Community. Commitment. Generosity.

In a year marked with uncertainty, I have never been more certain about one thing: that when we all come together to make an impact, we can move the world forward in beautiful ways. 

This past year, I have been inspired by the way each of us can make a difference. From our team in Uganda working diligently to address the water crisis in their country, to our donors around the world who give generously to ensure even more people have access to clean water, we are all a part of creating momentum towards a brighter, healthier future.

With hope for the future and the difference we can make together,

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 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, local languages, behaviour change skills, clean water and sanitation expertise.

Clean Water Changes Everything

 Access to clean water is a basic human right and having it changes everything. In Uganda, where WaterSchool works, universal access to clean water was once a dream — and now with your help, we are making it a reality.

In Uganda:

Our baseline studies this year revealed
that in our new partner communities:

Working Together to Combat the Water Crisis

Over the past 12 years, we have developed reliable, proven solutions for clean drinking water and good hygiene. With your help, we have improved the health of entire communities, increased school attendance and empowered families to lift themselves out of poverty. 

In 2021, you helped to reach thousands of families with clean, safe water and improved hygiene and sanitation techniques.

Here’s what we did together in 2021:

 
 
0
New communities partnered with
0
Sanitation committees struck
1000
People trained in Solar Disinfection (SODIS)
1000
Latrine covers installed
5
SaTo (SAfe TOilets) Pans installed
 
 
 
1000
Handwashing facilities built
0
Communities declared Open-Defecation Free
0
Young women supported through the construction of 4 new menstrual hygiene management rooms in 2 schools
0
Rainwater harvesting tanks installed in homes serving 3,775 people
0
More rainwater harvesting tanks installed in schools and health centers serving 2,200 children, hundreds of patients and staff
 
 
 
1000
Old plastic bottles recycled
1000
SODIS bottles distributed
0
SODIS trainings at schools or health centres
0
Village Savings & Loan Associations trained
100
Energy-saving cook stoves built
0
Vulnerable girls and young women sponsored to live in safer environments and develop positive life plans.
 
 

WaterSchool Partner Communities in Uganda

Explore the map below to locate the different communities across Uganda that you supported in 2021 through your generous donations. 

 

Clean Water, Healthy Kids and a Bright Future

We know that for kids to achieve their dreams, they need to stay in school. In Uganda, the leading cause of students dropping out of school is a lack of clean water at school or close by to their homes.

James Asakina, the Head Teacher at Bujwaala Primary School, has seen the devastating impact on students — particularly girls.

“In our culture, girl children are tasked to fetch water for use in their homes. In the past, many girls from this community would miss school because no matter how early they woke up in the morning to go and collect water, they would end up waiting in long queues which then meant being late for school. They would be late, or they wouldn't show up at all."

Florence is a Grade 7 student who dreams of becoming a nurse. Prior to WaterSchool's work with her community, Florence would usually miss half of each school week because she would be busy collecting water. 

“The nearest water point in our village was two kilometres away. This serves people coming from several neighbouring communities. The queue of people waiting to fetch water would be very long that sometimes I would be waiting there for hours."

In 2021, we built a rain-water harvesting tank at the Bujwaala Primary School and ran extensive SODIS, hygiene, and sanitation training for the teachers and for the students. We also built a Menstrual Hygiene Management Room to provide privacy and basic materials like reusable pads for young women to manage their periods safely. 

“The girls no longer spend nights collecting water; they can now enroll in classes, stay in school, learn and achieve their dreams," says James. "We have reduced the number of children falling sick from waterborne diseases because we now have usable latrines, hand washing points with soap and safe water - either from our rainwater collection tanks or from SODIS."

A 97% Reduction in Waterborne illness

At WaterSchool we  believe in transparency so you know that every dollar you give us truly makes a difference.

This graph shows how the incidence of severe diarrhea cases declined rapidly after we started our WASH community transformation training in January 2021 with over 60,000 people across 12,000 households.

Over the course of the year, our training resulted in a 97% reduction in waterborne diseases.

Clean, Fresh Water for Theyao

 Over the past year, the WaterSchool community rallied together to build something new: a solar-powered deep borehole water system that could draw clean, safe water up to an elevated tank in a drought-stricken region.  This water is then piped using gravity to five nearby villages.

Mrs. Jessica Okaro is a resident of Theyao where the new borehole was built.

Prior to the borehole being built, Jessica or her children would walk over two hours every day to gather less than ten litres of water from muddy ponds and old wells. The contaminated water meant her family constantly suffered from stomach aches, diarrhea and vomiting. Often they wouldn't even have enough water at home to cook dinner.

“The borehole is much closer to our homes than old wells, so I save so much time walking. And there is no comparison when it comes to the quality of the water. The wells and ponds would produce thick and heavy water. The borehole has an abundant supply of safe, fresh water.”
— Jessica

Jessica and the rest of the community members in Theyaho also participated in WaterSchool's hygiene and sanitation trainings. That, in combination with the clean water from the borehole has revitalized the community: people are healthier, businesses are thriving, and crops are growing.

SAFE COOKSTOVES

Firewood and wood charcoal are Uganda's most consumed energy sources with over 95% of the population dependent on them. Cooking indoors with these materials is damaging to people's lungs and collecting these raw materials puts a strain on local forests and biodiversity.

In 2021, we built 2,080 energy efficient cookstoves in households. These cookstoves also vent to the outside of homes, taking the smoke outside and require drastically less fuel.

This year alone, these 2,080 new cookstove helped save 5,000 tons of firewood from being gathered and prevented over 9,000 metric tons of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere.

Did You Know?

Air pollution from indoor cooking fires is rapidly becoming a leading cause of death worldwide. In Uganda, over 13,000 people die every year from health issues directly related to inhaling smoke from indoor cooking fires. 

 

RECYCLING SODIS BOTTLES

Solar Disinfection (SODIS) of contaminated water requires placing the water in clear plastic bottles in the sun for a day. As time goes by and the bottles get scratched, the UV rays cannot as effectively penetrate the plastic. Every year, we work hard to collect more old PET bottles than we distribute for our SODIS initiatives. This year, we gathered 106,694 old bottles for recycling.

Accountability & Transparency

 All of WaterSchool's administrative costs are specifically covered by generous donor-partners (including our Board Members), so that 100% of your donations goes directly and immediately to Board Approved programs that advance health and well-being in Uganda. WaterSchool and our implementing partner, Africa Water Solutions, have professional external audits conducted annually so you can rest assured that every dollar you give has maximum impact.

Revenue

Total Donations:
$1,907,840

Expenses

Total Expenditures:
$2,104,500

Why I Give: Andy Booth

“We take the accessibility of safe water for granted here. It’s so easy to overlook its importance and how much we depend on it being available to us. What WaterSchool does is critical and changes everything for the people the organization serves. Beyond that, knowing that there is such a good team behind the movement also inspired me to invest, knowing that my money would be put to great use to actually make a significant, tangible difference in people’s lives.”
— Andy Booth, WaterSchool Donor

 THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMPASSION AND GENEROSITY. YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT ADVANCES THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF PEOPLE ACROSS UGANDA.