In the photo is mama Favor. She leaves about a kilometer away from Bukomolo Clinic. She is one of the happy mothers to see water in the clinic. She delivered her baby at the clinic in January.
“I don’t have to carry water to the clinic but I can now carry water from the clinic to my home” she says
For 6 years we have been asking expectant mothers coming to the clinic to bring their own water to use after delivery. This inconvenience had started discouraging many women from coming to deliver their babies from our clinic.
“Many pregnant women had gone back to the traditional practice of delivering from their homes, but ever since this hope of water came, we are seeing change. In about 40 pregnant women coming to us every month, 5 returned to deliver from the clinic. But, we are now seeing a rise in the number of deliveries” says Joan Katooko, the medical in-charge.
Various water stations have been built in the compound for patients and staff to easily access water. Connections are also extended in the department of maternity and laboratory including hand washing stations at the waiting area and examination/treatment rooms.
GWI CEO, Grace Nakajje says, “The constant water supply will not only help mothers but to help in controlling infections, improve hygiene and cleanliness among patients and staff. We thank New Ground Charities for partnering with GWI to have this water”.
The water well was manually dug and it uses a sub-massive pump to pump water to the tanks. Apart from the clinic, families close to the clinic are connected.
Also because of the water, GWI started a goat farm and looking to modify it into irrigation to improve crop farming.
The community has one water source serving a population of over thousands of families including cattle. GWI now aim to give water to the entire community