Hi WaterSchool Community,

When WaterSchool started up in 2007, the goal was simple: provide access to clean, safe water to thousands through the proliferation of SODIS (solar disinfection) technology. Armed with plastic bottles and water, anyone could use the power of the sun to turn contaminated water into water that is safe to drink.

As we've grown, we've built a wrap-around model of community transformation that supports people to lift themselves out of poverty.

We continue to keep access to clean water at the center of all we do, and now also work hand-in-hand with communities to address all components of health—from daily hygiene and sanitation habits and community infrastructure to education, gender equity and economics.

In this report, we're thrilled to show you how your support has been put to use transforming entire communities…starting with water and extending to so much more.

Thank you for all of your support—we can't do this without you!

With gratitude,

Richard

Richard Lau
Executive Director, WaterSchool

  • Professor Ponsiano Ocama, Board Chair, Africa Water Solutions*, Uganda

    John Ochieng, Executive Director, Africa Water Solutions, Uganda

    Joseph Tumushime, Program Director, Africa Water Solutions, Uganda

    Sarah Nsonga Lutalo, Chief Financial Officer, Africa Water Solutions, Uganda

    Richard Lau, Executive Director, WaterSchool, Canada

    Tony Woodruff, Africa Program Director, WaterSchool, Canada

    Dave Ericson, Chair of the Board, WaterSchool, Canada

    Gregg McNair, Board Member, WaterSchool, Panama

WaterSchool and Africa Water Solutions

WaterSchool works in partnership with Africa Water Solutions for on-the-ground implementation of our programs and services. The team at AWS has been closely linked with WaterSchool for many years and brings an unparalleled level of formal education, cultural sensitivity, local languages, behaviour change skills, and clean water and sanitation expertise.

Photo: The Africa Water Solutions (AWS) Board of Directors and the WaterSchool (WS) Board of Directors in October 2022 in Kampala, Uganda. The WaterSchool Board members paid their own trip costs to be there. Back row: Julius Opiso (AWS), Dave Ericson (WS), Gregg McNair (WS), Richard Lau (WS), Tony Woodruff (WS). Front Row: Jacques Matsiko (AWS), Asaf Nuwagira (AWS), Edith Musasizi (AWS), Professor Ponsiano Ocama (AWS).

In Uganda alone, eight million people lack access to
clean, safe drinking water.

 

Over 70% of all diseases treated in Uganda stem directly from a lack of clean water or poor sanitation and hygiene techniques.

People in rural areas draw their drinking water mainly from surface sources such as ponds, rivers and lakes. These sources are often watering holes for livestock, downhill from latrines, and catchments for mudslide debris — all dangerous contaminants that can contribute to life-threatening illnesses like diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, dysentery and hepatitis.

 

This results in a myriad of consequences for communities:

  • High rates of infant and child sickness and death.

  • High rates of absenteeism and drop-out in schools - particularly for young women.

  • Stifled economies due to missed productive work time as people struggle with health issues.

Together, we know what to do.

At WaterSchool, we advance the health and well-being of Uganda's most vulnerable families and communities.  At our core, we are a teaching organization - giving communities the skills to transform themselves.  The communities feel great pride in what they have achieved, and this ensures that the changes they make are sustainable.

While we always start with access to clean, safe water, we know that lasting change requires a long-term investment in community education and infrastructure. We believe in empowering people to be the drivers of their community’s own long-lasting, wide-reaching transformation.

Clean Water

Through Solar Disinfection (SODIS), rainwater collection tanks, accessing aquifers using deep, solar-powered boreholes, and filtration systems, we equip communities to access clean, safe water.

Household
Infrastructure

Tippy taps, safe latrines with tight-fitting covers, and high-efficiency cookstoves are all essential pieces of household infrastructure that we train communities to build. Each component improves health and wellbeing as well as reduces disease transmission.

Habits for Health

We go back to the basics and provide training in hand-washing, how to clean food before consumption, and more. We know that when people have access to clean water and are staying healthy because of their hygiene practices, they have more time and money to invest in small businesses, farming and other activities that drive their economies forward.

Education for Every Girl

Adolescent girls often become mothers before they even have a chance to understand their bodies. Girls receive little to no sex education in Uganda, which leaves them vulnerable to deceptions or bribery from older men who take advantage of them. WaterSchool provides young mothers and vulnerable girls with the support and advocacy they need to complete their education or vocational training, so that they can secure a better future for themselves, their child and their community.

Jumpstarting Economies

Overall health and well-being are rooted in access to basics—including the opportunity for economic development. We teach communities how to set up Village Savings & Loan (VSLA) programs, supporting participants to develop their own local economy. Loans made from the VSLAs provide start-up capital for small businesses like raising chickens, goats and pigs.

Education Equality

Girls most commonly dropout of school after Grade 6 because there aren’t private latrines where they can relieve themselves safely or manage their menstrual cycle. When girls drop out of school early, often they become married too young. By providing schools with inexpensive infrastructure for safe, private sanitation and offering training for healthy hygiene practices, we can support girls and women in pursuing their education.

Diarrhea is a marker for all waterborne diseases. When incidences of acute diarrhea decrease, we know that so too do the rates of typhoid, dysentery and the risk of cholera. Below is a chart reflecting our data from 2022 showing a 97.5% reduction in waterborne disease incidence in the 13,537 households we partnered with.

 
 

You are helping to make this change
through your generous support.

SAFE WATER ACCESS

Prior to our partnership, only 2% of the households we started working with were treating their water. By the end of the year, 94% of households were treating their water, leading to the reduction of diarrhea cases from 45% to 1% over the year.

Villages with baseline studies completed
0
Households trained in SODIS
2000
SODIS Bottles Distributed
1000
SODIS Bottles Collected for Recycling
10000
Health Centres trained in SODIS
0
Filtration systems in schools
0
Rainwater collection tanks built at homes
0
Rainwater collection tanks built at schools and health centres
0
Multi-village water systems using solar powered pumps and boreholes to access deep aquifers
0

Program Spotlight: Sawyer Water Filters

Over time, we learned that using SODIS as a method of treating water in schools was not always the best option. Bottles often go missing, the treatment is dependent on sunshine which means that during the rainy season, the school's access to clean water is halted, and the wear and tear on the bottles and tables is high at schools because, well, kids are kids!

Over the past year we have explored new options for schools and have introduced Sawyer Filters at our partner schools and health centres. Sawyer filter systems use a hollow fibre membrane to filter water.

The membrane contains tiny pores that allow water to pass through, while trapping bacteria, protozoa, and other contaminants. The filter also contains activated carbon, which can remove chemicals, odors, and other impurities from the water.

Each system in a classroom produces an average of 400 litres of safe water per day. The cost of the Sawyer filter systems is almost the same as the SODIS treatment equipment yet is a more suitable solution for the school environment.

IMPROVED SANITATION AND HYGIENE PRACTICES

At the start of the year, only 2% of the households were practicing basic handwashing after using the latrine or before preparing food. By the end of the year, 81.9% of all households were practicing proper handwashing leading to a dramatic decrease in illness and infections.

 
Community sanitation committees established
0
Safe latrines constructed with WS oversight
500
SATO Pans installed on latrines
0
Tight-fitting covers installed on latrines
1000
Tippy-taps built for hand-washing
0
Open Defecation Free Verifications (Sanitation facilities in these communities were clean, safe and being used).
0
Menstrual Hygiene Management rooms constructed at local schools. This includes training on how to make reusable pads and all of the basic equipment for the MHM room.
0
Energy-saving cook stoves installed
1000

ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY

Village Savings & Loan Associations established and trained
0

Program Spotlight: Village Savings & Loans Associations

Diarrhea and other waterborne illnesses cripple families financially. The key assumption behind establishing Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) is that as members spend less on treatment bills (because they now have access to safe water and have improved hygiene/sanitation practices), there should be a corresponding opportunity to increase savings—ultimately creating more opportunities for economic empowerment.

Under VSLAs, members have access to finances that increase households’ cash flow and stronger social networks.

In 2022, 63 VSLAs were formed. The number of household members saving money in VSLAs increased by 68% over the year, from 3,282 to 5,509 members.

To secure a regular income, VSLA members have been encouraged to invest in productive investments and income generating activities to diversify their income sources. This year, 41% of the members managed to save between $1-$6 per month. Further still, 11% of members were able to start income generating activities: 387 households started animal rearing, 659 started small retail businesses, and 207 engaged in commercial farming.

2022 AR Partners

"We used to drink water straight from a swamp down the way - it was our only option. Because of SODIS, we no longer have to drink contaminated water. Our lives have changed so much - it is hard to believe!"

Patrick, Busia District, Uganda

"Because of my family’s rainwater collection tank, I’m not spending my time collecting water. Instead, I have started a poultry farm and beekeeping business."

Jackson, Father of Four

"When the borehole is built and water is close-by, our lives will be better. Our children will be able to bathe daily and wash their school uniforms. They will be able to go to school because they are not sick. There will be more time to cook so children won't go hungry, and there will be more water to irrigate our vegetable gardens and give to our animals."

Agnes, Resident of Petta in Uganda

"My children are now studying well because they are healthy. I realized that good health creates time for engaging in income generating activities."

Wacibo Jackline, Resident of Ombakali in Uganda

“Our family no longer experiences diarrhea and we are able to give quality time for agriculture. Because

of that I have bought two goats and a sheep. My family's improved sanitation practices have meant they are sick far less, which has enabled me to save money which would have been used for medication."

Abeka Saidi, Resident of Ombakali in Uganda

In 2022, we completed the installation of three large scale water systems, accessing clean water in deep aquifers, using solar-powered motorized boreholes in Ragem, Fualwonga and Petta communities in Uganda. Solar-powered boreholes are a unique solution that enables communities where surface water is scarce to tap into large reserves of groundwater. 

Each of the systems consists of a deep borehole, a submersible solar-powered pump and its accessories, a large stainless steel reservoir tank mounted on a tower, and a buried piped network to transmit from the water source to the reservoir as well as to distribute water from the reservoir tank to various points in the communities.

Revenue Total: $3,319,361.98

Expenses Total: $3,518,149.48

 
 

For the past decade, The Alberta Water & Wastewater Operators Association (AWWOA) has championed clean water, hygiene and sanitation in Uganda through their generous and enduring support of WaterSchool. 

Every year since 2013, the association's members have made generous donations at their annual seminar and together have given $188,000. Through their steadfast giving, the AWWOA community has provided access to clean, safe water and community transformation to thousands of people in Uganda.

Photo: Dave Ericson, Chair of the WaterSchool Board, shares about the transformative impact of clean water at the 2023 AWWOA Conference in Banff, Alberta.

 "The Alberta Water & Wastewater Operators Association (AWWOA) provides education and ongoing support to our members so they can proudly supply their communities with safe drinking water. As water/wastewater operators, they understand the value of working towards clean drinking water, the importance of giving back to their communities and the necessity of supporting public health."

"Working closely with community members in Uganda, the WaterSchool creates solutions that promote healthy and happy communities. We are proud to play a role in these initiatives, including building infrastructure and educating community members on sanitation practices. By partnering with the WaterSchool, our financial impact extends far beyond our own villages and towns to transform the lives of men, women and children living in Uganda."

Thank you to the members and leadership of the Alberta Water & Wastewater Operators Association. We are truly grateful and inspired by your generosity!

 With our Board Members covering our minimal administrative costs, 100% of every dollar you give goes straight to our programs in Uganda. Between that and our years of expertise in the field, you can rest assured that when you give to WaterSchool, your donations are having maximum impact.

YOUR SUPPORT TRANSFORMS COMMUNITIES AND ADVANCES THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF PEOPLE ACROSS UGANDA

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMPASSION
AND GENEROSITY IN 2022.