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Aug 27, 2006
AT 6:00am when the grass still has dew and the sun is hardly out, people, mostly children, run in groups to the well in Kiswa, a slum near Makerere University Business School.
By Brian Semujju
AT 6:00am when the grass still has dew and the sun is hardly out, people, mostly children, run in groups to the well in Kiswa, a slum near Makerere University Business School.
Little boys and girls wade in the flowing stream of sewage near the well, as they wait for the older people to finish fetching water.
Some children drink the water, while other people use it for brushing their teeth and washing their faces.
Some children squat by the well folding their bare arms around their necks, waiting nervously.
To get to the well, one has to slope down the rough steps, one person at a time and then stand on the concrete above the pipe.
By 8:00 am, the well is crowded. You can hardly see through the crowd. The sturdy boys take over. They discuss who goes first and how many jerrycans they will take. However, things change to survival of the fittest.
The water pipe joins a channel, which carries sewage. The pipe does not directly face the running waste, but slants to make both sources freely flow in the same direction. Mary Amongin, who does her laundry at the well, says sewage flows from one of the hostels near the well.
“A pipe must have got broken and besides that, water from the hostel’s bathrooms ends up here,†she said. There is little or no assurance that a child who is over-powered by the strong boys will fetch clean water.
In the morning when many people are still asleep, one stands a chance of getting clean water. If one fails to make it in the morning, they wait till evening when the well is less crowded. However, there is no guarantee that the water is clean because at this time, students are from school and taking a bath.
At 4:00pm, children start to leave the well in groups of fives carrying jerrycans. The boys’ dress code is almost uniform; they do not wear shirts.
After 5:00pm, women carrying 20-litre jerrycans, some with babies strapped on their backs, hurry to the well. Sam Kaye, the LC1 chairman upper Kiswa, says he tried to collect money from the beneficiaries of the well to construct the well, but he did not succeed. Two villages use the well: Upper Kiswa, which has five zones and lower Kiswa with three zones.
“This matter was reported to Kampala City Council (KCC) in the late 1990s. They inspected the well and declared it not fit, but nothing has been done,†says Kaye.
He says KCC piled sand and stones at the well, but no work was done. Red Cross has intervened. “We have made a report about the well in our monthly health survey,†Loyce Kituyi, the Red Cross hygiene promoter of Kiswa, says.
AT 6:00am when the grass still has dew and the sun is hardly out, people, mostly children, run in groups to the well in Kiswa, a slum near Makerere University Business School.
Little boys and girls wade in the flowing stream of sewage near the well, as they wait for the older people to finish fetching water.
Some children drink the water, while other people use it for brushing their teeth and washing their faces.
Some children squat by the well folding their bare arms around their necks, waiting nervously.
To get to the well, one has to slope down the rough steps, one person at a time and then stand on the concrete above the pipe.
By 8:00 am, the well is crowded. You can hardly see through the crowd. The sturdy boys take over. They discuss who goes first and how many jerrycans they will take. However, things change to survival of the fittest.
The water pipe joins a channel, which carries sewage. The pipe does not directly face the running waste, but slants to make both sources freely flow in the same direction. Mary Amongin, who does her laundry at the well, says sewage flows from one of the hostels near the well.
“A pipe must have got broken and besides that, water from the hostel’s bathrooms ends up here,†she said. There is little or no assurance that a child who is over-powered by the strong boys will fetch clean water.
In the morning when many people are still asleep, one stands a chance of getting clean water. If one fails to make it in the morning, they wait till evening when the well is less crowded. However, there is no guarantee that the water is clean because at this time, students are from school and taking a bath.
At 4:00pm, children start to leave the well in groups of fives carrying jerrycans. The boys’ dress code is almost uniform; they do not wear shirts.
After 5:00pm, women carrying 20-litre jerrycans, some with babies strapped on their backs, hurry to the well. Sam Kaye, the LC1 chairman upper Kiswa, says he tried to collect money from the beneficiaries of the well to construct the well, but he did not succeed. Two villages use the well: Upper Kiswa, which has five zones and lower Kiswa with three zones.
“This matter was reported to Kampala City Council (KCC) in the late 1990s. They inspected the well and declared it not fit, but nothing has been done,†says Kaye.
He says KCC piled sand and stones at the well, but no work was done. Red Cross has intervened. “We have made a report about the well in our monthly health survey,†Loyce Kituyi, the Red Cross hygiene promoter of Kiswa, says.