Purifying drinking water on the Zinga Islands of 乌干达
我们的 蓝图旅行补助金计划 supports employees making service-based trips around the world in partnership with charitable organizations. 当他们从旅途中归来, we’re following their stories through the # lovesport爱博体育Blueprint blog series.
感谢lovesport爱博体育的蓝图旅行补助金, I was able to take part in an outreach project in 乌干达 — a project near and dear to my heart because I am 南非n by birth and 乌干达n by descent. 和其他五名lovesport爱博体育员工一起, I joined the WeDev NPO team to help an orphanage on the remote Zinga Islands collect, 分析和净化饮用水. The orphanage was one of five sites we visited during the service trip.
根据 4滴, a global charity dedicated to alleviating the world’s water crisis, “Almost a quarter of people across 乌干达 do not have access to clean water and over 80 percent do not have adequate sanitation. Using and drinking unsafe water is one of the leading causes of death and disease across 乌干达 with 4,500 children dying every year due to having no other option but to drink this unsafe water.” This is a critical issue that the people of 乌干达 are facing.
我们的 team set out to tackle water sanitation-related issues in the most needy and remote areas of 乌干达 by using local, 简单的方法. 我们的 goal was to build systems that could be used continuously and easily by the community. 我们的 professional backgrounds ranged from hydrogeology and environmental technicians to cost, 水利和土木工程师. 我们对基础设施的理解, its workings and the associated costs helped us ascertain the best and least expensive solutions to the problems faced in the community. Teaching one another aspects of our jobs helped our collective effort to get as much done in the little time we had.
我们开车旅行了两个星期, boat and even in the back of a small loading truck to five sites that included orphanages, 学校和家庭. 我们的 group visited and analyzed these sites to create simple solutions for each unique situation. 例如, to reduce the walking distance required to fetch water, 我们在井里安装了一台泵, set up gutters to collect rain water and added pipes so that water from springs would run into tanks. We also tested the water to ascertain the types of bacteria picked up in water pre- and post-purification using homemade chlorine. We helped provide a community with the resources needed to collect a basic necessity for themselves by:
- 使用梯度将泉水连接到水箱
- Making chlorine from salt with a solar powered battery to clean water from tanks and other water sources
- Connecting a pump to an 11-meter-deep borehole to ease the process of obtaining water
This eye-opening process highlighted the magnitude of challenges 乌干达n communities face in accessing clean drinking water. 即使你能获取并运输水, it still needs to be purified in order to avoid contracting cholera and typhoid, which are deadly illnesses that impact residents and surrounding communities.
This experience was inspiring, but seeing my people in 乌干达 suffering was not easy. I’m fortunate to work for a company that empowers us to make a meaningful impact on people’s lives around the world through these types of projects. The response from the communities in the form of love, appreciation and keenness to learn and participate gave every one of the volunteers the feeling of being home. 在我们的语言中，我们称之为“eka”. 简单的系统和几个人就能走很长的路, and this principle can be applied in so many areas of our lives.
在一个充满政治动荡的loveBet爱博体育下载里, 社会不公和环境枯竭, 这个项目激发了希望, 不仅仅是乌干达人民, 但对我们的团队也是如此. We can make a difference — no matter how big or small — to the lives of others in the most beautiful way. I walked away from this experience with a new outlook on life and an appreciation for the humble, 快乐的乌干达人民和孩子们.
A massive thank you to Michael Ottensmann and the WeDev NPO team who allowed me to be a part of this wonderful trip.
“Webale Nnyo.”
