Water Project

Hello from Florida – a Quick Update

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I made a quick trip down to Fort Myers and Naples, just Monday to today, so I could speak about Ten Eighteen’s work in Namuwongo to the Fort Myers Rotary Club. It was so fun – I really appreciate the invite from one of our regular donors, Mark!

Today the literacy girls learned to make budgets and shopping lists. It wasn’t as fun as painting pineapples and funky chickens, but they really enjoyed it. We’re really trying to engage the literacy girls with fun projects and new things to learn over these off-weeks of the term break, and they are absolutely soaking up everything thrown at them.

Everyone is getting back to normal life after the tragic death of baby Alpha. We really appreciate all of the emails and comments from you guys — it’s really given a lot of comfort to Sylvia and the team.

So what’s up these days?

  • We are continuing the fundraising for the well at Wells of Hope. We still need about $500 so that the project is visible on the wider DonorSee platform. Since 100% of donations go to the project, ANY amount is helpful!
  • Gideon, the Director of Hopeland and Wells of Hope Primary Schools, became a father for the second time last week. His new daughter, Shalom, is doing great!
  • We are going to teach some of the hairdressing girls how to do men’s hair during the term break. We get asked by salons if we have anyone who can do both men and women, so we are going to try it out with a handful and see how it goes. Any time we can expand and broaden our skill portfolio, I’m happy!
  • I have 3 bags made by Jenifer that I will be selling – I’ve already sold one! If you’re interested, I can send you photos this week. All the money will go directly to her, and will make a big impact for her little family.

Thank you for all your support!

Webele nyo,

Jennings

PS Donations have been very slow this month, so if you’ve been thinking about giving and haven’t yet, it would be a great time!

GIVE NOW

DONORSEE PROJECTS

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WHY THE GATE MONTHLY GIVING PROGRAM?

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THIS WEEK WE LAUNCHED THE GATE – FOR A REALLY GOOD REASON!

Uganda is a developing country with the world’s youngest population. Unemployment numbers are a joke* — even young people with university degrees can’t find paying jobs and usually “intern” (work for free, even for the government) for years before possibly getting a paying job.

In our programs, we are dealing with the extreme poor, the uneducated, the orphaned or abandoned, the homeless. Unemployment, other than informal self-employment, is literally 100%.

So outside of our regular budget, we have regular problems come up, like three babies in two weeks getting pneumonia. Transport to the clinic or hospital, medical treatment, daily transport for IV antibiotics… All that adds up. And while it’s very small compared to US standards, our budget is pretty small too!

By joining our passionate supporters together in the Gate, WE get a stable revenue flow, and YOU get to really see the IMPACT of your donations on a monthly basis. We want you to know exactly what your money is doing, who it is benefitting, and how we go about our work.

By joining the Gate, you get:

  • Monthly updates with behind the scenes information, stories and photos
  • Quarterly LIVE video meetings with our US and UG staff where you can ask any questions and get to know us
  • For the first 100 members, you’ll become part of our Founding SUUBI ALLIANCE with extra perks

Nothing changes on your end — you choose your monthly donation and set it up on Donorbox. But you get all the access above so you get to know the people whose lives you are changing and be part of our life-changing community!

JOIN THESE SMILING FACES!

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO WITH ALL OUR PROGRAMS – WE’D LOVE TO HAVE YOU JOIN US IN CHANGING LIVES TODAY!

*Unemployment numbers for Uganda are all over the place, depending on who is reporting it. Government numbers can be as low as 1.84% (an absolute farce which anyone who has ever been to Uganda knows), to as high as 80% – a much more likely number. The truth is, MANY millions of Uganda’s 43 million population have no employment, no way to gain employment, and no safety net to help them.

WHY THE GATE MONTHLY GIVING PROGRAM? Read More »

WATER TANK #1 IS COMPLETE THANKS TO YOU!

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WE DID IT!

Thanks to our generous donors, with the administrative support from Equal Aqua Uganda, and construction by The Ichupa Upcycle Project , our first ecobrick water tank is up and running with harvested rainwater!

Check out this video for the whole story:

Now, the kids at Wells of Hope School AND the residents of Rwakobo Village have access to safe water!

WHAT’S NEXT?

This was the kick-off project for our WASH Campaign. Our 2021 goals are ambitious – but that’s good, right?

  1. Ecobrick Water Tanks
  2. Pit Latrines with Handwashing Stations
  3. Deep Water Well
Gideon, school Director, checks out the growing tank

Ten Eighteen has 3 missions in Uganda: vulnerable girls and teen moms, water/sanitation/hygiene for Rwakobo, and food for three schools. In short, FOOD, WATER, SHELTER, AND EDUCATION.

It’s supporters like you, and our partners in Uganda, that allow us to accomplish this big mission, one small step at a time. We are so thankful!!

Boy in Rwakobo village

WATER TANK #1 IS COMPLETE THANKS TO YOU! Read More »

ECOBRICK TANK WORK KICKS OFF OUR WASH CAMPAIGN IN RWAKOBO!

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Yesterday was the official KICK OFF of our multi-year WASH Campaign. A WASH Campaign brings water access, sanitation, and hygiene to a community — and we are kicking off with a 10,000 liter water tank made of upcycled ecobricks for Wells of Hope School in Rwakobo Village.

Created in partnership with Equal Aqua Uganda, the Ichupa Upcycle Project, and Celebration Tabernacle Church in Mbarara, this project is exciting in so many ways!

  • It brings ample clean water to the students and staff at Wells of Hope School for washing, cooking, and (with purification like boiling) drinking.
  • It shows our commitment to this extremely poor and isolated village of nearly 3,000.
  • It involves the students and community by showing them how to fill the bottles with sand and use them to construct a tank.
  • It is a step towards a culture of upcycling and recycling the enormous amount of plastic waste in Uganda.
  • Equal Aqua will also be providing some Skills classes to the community.

We will have more updates, and are so thankful to YOU for your donations that have been this possible!

EVERYONE DESERVES CLEAN WATER!

ECOBRICK TANK WORK KICKS OFF OUR WASH CAMPAIGN IN RWAKOBO! Read More »

A CLEAN WATER SUCCESS STORY! JUST THE BEGINNING…

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BRING CLEAN WATER TO RWAKOBO

Ecobricks for a sturdy water tank!

MARCH 8 – OUR FIRST LARGE WATER TANK WORK STARTS!

Almost exactly a year ago (March 12, 2020), we built a small cistern at Wells of Hope School in Rwakobo Village. Nearly 40 kids were out of school with typhoid due to contaminated water, we didn’t have the funds for a well — but we DID have the funds for a small 200-liter tank that would at least provide cleaner (and on-site) water for hand washing and cooking.

Almost as soon as the work was finished, the Covid19 lockdowns started. I don’t know if the community was able to use this small bit of clean water during that time, but I hope so. It’s still there, and will still be collecting water for the BACK TO SCHOOL students. (School officially started back on March 1!)

BUT NOW…

10,000 liters!

Starting on Monday, March 8, Equal Aqua Uganda will be building a new additional tank holding 10,000 liters of rainwater captured from the roof of the new school building! We’ve written about ecobricks before… They’re made using recycled plastic bottles, filled with sand, and cemented into a large structure to give it strength. The tanks have spigots at the bottom, are fed with rainwater, and covered to prevent contamination.

While technically, that small 200-liter tank was the (unofficial) start of our WASH Campaign for Rwakobo Village, THIS TANK is the official kick-off of a multi-year, ambitious plan to bring tanks, wells, new pit latrines, handwashing facilities, and a hygiene campaign to this village.

OUR GOAL FOR 2021:
1 DEEP WATER WELL
2 PIT LATRINES
3 ECOBRICK WATER TANKS

Access to clean water and sanitation is the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6: “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.”

In Rwakobo Village, this goal is 100% a dream right now.

BUT THANKS TO YOU, WE’RE GETTING STARTED NEXT WEEK!

PROVIDE CLEAN WATER!

A CLEAN WATER SUCCESS STORY! JUST THE BEGINNING… Read More »

FEBRUARY IS WATER MONTH!

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GIVE NOW

Turn on the tap. What happens?

Clean water comes pouring out, ready for drinking, washing your hands, filling a pot, doing the laundry.

We really don’t even think about it.

But for the villagers in Rwakobo, there is no tap. There are no pipes. No wells. No clean water.

This is a “seasonal well.” It, and the others used by the 2,700 villagers, are natural or man-made depressions in the ground, filled by rainwater. Trenches dug in red dirt send more water into the stagnant pond.

Animals that live inside the Lake Mburo National Park use these “wells” (shallow ponds) also. They drink from them, cool off in them, use them to sneak up on prey. They defecate in and around them, and along the trenches where the rainwater flows.

The wells aren’t even very close to the village, meaning that they walk — mostly children — a mile or more to fill one or two jerry cans with filthy water, then return to their homes. The water is used for everything we use water for: cooking, washing clothes, sponge bathing, drinking.

t’s no wonder that water and feces born diseases that cause diarrhea are rampant.

DIARRHEA IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH OF CHILDREN UNDER 5 IN UGANDA…

WHAT ARE WE DOING TO HELP?

While our ultimate goal is to be able to have deep water wells to serve the village, our first step is to install Eco-Brick tanks. We have been able to secure funds for a 7,000 liter tank for the Wells of Hope School (thanks to a generous donation!), which will allow the children to have clean water for washing and cooking, and drinking with purification techniques. The children are being taught basic hygiene at the same time, so that hand washing with soap becomes second nature.

WE WANT TO FUND AT LEAST ONE 10,000 LITER TANK FOR THE VILLAGE IN FEBRUARY!

We are partnering with Equal Aqua Uganda, a UK/UG partnership, to build these tanks. Equal Aqua has been working in Eastern Uganda since its founding last year, but have agreed to travel to Rwakobo Village for this project. We would love to take advantage of this by installing more than one tank!

Eco-bricks are made by recycling plastic drink bottles, packing them with sand, and re-capping them to form a solid brick. They are then cemented into the structure, creating a stable tank to hold much more water than a cement-only tank would hold. The tank is filled with rainwater from the roof, a top keeps the tank clean, and a spigot at the bottom allows for the water to be drawn off and used.

A 7,000 LITER TANK COSTS $735, AND A 10,000 LITER TANK COSTS $1150

WE CAN DO IT! With your help, we can raise the money to kick off the WASH project in Rwakobo Village.

WASH = WATER ACCESS, SANITATION, & HYGIENE

We can save lives, and IMPROVE the lives of these extremely impoverished people.

DONATE

FEBRUARY IS WATER MONTH! Read More »