News

Emmaus project at St Judes School, Uganda

Milestone of 33 water harvesting tanks reached in Emmaus Project

26 February, 2024: Now seven schools in the Masaka district of Uganda are benefitting from safe drinking water and water for sanitation and hygiene as the milestone of 33 x 20,000 litre rooftop fed water harvesting tanks have been installed.

The benefits are already being felt. School rolls have risen by 25%, more girls than before are in full time education, new staff have been appointed and work is being generated in and around the communities in Uganda where the Emmaus Project is operating.

This improvement on public health brings the potential for communities to break the cycle of poverty – something that’s central to the work we do at Kisoboka. Our involvement was to commission a survey to select which primary and secondary schools in Masaka, Uganda would benefit the most and design an implementation roadmap covering 9 Phases that prioritised schools on the basis of their lack of water.

The work is funded in large part by WaterHarvest who have so far contributed 80% of the funds spent with the rest of the money raised by schools in the Diocese of Clifton, UK

16 more schools are earmarked to benefit from the Emmaus Project and currently 14 more tanks are scheduled to be built. To complete the project more money is needed and we are looking for sponsors to help us achieve this. Do get in touch if you can help.

About the Emmaus Project: This is a partnership between Kisoboka, MADLACC, Notre Dame Outreach Association, St Edwards School in Romsey and WaterHarvest.

"Water Walk" by UK primary school children raises money to help those in Uganda

29 November, 2023: Thank you Orchard Junior School in Dibden Purlieu, Hampshire in the UK for raising money to help Kisoboka continue their work in bringing safe drinking water to schools in Uganda.

On Friday 20th October, Year 5 children took part in a "Water Walk" around the school field, as part of their cross-curricular learning topic, "Water for All". The walk involved carefully collecting and carrying precious water from the source to the collection point as part of the challenge. What they didn't know was that their teachers had pierced holes in some of the containers to reflect the fact that carrying water in Africa is not easy. With the help of family and friends, the children raised an amazing £600 for the charity.

Many children in Uganda don't have access to safe drinking water. Kisoboka, as part of it's Emmaus project, is helping to change that. The project installs 20,000 litre water tanks with filters and associated components in primary schools in the Masaka district of Uganda. This provides these schools with their own water storage, providing drinking water between wet seasons.

Staff at the school have been impressed by the children's sense of empathy and desire to donate money to this cause. Head of Year 5, Jo Fenton said: "It has been really impressive to see the children want to make a different to the lives of families in Uganda. They were shocked and saddened by the fact that, each day, over 800 children across the world die from drinking from dirty water sources. They wanted to make a difference and were enthused by the whole project."

The Emmaus Project is a partnership between Kisoboka, MADLACC, Notre Dame Outreach Association, St Edwards School in Romsey and WaterHarvest (read more...)

School attendance especially for girls increased hugely after WASH facilities added

19 November, 2023: Just 3 months after drinking water and water for sanitation and hygiene was made available in the Lubanda Islamic Primary School, school attendance has increased hugely.

Girls now come to school for 5 days a week, before it was just 3 days. This means girls get a complete education, spending the same amount of time in school as boys and get a complete education. Also more children are coming to school - with 70 more pupils in attendance. Previously 270 attended, now it is 340 pupils.

The Lubanda Islamic Primary School is one of the first three schools in the wider Masaka district, Uganda to have four 20,000 litre water tanks with filters and associated components installed. This was made possible by The Emmaus Project, a partnership with MADLACC, Notre Dame Outreach Association, St Edwards School in Romsey and WaterHarvest (read more...)

Video transcript:

This is Lubanda Islamic Primary school. So we have this tank complete. As you can see, children are already enjoying, fetching some water from it. This is one of the tanks that's been already tested and its performance is okay. It's not yet full. It is still raining. We are hoping maybe after two or three more showers, it will be full. For hand washing. That's why it was put specifically in this location.

This one, tank number three. Intended to establish a proper garden in this area and the water for irrigating the plants and the trees they intend to plant is going to come from this tank. But this tank we also serve purposes of hand washing and cleaning.

So this is tank number four, the very last tank. Have a look at this system. Tap system, the drainage and the sockets plus the washouts, plug, the overflow and the gutter. It is right next to the kitchen and we can see right here. And that is why it is located in this area so they can fetch the water they require so they can prepare school meals and drinking water.

Emmaus Project delivers more WASH facilities in Ugandan schools

11 September, 2023: The Emmaus Project came into being this year to provide drinking water, water for sanitation and hygiene in 23 schools in the wider Masaka district, Uganda. St Judes Catholic Primary School was the first school in the project to have four 20,000 litre tanks with filters and associated components installed (see news update below).

Now the same WASH facilities have been constructed at two more schools - Lubanda Islamic Primary School and Kiwangala Primary School. All three schools have their own water storage, providing drinking water between wet seasons.

The Emmaus Project is a partnership with MADLACC, Notre Dame Outreach Association, St Edwards School in Romsey and WaterHarvest.

emmaus

Emmaus Project at St Judes School, Uganda

4 May, 2023: This project aims to provide drinking water, water for sanitation and hygiene in 23 schools in the wider Masaka district, Uganda. St Judes School is the first school within the project, here we have contributed to the construction of four 20,000 litre tanks with filters and associated components. This is the first time this school has had its own water storage, providing drinking water between wet seasons.

We are working on the Emmaus Project in partnership with MADLACC, Notre Dame Outreach Association, St Edwards School in Romsey and WaterHarvest. The project objectives are:

Provision of WASH facilities across 23 schools in Southwest Masaka District of Uganda.
Repairs to existing facilities
Installation of new facilities to meet school demands.
Provision of water for irrigation of small agroforestry projects at schools.