Funky Socks Change Lives

Here are just a few stories of lives that have been changed through our program

The Alpha & Omega Junior School has 450 students and is located in a valley in Kampala, Uganda where the spring water is easily contaminated by runoff from the surrounding streets and neighborhoods and is no longer safe for drinking and domestic use. Laboratory tests done on the water indicated that it is highly contaminated with typhoid, cholera, diarrhea and dysentery germs. The school has two water filters and a few small water tanks, but they are not enough to support the school’s population. The school has also resorted to boiling water over a wood-burning stove for purification which is a large source of smoke throughout the campus.

There is a high demand for water usage in the school which include: cleaning of students’ and staff toilets, cooking, drinking, washing student’s clothes and mopping classrooms, dormitories. Due to the high water needs, they are forced to use water from open wells and springs which are not safe for use. This has caused some severe outbreaks of typhoid, dysentery and other water-borne diseases. The rate at which children and some staff members fall sick has been significantly high.

We Help Two's partner schools provided:

Rainwater Catchment System: A new gutters and tanks to add additional water resources through rainwater catchment.

Water Filters: 4 new bio-sand filters to clean all of the drinking water for the school.

Small Water Tanks: Children can now easily access safe drinking water from their classrooms. There is a 50L safe water tank at each classroom block.

Community Impact: During the school break children are at their homes and the school is empty for about 3 weeks, during this time the community is allowed to access the wells and fetch water, however, they will be allowed to use the tank and take clean water home for their domestic activities and this too will prevent diseases and create a healthy, clean environment.

Environmental Impact: There is no longer a need to boil water which has greatly reduced fire smoke on campus.

Gidagadi Secondary School just opened three years ago in the end of 2014 and currently has an enrollment of 90 students who are taught by five teachers. Students arrive as early as 6:30am to clean their classrooms and pick up the school grounds. Study hall begins at 7:30am and is followed by normal classes before lunch. The school cook prepare a mixture of beans and maize so that students don’t have to walk all the way back home. There are afternoon classes and then an hour of sports and games until students are released at 5pm.

Students must leave school and walk to the Anusu Spring, where water bubbles up and pools at the surface. Students fill there jerrycans with dirty water. This water is used for drinking, cooking, and cleaning.

The principal said she will be more than thankful for additional facilities. “The students waste a lot of time going to the spring to fetch water. We create Time in between lessons to go and fetch water, which interferes with the program and their health which in turn affects them academically, with lower performance. I will really be grateful…”

Hygiene and Sanitation Training: Two days for teachers, students, and parents to meet at the school to learn about

hygiene and sanitation practices. They attended sessions on the management and maintenance of their new rainwater catchment tank, latrines, and hand-washing stations. The goal is to prepare students to lead other students into healthy habits.

Hand-Washing Stations: The two hand-washing stations which are 50-liter plastic barrels on metal stands. Each has a tap to conserve water. A student club oversees filling these stations, and ensuring that there is always a cleaning agent like soap or ash.

Latrines: Two triple-door latrines constructed with local materials that the school helped gather.

Rainwater Catchment Tank: A 50,000-liter rainwater catchment tank to help alleviate the water crisis at this school.

Students will no longer waste valuable time journeying back and forth to a local spring for water.