As the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the global community, our team pivoted quickly to help—thanks to your support. The ongoing pandemic has thrown into sharp focus the importance of having access to clean water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) to stay healthy and safe during this crisis.
Here's how we used your support to respond to COVID-19 in Uganda:
Participating in Community Prevention:
Although Ugandan media has been transparent in their coverage of COVID-19, some of the families we work with believed myths about the virus, while others had no knowledge of what was going on concerning the pandemic. Our WASH Champions, in collaboration with other community-based organizations, spread information about COVID-19 using megaphones in 81 different villages.
Supporting Community Leaders:
We are working hard to train Sanitation Committees in different villages to help support and build community resilience in fighting COVID-19 and to ensure the promotion of WASH practices. We have reached 238 sanitation committees—who are responsible for sharing this information with over 24,000 households.
Continuing to
Promote SODIS:
Using safe social distancing measures, we continued to spread knowledge and tools around Solar Disinfection throughout the communities we work in. Over the course of the year, we equipped over 24,000 households with SODIS technology and training to ensure that more families have the tools and knowledge they need to access clean water throughout the pandemic.
Collaborating with
Local Governments:
Our collaboration with the district local governments got stronger as our field teams were included with district-level COVID-19 task forces to provide leadership and technical guidance on WASH related matters that are so crucial in the fight against the pandemic. During this period we offered support to 13 Health Centres with hand washing detergent and installed hand washing facilities (tippy-taps) to emphasize prevention.
We know that the more people we can reach with these basic tools and messages, the more lives will be saved. Your investment in clean water has never been more important—thank you for stepping up with us!