Borehole Rehabilitation Project

Borehole Rehabilitation Project in Uganda

Our project concentrates efforts to find existing, but damaged water supplies and boreholes. They are then being repaired to restore the water supply to the people in the villages. When in full working order these community boreholes provide a safe, clean source of water for an average of 200 families close to home.

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The most basic requirement to sustain life is clean water. In many rural and peri-urban communities across Sub-Saharan Africa, many communities struggle to find clean safe drinking water. With the Borehole Rehabilitation Project we help to restore a safe clean source of drinking water. There are many projects, charities and NGO’s working in Africa to bring clean water to remote communities. But delivering a new source to a village is only the start of the process. Keeping the water flowing once the borehole is established and for years to come is the key to community stabilisation and development. 

Our partner CO2balance maintains a program to locate and repair community boreholes that have fallen into disrepair, forcing the villages that rely on them to restart their water searches.

The boreholes are restored to full working order and a long term programme to maintain the system on a regular basis and secure the water supply for the local community is put in place.

Once the borehole is in operation it provides clean water without the need to boil it. By monitoring the amount of clean water delivered each day as a result of the maintenance project, we can calculate the fuel saved by not having to boil water to purify it. These fuel savings result in CO2 emission reductions which, following an independent project audit, are then registered as carbon credits. The resulting funds help repeat the process and enable us to continue to engage with more communities in need, restoring water supplies to a new area.

Vincent Ogwong's story

Vincent says: “Before this project we used to spend a lot of time looking for firewood and boiling water to make it clean. Sometimes due to the scarcity of firewood we would drink water without boiling it. This meant we frequently suffered from diarrhoea and other illnesses and would spend a lot of money treating them.”

The project in Uganda contributes to lifting people above this line by reducing the time spent collecting water, enabling more time to be spent on generating income.

A lack of access to safe water is a major cause of poverty for people like Vincent Ogwong, his wife and 3 children. Before the CO2balance project began, the family only had access to an unsafe water supply and had to spend 3 hours per day collecting water to meet household needs. 

This context had a terrible impact on the financial situation of Vincent and his family. With the time spent collecting water every day and the money spent on medicine there was a huge burden on the family. The situation has greatly improved. With the rehabilitation of the communal borehole the family now only needs to spend 30 minutes per day collecting water and can do so from a safe water supply which does not cause them to become ill. Vincent is now able to devote himself full time to growing sunflowers and harvesting their seeds, for which he receives an excellent price from cooking oil producers.

This provides vital cash for the family to spend on essentials such as school fees, books and uniform, and allows them to put money aside in case they should need to buy food in times of hardship. The experience of the Ogwong family powerfully demonstrates how a safe water supply can lift communities out of poverty.

Collage Borehole Project

Helping people improve their lives quality

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Brenda Okello's story

At only 22, she is responsible for looking feeding a family of five. Before the rehabilitation of the borehole, the family had no access to safe water and would collect water from the swampy areas surrounding the village.

”I now have enough time to spend on my farm which means the yield of my crops has improved. I don’t have to spend money on medicines so I can invest more in the tools and resources I need for farming, and my family is secured from food shortages. 

Thanks Toshiba in partnership with CO2balance for supporting us with clean and safe water.”

 

Monica Koli's story 

Monica Koli is 25 and lives in Amin Eceja village in Dokolo District, Uganda, with her husband and 2 children. The village was affected by the insurgency of the Lord’s Resistance Army, which displaced many families and destroyed infrastructure throughout Northern Uganda, with many boreholes consequently falling into disrepair.

”With the borehole so close, I am also able to collect enough clean water for my family and still have spare time to do other chores.”

Harriet Achieng’s story

14-year-old Harriet Achieng is a student at Amele Primary School. Her family are users of the Otikori borehole that is maintained by CO2balance under the Toshiba CarbonZero scheme, having been first rehabilitated under the project in 2013. She lives half a kilometre from the borehole and says that she is proud to have a clean water source near her home.

“Since the rehabilitation of Otikori borehole in 2013 under the Toshiba CarbonZero scheme, there is an improvement in the general cleanness of pupils at Amele Primary school. This has reduced cases of waterborne illnesses and increased school attendance and performance greatly.“

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The projects do more than just compensate for the carbon emission - they create jobs for local people and involve them in monitoring the impact of the different projects as well as the education of their peers. Below you will find more information on the projects we are currently supporting. Please access the latest impact report here.