays thanks to mobile phones.
We took a seat in Salongo's house, and he took out a guestbook for us to sign. Most of the conversation was between Salongo and Joseph in Luganda, though Salongo also spoke a little English, and kept emphasising that his village is poor---they cannot afford water technologies (e.g. storage tanks). According to Salongo, the biggest problem is the boreholes. There used to be a borehole task force, but that was disbended since most of the boreholes stopped working. Salongo asked when it would be that we would be able to fix the boreholes, and we emphasised that we could try to diagnose the problems and fix the boreholes, but it would be up to the borehole task force to maintain these in working order afterwards. Salongo also noted that there was a bad smell emenating from many of the non-functional boreholes. Afterwards, he accompanied us a little while as we retraced our steps towards the main south-running road (that branched off from the Masaka-Mbarara Road).
This time, we continued east (across from the south-running road) to visit the borehole that only works seasonally. According to Joseph, this borehole works about 6 months in a year during the rainy season, and has just stopped working. While the borehole is giving out water, approximately 20 households obtain water from here in lieu of Nalongo. When the borehole is not working, some households obtain water from a pair of newly dug open sources about 200 m (very rough estimate) south of the borehole (we will come to these open sources later). Of the numbered boreholes in Helen and Becca's report, we are not clear on what this borehole corresponds to. According to Joseph, Michael Thornton visited this borehole in the summer and tried to take it apart. We tried to pump---and as expected, no water came out. However, the handle moved quite easily, and Mike claimed that he could still feel some suction. The soil around this area is sandy in texture. Our initial suspicion was that this borehole was not drilled deeply enough, but our consequent visit to the nearby new open sources had evidence that questions this suspicion.
We next walked downhill slightly (bearing approximately south) past a fenced area where someone was making some bricks. Here there was an attempted digging but is a dry source. The size of this dry source is about 4 m by 2 m. David suggested that we should try to dig a little deeper to see if we can reach the water table (which theoretically shouldn't be more than 2-3 m below ground level).
About 50 m (rough estimate) away (bearing south, still slightly downhill), we reached the two newly dug open sources (that Joseph claimed that were not there when Helen and Becca visited). The smaller pond was about 2 m in diameter (according to Mike, about 4-6 feet in diameter). The water was quite turbid, and the depth was around 50-60 cm. At the bottom of the pond, the soil was sandy. The larger open source was about 4 m by 2 m. Though we didn't measure it, Joseph said that it was deeper---about 7 m deep!! The soil was quite sandy here as well. Since the water level of these two open sources was about 2 m below ground (and there is water even as the borehole nearby ran dry), and there was no significant elevation rise between here and the borehole, it became a little perplexing why the borehole stopped working when the rainy season stopped. Any thoughts?
As we went uphill from this borehole, there was more sandy soil. We crossed the south-bearing main road again and went a different footpath towards the village. We were quite close to a large house with a power line running nearby (and we could even hear the traffic on the Masaka-Mbarara Road), when Joseph turned left off the path (bearing west??) and we came to a perenially non-functioning borehole. This borehole, which we think corresponds to BH5 in Helen and Becca's report, has a blue label to its side that says:
UNICEF Serial #3739
India Mark III ??? O.M. Deep Well Hand Pump
Mfd by: Balaji Industrial and Agricultural Castings
There was no information regarding the year or the depth of the borehole. According to Joseph, this borehole worked initially when installed (for maybe 1 year), but have since stopped working for many years. When we tried to pump, the handle felt sticky, with a large resistance. So we suspect that it could be a mechanical problem. This borehole was set up, according to Mike, quite elegantly, and we think it would be easy just to take the cover up and directly peek inside. The soil near this borehole is "hard-packed clay" (Mike), though everywhere plants still managed to break through the soil and prospered. This borehole felt higher in elevation, probably one of the highest ones in Ddegeya (Joseph thought this could also refer to BH7 in Helen and Becca's report, but we settled for BH5 ultimately).
Having returned to the clinic, we did two Petrifilm samples from BH4 and P1 (both Nalongo-drawn), for E. coli and Enterobacteria. We were not sure if we did the Petrifilm tests correctly (Kevin screwed up two samples and Dave's Petrifilms had pink liquids leaking out of the circular boundary). While the package of the Petrifilm said that the product should be stored at 8C, Kevin was of the opinion that this was both unnecessary and unrealistic. The manual suggested several incubation temperatures from 30 to 37C. Joe informed us that an incubator, if there is one in stock in Kampala (JMS), would cost 3,000,000 UGX. We decided to "incubate" these samples at room temperature, on the top shelf inside the sleeping quarters. We will see how long it takes for the dots to develop.
We had a late lunch consisting mainly of yesterday dinner's leftovers, plus mangoes. In the afternoon, under the tutelege of the local kids, Dave has become an expert in Luganda. At 3:30 p.m., Joseph showed up again, and we started our household visits. Though some people spoke some English (others not), we had Joseph translate for us. We tried to cross-check our answers to gauge the accuracy of the answers given by the households, but we still need to take everything they say with a grain of salt. We have found that the standard unit of volume in this part of the world is in terms of jerry cans. Approximately speaking, 1 jerry can is equivalent to 20 L. Also, 7 jerry cans make about 1 drum (about 140 L).
Household 1
Mrs. Majinha Farida runs a shop with a small clinic on the Masaka-Mbarara Road at the Trading Centre, and sells some drugs. She sees about 5 people per day---the number if variable seasonally, but tends to increase in the rainy season. She speaks some English, and this is the first time that anyone has interviewed her. There are 13 people in her family (mostly children). The children are of the school age, and are back home during the holidays. The family uses about 20 jerry cans of water per day, for bathing, cooking, an drinking. Their main source is from Nalongo---both BH4 and P1. They know about P2 (the small pond inside the bamboo forest) but do not use it because of the leaves make it appear that the pond water is not clean. The children take turns collect the water---it takes about 30 minutes of waiting at Nalongo usually. Water collection is usually done twice, morning and evening. Each trip can take up to 2 hours (sometimes the children could be playing along the way). The children never miss school by collecting water.
Drinking water is sometimes boiled (water used for washing is not boiled), but sometimes children just cannot wait (like they may not wait to collect water from BH4 by Nalongo). The household drinks about 5 L of water per day. Depending on the volume, it is estimated that it can take 30 minutes to heat up the water, and the water is held at boiling (note that due to elevation this will be lower than 100C) for 10 minutes. The family buys firewood at 100 shillings/piece, and it takes about 4 pieces to boil water at one setting. Sometimes children also collect firewood, and the family uses both bought and collected firewood, roughly in half-half proportions. The water from BH4 or P1 is initially collected in jerry cans. If the water is used for non-drinking purposes, these are poured into a drum. If the water is for drinking, this is put inside a ceramic pot for boiling.
During the raining season, the family uses one open drum to collect rainwater---no additional gutters on the ceiling, etc. If a rain is particularly heavy and the drum is completely filled, then the family can skip going to Nalongo for a few days (2 days, according to a later figure). The family also boils collected rainwater if it is to be used for drunking. If the clinic installs some long-term rainwater storage facility, they are willing to collect water from the clinic. When the drum is completely filled, the time required to collect water per day is close to nil. The family notices that the rainy season changes---it has shifted to later (but with duration kept approximately the same).
The family will also be interested in our workshop on water treatment (such that it bypasses the need to use firewood to sterilise water). The mother is quite busy with the shops, and thinks that she can only devote about 30 minutes per day for the workshops.
The family also occasionally have stomach worms (which Mike speculates could have come from either food or water). The family explains that they boil water to fight germs.
Household 2
Mrs. Kyaddondo Jafari's family practises subsistance farming, and are located beside the Masaka-Mbarara Road a little further down from Household 1 near the Trading Centre. No one has approached her for an interview before. While interviewing us, she was peeling green bananas into a basket. She spoke no English, so Joseph did translation completely for us. Her household, which practises subsistence farming, has 15 people, 13 of which are school-aged children, who are now at home during the holidays. The household uses about 5 jerry cans of water per day, divided as follows roughly: 3 jerry cans for cloth-washing, 2 jerry cans for cooking, and about 20 L for drinking (sorry we couldn't get the numbers to add up with Mrs. Jafari, try as we did). The children take turns gathering water from Nalongo---usually only from BH4, but if BH4 breaks, then also from P1, but they never miss school because of water collection. The family is unaware of P2. It takes about 30 minutes per children to get Nalongo water, but the trip often takes about 1 hour (the children could be playing along the way, etc.). The family claims that they boil all their drinking water---1 jerry can can last about 2 days (sorry this number also disagrees with what has been given above). However, Mike said anecdotally that he just saw one of the kids drinking water directly out of a jerry can. For boiling, the firewood is mostly collected from a family-owned eucalyptus forest, and is purchased when what is collected is not sufficient. The firewood, if purchased, costs about 500 UGX for 20 L per day, which the family considers to be a minor cost. It takes about 5 minutes to heat the water up, and the family holds the water at the boiling point for another 5 minutes. The family utilises pot and smaller jerry cans to store water used for different purposes, and claims that the jerry cans are specifically labelled for the different purposes, though we did not verify.
Rainwater collection appears to be an important practice in this family, which uses a large drum for the rainwater collection (without any other rooftop installations). If a rain is heavy enough, a filled drum can sustain the family for a week without needing to go to Nalongo. When asked if the family would be willing to collect stored rainwater from the clinic as opposed to the Nalongo water, the family responds that the answer is obvious---they would use rainwater because it is cleaner. However, the family still boils rainwater because they do not consider it clean enough. The family appears to collect all the rainwater, and does not make a distinction between first and later rains.
The family would be interested in attending our workshops, and they would devote about 30 minutes per day at a maximum attending these.
Household 3
Also located on the Masaka-Mbarara Road near the Trading Center. This household was too busy to talk to us.
Household 4
Mr. Kirembeka Swahib lives on a footpath off the Masaka-Mbarara Road just south of the Trading Centre---close to the road but not on the road. It takes about 5 minutes of walk to the clinic. No one has approached him for an interview before. He has a family of 5, with 3 children, and practises subsistance farming, selling some coffee as well. There are other family members who are either in Kampala working, or are married. The family uses about 5 jerry cans of water per day, with the following approximate breakdown: 3 jerry cans for cloth-washing, 1 jerry cans for cooking, some for drinking tea, some for watering the plants, and some for cleaning for entering the mosque (located at the Trading Centre). The family only drinks tea---twice a day (at first we thought this was implausible, but Tom held a different view). The family uses only BH4. The children, who are mostly school-aged, are too young to collect water. Sometimes Mr. Swahib collects water himself, and sometimes pays for someone else to bring the water, which costs about 1000 UGX. The family boil water for tea, but otherwise do not boil water for other purposes. The family first claim that they do not use firewood, and then later under more questioning say that they sometimes use charcoal and sometimes firewood. Then they say that they use no charcoal and only firewood---collected from the forest (family-owned).
The family does collect rainwater in one big drum and one small drum. However, Mike noted anecdotally that even though there was some short and intense rains the past two days, the big drum that the family owns (fixed to the ground) appears completely empty. We did see a little water---which appears highly contaminated---in the small drum. According to the family, during heavy rains, the filled drums can last the family for 5 days. It is estimated that there is about 1 week per year during which time there is no need to go to Nalongo. If the clinic has some rainwater storage facility, the family would prefer the clinic's rainwater because P1 is contaminated (though BH4 is not contaminated). Mr. Swahib anticipates that the family may have to go back to P1/BH4 if the line-up at the clinic is long. The family is willing to spend about 20 minutes waiting. Kevin wanted to ask why it matters if the water is contaminated if the family drinks tea and always boils their water, but Joseph wanted to leave at this point.
Mr. Swahib mentioned that the government is installing running water for households along the Masaka-Mbarara Road---so far 3 families (thereabouts) have received pipes---non-functional. According to Mr. Swahib, the government will pump water from Masaka. At first Mike questioned this notion, but Monica thought that this was not so far-fetched given that Masaka is the location of the nearest lake. Monica has also seen workers digging (presumably for the same water works) beside the Masaka-Mbarara Road since about 2 months ago, though it is not clear how long the project will take to finish, if at all. Mr. Swahib later showed us the government pipe---which is a coil of black pipe about 10 m long and not connected to anything yet.
Mr. Swahib also asked if we can fix BH5, as well as another source (BH7??). The family used to collect water from here. The family also mentions that there are other villages with non-functioning BHs. Some of these BHs are within the family's reach as well.
If the family were taught some filtering technologies, they plan to filter water before boiling it for tea.
Household 5
Mrs. Nakarembe Cissy lives in a house off the Masaka-Mbarara Road close to household 4. She speaks some English, though Joseph still did some translation. Her household cooks indoors in the kitchen, and when we visited, there was a lot of smokes, smelling strongly of firewood, coming out from the kitchen windows (it had no chimney). The walls immediately outside the windows were blackened. Fortunately, the sleeping quarters is elsewhere. The family practises subsistance farming, and has 7 people, 4 of which are children. The family needs about 5 jerry cans of water per day: about 1 for bathing, 1 for cooking, 3 for washing, and about 3 L for drinking. The family collects water from a pond and a nearby BH that we have not visited (down the road---maybe P3 and BH6???). The BH works seasonally, though Mrs. Cissy does not know if it is working now, as it is the children who take turns collecting the water. It takes about 30 minutes per trip for water collection, and about 2 trips are needed per day. The children go to school, so often collect water before or after school.
Mrs. Cissy boils drinking water, with either firewood or charcoal, both bought. Firewood costs about 1000 shillings per bundle, which is sufficient for 2 days. The family finds it expensive to afford the firewood. Once the water is boiled, it is kept boiling for 2-5 minutes. Boiling is done is a saucepan or a kettle, and boiled water is transferred to a small pot. There appears to be a separation of containers.
Rainwater collection is practised. Once the drum is filled in a heavy rain, the water can last the family about 2-3 weeks, during which time there is no need to go the BH. During the rainy season, there can be a few months (???) during which time there is no need to collect water from the BH. Collected rainwater is still boiled before drinking, as it is not clean. New rainwater is always preferred: if it starts raining again and the collected rainwater from the previous rain has not been finished, the family will pour the old rainwater away and start the collection anew. When asked why, Mrs. Cissy claims that she has seen mosquitoes in the old rainwater.
If the clinic has some rainwater storage system, the family would still prefer collecting from their present BH, since the BH is closer to their home (about 15 minutes walking). Mrs. Cissy does not really have time to attend our workshop, but her husband may. Her husband's availability and willingness to participate are uncertain at this point.
The interviews took about a little more than 30 minutes per household, and we wrapped things up at 18:19. On our way back, Joseph told Kevin about the education situation in Uganda. It costs about $25 per month to attend private primary school, and public primary schools are only about $5 cheaper---and as such many households cannot afford children to go to school. The fees are more expensive on the secondary school level. Secondary school concludes with the A-levels, much alike the British system. University takes about 3-4 years to finish depending on the subject and the workload. There are some government scholarships but those are highly competitive. Most primary and secondary school students live at home; most university students live on campus.
Upon returning to the clinic, we found Tom/Joe to be playing guitar, and many local kids around. Apparently, one of the kids pushed Goose (a dog that John got last week whose original name was Banana) off and she suffered an injury either at the right paw or arm. It took us a while to figure out what was wrong, as she simply wailed when trying to walk gingerly. Dinner was served at about 9 p.m.. Tom (and unexpectedly Joe) made superb chapati. We combined this with our usual fare described yesterday. Everyone had some fun making fun of British English, and the word of the day was the verb bugger. According to Francis, Kevin looks like a North Korean.
Tomorrow, Joseph will bring us to see some more BHs in the morning. We plan to meet at 9 a.m., and the process will take only about 1 hour or so. We then plan to assemble the mesh and start assembling the water filter. Dave is worried about how to drill a hole to the side of the plastic bucket without also making the filter leaky (because the hole obviously will not be a perfect fit). Duct tape or some other waterproof adhesives might work. In the afternoon (circa 3 p.m.), Joseph plans to take us to visit a couple more households.
January 7, 2010 - Kampala
After breakfast today, we called Barbara, who instructed us to go to the taxi stand in town in order to meet her. It was a challenge to flag down a taxi on Nateete Road that happened to have empty spaces for 3 people (most heading to downtown Kampala were quite full). Having gotten to the taxi stand, we took another boda boda ride to the nearby Radio One, where Barbara met us and took us to a coffee shop.
Barbara thought that the best thing we should do is to first ask the local district office (in Masaka) whether or not they have the maps and data of the groundwater and the topography of Ddegeya (we later confirmed with John that Michael Thornton tried to look for this information during the summer and found no avail). Failing that, the Water Resources Management Directorate in Entebbe (+256 414 320382/323531; Leodinous Mivebembezi - +256-414 321342/320914/570779; leo.mwebembezi@mwe.go.ug) may have groundwater data from record, costing about 5000 UGX (on the brochure that Barbara gave us; when she asked them, they also gave her the same price). However, these data may be very old. If we want to do some more in-field assessment in the future through the Directorate, then the cost could be quite high:
Groundwater equipment - with no personnel - 150000 UGX/day
Groundwater equipment - with personnel - 600000 UGX/day
Hydrological analysis - small - 1000000 UGX; per catchment - 3000000 UGX
Groundwater assessment - 3000000/area
Hydrogeological survey - 1200000/site
Borehold drilling, logging, construction supervision - 700000 UGX/site
Barbara also told us that from her experience with the local hydrogeology (near Masaka), the depth of the water table is often between 50-100 m, being shallowest in the valley and deepest on the hills. Most boreholes in this area fail mainly due to two reasons: (1) the borehole is not deep enough and only contacts the top layer of the water table, and (2) the quantity of water at the borehold site is not sufficient. Dave asked about obtaining the geological/topographical maps in the area, and these can be obtained via a different department: Department of Geological Survey and Mines - Agnes Alaha (256-41-320656; mob. 256-71-812843).
After this meeting, Barbara took us to good places in town to change money. Kevin got a Ugandan SIM card (+256(0)784399549), and we ate at Nando's (probably the last western-styled food for a while). We returned to the hostel just short of 1 p.m. Hudson---John's brother---agreed to pick us up at 1 from the hostel, but we learnt that he would not show up for another hour. In the meanwhile, Kevin made some more phone calls with the following people:
Solar Connect Association (in Kampala) - 0712 718005
They apparently do have water pasteurization indicators (WAPIs), but they are not sure if these are in stock, and apparently this will take them a week to find out.
Chris Arsenault (in Kenya)
We just introduced ourselves to him at this point; he would contact us again in a few days regarding his availability within the next couple of weeks.
Hudson came at 2, and Dave went to the bus terminal in Kampala with him to fetch a taxi, which took another 30 minutes or so. There are 4 of us travelling, but the luggage took up two extra spaces. Having loaded the luggage onto the taxi, we drove back to the Kampala bus terminal again to pick up additional passengers. While waiting for the taxi to fill, we walked around the shops and found a plastic bucket---about 40 cm in diameter and 50 cm in height. The original price was 15000-20000 UGX, but we bargained it down to 13000 UGX.
The taxi finally left at about 3:30 p.m. In the two-hour ride to Masaka, we passed by many beautiful Ugandan landscapes, notably, according to Hudson, some of the largest papaya plantations. At Masaka, everyone but us got off the taxi, and it took us about another 30 minutes to arrive at the clinic off the Masaka-Mbarara Road.
John showed us around the clinic grounds, which was larger and newer than we expected. There was a sleeping quarters with bunk-beds with mosquito nets, an office with laptops with internet, a diagnostic area, and another room with hospital beds being set up.
About south of the clinic, the terrain sloped downwards, with sweet potatoes growing. To the east was some eucalyptus wood (most of them seemed cut down, but people have regrown them). At the edge of the wood, Tom and Joe (a pharmacy student??) were leading an effort in mixing concrete and erecting some wooden posts in the hope of making a jungle gym.
Walking down to Nalongo took us about 3 minutes. At this time in the evening (about 6 p.m.), the place was packed with kids fetching the water for the evening. We were a little surprised to find a working borehole right beside Nalongo, yielding comparatively clear water at a good rate (about 3 minutes to fill 20 litres). We saw about 20 jerry cans being filled, and only one girl ventured to Nalongo and fetch water directly from the open pond. According to Francis (who studies journalism at Makerere University but is back to the village for the school break until the end of January), most of the people (about 70-80% of them) fetched water from the borehole and not Nalongo. Some may fetch water directly from Nalongo if they were short of time. Since the borehold water is comparatively "clean" (judged by eye for now), a major source of contamination is probably the dirty water vessel.
At about 8 p.m., we had dinner, consisting of traditional fare such as matooke, yam, some unknown beans, rice, corn, and avocado. Afterwards, John met with us. He emphasised the need to avoid making promises (and then possibly having disappointments/mistrusts) with the villagers. Unlike the Engeye, John appears to prefer that we make household interviews. In his opinion, the problem with a community meeting is that only a fraction of the participants are willing to speak up. So we have formed a rough plan as follows:
Friday (8 Jan.) - Joseph is going to take us to the different houses in the afternoon to talk to people. We will also be meeting the community elders---Salongo Kivumbi, Muwanika, and Medi.
Weekend (9-10 Jan.) - Finish the household interviews if necessary; in the meanwhile, we will try to assemble the filters.
Tuesday (12 Jan.) - The workshop begins.
John is away from tomorrow (Friday) until late Monday (4 p.m. or so). The medical mission will be arriving in Engeye on 18 Jan.
Barbara thought that the best thing we should do is to first ask the local district office (in Masaka) whether or not they have the maps and data of the groundwater and the topography of Ddegeya (we later confirmed with John that Michael Thornton tried to look for this information during the summer and found no avail). Failing that, the Water Resources Management Directorate in Entebbe (+256 414 320382/323531; Leodinous Mivebembezi - +256-414 321342/320914/570779; leo.mwebembezi@mwe.go.ug) may have groundwater data from record, costing about 5000 UGX (on the brochure that Barbara gave us; when she asked them, they also gave her the same price). However, these data may be very old. If we want to do some more in-field assessment in the future through the Directorate, then the cost could be quite high:
Groundwater equipment - with no personnel - 150000 UGX/day
Groundwater equipment - with personnel - 600000 UGX/day
Hydrological analysis - small - 1000000 UGX; per catchment - 3000000 UGX
Groundwater assessment - 3000000/area
Hydrogeological survey - 1200000/site
Borehold drilling, logging, construction supervision - 700000 UGX/site
Barbara also told us that from her experience with the local hydrogeology (near Masaka), the depth of the water table is often between 50-100 m, being shallowest in the valley and deepest on the hills. Most boreholes in this area fail mainly due to two reasons: (1) the borehole is not deep enough and only contacts the top layer of the water table, and (2) the quantity of water at the borehold site is not sufficient. Dave asked about obtaining the geological/topographical maps in the area, and these can be obtained via a different department: Department of Geological Survey and Mines - Agnes Alaha (256-41-320656; mob. 256-71-812843).
After this meeting, Barbara took us to good places in town to change money. Kevin got a Ugandan SIM card (+256(0)784399549), and we ate at Nando's (probably the last western-styled food for a while). We returned to the hostel just short of 1 p.m. Hudson---John's brother---agreed to pick us up at 1 from the hostel, but we learnt that he would not show up for another hour. In the meanwhile, Kevin made some more phone calls with the following people:
Solar Connect Association (in Kampala) - 0712 718005
They apparently do have water pasteurization indicators (WAPIs), but they are not sure if these are in stock, and apparently this will take them a week to find out.
Chris Arsenault (in Kenya)
We just introduced ourselves to him at this point; he would contact us again in a few days regarding his availability within the next couple of weeks.
Hudson came at 2, and Dave went to the bus terminal in Kampala with him to fetch a taxi, which took another 30 minutes or so. There are 4 of us travelling, but the luggage took up two extra spaces. Having loaded the luggage onto the taxi, we drove back to the Kampala bus terminal again to pick up additional passengers. While waiting for the taxi to fill, we walked around the shops and found a plastic bucket---about 40 cm in diameter and 50 cm in height. The original price was 15000-20000 UGX, but we bargained it down to 13000 UGX.
The taxi finally left at about 3:30 p.m. In the two-hour ride to Masaka, we passed by many beautiful Ugandan landscapes, notably, according to Hudson, some of the largest papaya plantations. At Masaka, everyone but us got off the taxi, and it took us about another 30 minutes to arrive at the clinic off the Masaka-Mbarara Road.
John showed us around the clinic grounds, which was larger and newer than we expected. There was a sleeping quarters with bunk-beds with mosquito nets, an office with laptops with internet, a diagnostic area, and another room with hospital beds being set up.
About south of the clinic, the terrain sloped downwards, with sweet potatoes growing. To the east was some eucalyptus wood (most of them seemed cut down, but people have regrown them). At the edge of the wood, Tom and Joe (a pharmacy student??) were leading an effort in mixing concrete and erecting some wooden posts in the hope of making a jungle gym.
Walking down to Nalongo took us about 3 minutes. At this time in the evening (about 6 p.m.), the place was packed with kids fetching the water for the evening. We were a little surprised to find a working borehole right beside Nalongo, yielding comparatively clear water at a good rate (about 3 minutes to fill 20 litres). We saw about 20 jerry cans being filled, and only one girl ventured to Nalongo and fetch water directly from the open pond. According to Francis (who studies journalism at Makerere University but is back to the village for the school break until the end of January), most of the people (about 70-80% of them) fetched water from the borehole and not Nalongo. Some may fetch water directly from Nalongo if they were short of time. Since the borehold water is comparatively "clean" (judged by eye for now), a major source of contamination is probably the dirty water vessel.
At about 8 p.m., we had dinner, consisting of traditional fare such as matooke, yam, some unknown beans, rice, corn, and avocado. Afterwards, John met with us. He emphasised the need to avoid making promises (and then possibly having disappointments/mistrusts) with the villagers. Unlike the Engeye, John appears to prefer that we make household interviews. In his opinion, the problem with a community meeting is that only a fraction of the participants are willing to speak up. So we have formed a rough plan as follows:
Friday (8 Jan.) - Joseph is going to take us to the different houses in the afternoon to talk to people. We will also be meeting the community elders---Salongo Kivumbi, Muwanika, and Medi.
Weekend (9-10 Jan.) - Finish the household interviews if necessary; in the meanwhile, we will try to assemble the filters.
Tuesday (12 Jan.) - The workshop begins.
John is away from tomorrow (Friday) until late Monday (4 p.m. or so). The medical mission will be arriving in Engeye on 18 Jan.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)