Tea On Tap supporting Voluntary Action for Development (VAD) Uganda

All We Can’s partner, Voluntary Action for Development or VAD for short, is working to bring clean, safe water sources to rural communities in Uganda who struggle to access basic facilities such as education, healthcare services, clean water and sanitation.

In Uganda, poor sanitation coupled with unsafe water has contributed significantly to high levels of disease. One in every ten children die before their fifth birthday - a third of those deaths are caused by preventable diarrhoeal diseases.

While in the cities 90% of households have clean water, only 70% of rural households do. The majority of households also lack adequate sanitation; just 35% of the rural population can dispose of waste safely.

VAD has been tackling water and sanitation problems in rural communities in Uganda for over 10 years. VAD has already helped over 8,000 adults and children to begin fulfilling their potential.

VAD is working in the Wakiso district of central Uganda, an area with poor road networks and low levels of education, which makes it difficult for people to successfully lobby the government for better facilities.

Prior to VAD’s work 65% of people in these areas accessed water from a pond or stream and more than 60% of families travelled more than 1km to collect water.

VAD identifies villages most in need of water and sanitation facilities and meetings are held with community members to identify the needs and challenges faced in the local area. VAD trains local people to become masons, who can then build and maintain clean, safe water sources.

Having safe water closer to home is allowing families to work more, which leads to increased income; it also means money is saved that would have been spent on medical treatment from illnesses such as diarrhoea and dysentery.

Through house-to-house visits and community demonstration sessions VAD is working hard to promote good hygiene and sanitation practices in the areas it works in. Simple steps like showing people how to build dish racks are improving health.

The schools that VAD is working with lacked clean water and safe toilets, and children miss school to go and collect water from unsafe sources. Girls often stay at home because of the lack of privacy. VAD is building safe toilets with separate cubicles for boys and girls, installing rainwater collection tanks to collect and store clean water, and building hand-washing facilities.

Supporting vulnerable people The community leaders also identify the most vulnerable people in the village, often those who are elderly or disabled.

Underpinning all of VAD’s work is its vision to empower communities. VAD seeks to involve community members in all of its work - this is the key to the sustainability of each water source and sanitation facility.

£37 will train people living in four villages how to make their own hand-washing facility £120 will train four local masons to build and maintain water sources, toilets and rainwater collection jars £252 will pay for a safe, clean toilet for an elderly or disabled person £625 will provide for a rainwater collection tank for a school

Thank you