___________

BUGIRI - Godfrey Nabongho, a Primary Five pupil at Ndifakulya Primary School in  Bugiri district, is in critical condition after being knocked by a speeding car on his way to a nearby borehole. 

Nabongho, who has been at the Bugiri Hospital intensive care unit for the past three months, sustained fractures in the limbs, in addition to internal body injuries. 

Jamada Mulongo, who witnessed the accident, said the driver of the speeding car heading towards Iganga from Tororo drove away, leaving the pupil in a terrible condition. 

“At first, I thought the boy had died instantly because the car tossed him in the air by about 30 metres before he fell on the tarmac,” he said. 

Pupils at Ndifakulya Primary School in Ndifakulya village, Kapyang sub-county, always walk for over 3km to fetch water from the community’s only borehole that serves a population of over 500 people. 

The LC1 chairperson of Ndifakulya village, Joseph Sooka, said pupils have to take the risk of crossing the busy Tororo-Iganga highway to access the borehole.

“Vehicles, especially long-distance trucks, usually move at a high speed. They have killed many people,  including pupils,” he said. Sooka said this year, five pupils have been knocked dead in the process of crossing the road to go and fetch water.

School gets piped water 

After cries from the community and school leadership, SICPA Uganda,  a global leader authentication, identification and secure traceability solutions, in collaboration with the National Water and Sewerage Corporation,  commissioned three water pumps to supply clean piped water to Ndifakulya Primary School. 

Suzan Kitariko, the general manager of SICPA Uganda, said the organisation is partnering with a local organisation to set up 30  public water points for underserved communities in Bugiri, Busia and Tororo districts. 

Kitariko said the initiative not only represents the improvement of infrastructure in the target areas but also in public health. 

The Kapyang sub-county LC3  chairperson, Francia Emusungutu,  urged local non-governmental organisations and well-wishers to come up with similar projects that can improve water coverage in the area. 

The district speaker, Moses Kaziba,  said out of 157 government-aided primary schools in the district, only four have boreholes to provide clean water to the learners.