Sh230m solar-powered water system quenches Busunju’s thirst

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Residents of Busunju in Mityana district are celebrating a new fully functional solar-powered water system, worth sh230m (approx. $63,000), commissioned on May 23, 2025.

The project, implemented by the Rotary Club of Kampala North, is set to ease water access in the area, especially during dry seasons.

Constructed in the Sam Owori Rotary Vijana Poa Village (SORVP), the water system was funded through a global grant from Rotary International. It delivers 4,000 litres of water per hour to two plastic tanks with a combined capacity of 20,000 litres.

To ensure sustainable operation, the Ministry of Water and Environment, through its agency—the Umbrella for Water and Sanitation for the Central Region—has partnered with Rotary to manage the facility, with a sh100 fee per jerrycan of water.

While addressing local leaders and Rotarians during the commissioning of the solar water pump, Anna Nkutu, the district governor of D9213, commended the Rotarians for their generous contribution to the residents of Busunju.

However, she appealed to the residents to protect the water source from those who might want to vandalise it.

“Nobody wants to invest money into anything, and at the end of the day, he or she is told that it was vandalised. We appeal to the residents to protect this water source because it was constructed in the first place to help people,” Nkutu said.

The district governor noted that although they were commissioning a solar-powered water system, the Rotarians were saving the community from more danger than they might realise, including waterborne diseases.

“When a water source is nearer the school, the students’ education is not disrupted a lot like those of the schools without water. Safe clean water also reduces the spread of waterborne diseases or any water-related diseases,” Nkutu said.

Mark Sam Lusawata, the vice president of the club, said the Sam Owori Rotary Vijana Poa Village in Busunju is part of the club’s vision for the youth.

He added that the club is developing a multidisciplinary environment in the same village, where various facilities will be established to train young people.

Fred Mukwanga, the head of community service projects at the club, noted that the water project aims to empower the youth and enable them to become self-employed. He added that the unemployment rate in Uganda remains high.

Mukwanga revealed that aside from the water project, the club plans to establish a carpentry workshop to equip and educate local youths with practical skills in an effort to reduce unemployment in the country.

Nalubega Lewontina, a resident of Busunju, commended Rotary for extending clean water to the village, noting that they have been facing serious water shortages during the dry seasons.