CSOs, residents clean up stinking trenches in Kampala

Jul 09, 2018

The problem is attributed to poor planning and congestion in various settlements.

Inappropriate waste disposal remains a big threat to slum dwellers in Kampala and other parts of the country. This easily leads to outbreak of various epidemics such as cholera, diarrhoea and other water borne diseases.

The problem is attributed to poor planning and congestion in various settlements.

This is characterised in Kivulu slum area, Makerere in Kampala, where all water channels are already blocked with plastic bottles, garbage, polythene bags and old sacks. Every visitor who enters this slum, will be welcomed with a big stench from piles of rotten garbage in the deep trenches.

However, this raised concern among leaders who mobilised residents in partnership with Joy for Children Uganda (JFCU) and Kampala Slum Women's Project (KSWP), to save the situation.

The organisation staff together with residents, jointly carried out a cleaning exercise and unblocked all trenches which had been clogged.

 

The Kampala Central Division Councillor who also doubles as the Kivulu LC1 chairman, Badru Bwanika, noted that many slum dwellers do not care about sanitation, given their standards of living.

"People in all slums need to be sensitised on proper hygiene," he noted.

According to Bwanika, the clean-up is organised annually aimed at achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number six, of clean water and sanitation. The exercise was also carried out in the slums of Bukoto, Mulago and Bwaise under the theme; "A clean Community, My Health Right, My Responsibility."

SDG six also addresses the quality and sustainability of water resources, critical to the survival of people and the planet.

The JFCU Executive Director, Moses Ntenga said the sanitation and hygiene of most slums in Kampala is alarming.  He attributed it to overcrowding and poor housing.

"Toilet coverage, garbage disposal and water is too little in slums yet people are many. We believe that by improving sanitation in slums, we are reminding the slum dwellers to take hygiene seriously. It will help to prevent diseases like cholera and diarrhoea that have become a problem to human life," Ntenga said.

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