TURNING WATER INTO PROGRESS
Weave through the rolling green hills of Uganda’s countryside, past lines of banana trees, clusters of coffee plants, and a few cattle wandering alongside a narrow dirt path, and you’ll find Aisha Lubega at her local water point, turning water into progress for her entire community.
With her vibrant passion and warm heart, it’s no surprise Aisha has emerged as a respected leader committed to the health of her neighbors and her family. This mother is driving progress in rural Kamwenge District, Uganda – and it started when the community just added water.
One year ago, Water For People worked to rehabilitate a well near Aisha’s home, and the well now reaches 14 families with reliable water service. That means families spend less time walking for water and children like Aisha’s can stay in school and devote more time to their education. It means families don’t have to worry about the health consequences of using unsafe water. It means the community can move forward.
"Some time back before this good water came, people used to have diarrhea all the time, malaria, and other sicknesses," says Aisha. "Today, everyone has safe water and nobody has diarrhea, and malaria is going down. It is all because of good water."
After the well was built, the community established a water point committee – a group of people in charge of monitoring and maintaining the water point. It was no surprise that the community chose Aisha to lead this committee.
"The community came to me because I’ve always been passionate about hygiene and nutrition," Aisha said.
Aisha’s influence has spread beyond the water point committee – she has also become a member of the Village Health Team. Through these leadership roles, Aisha is demonstrating how women can be catalysts for change around community water, sanitation, and hygiene.
"I love helping the villagers learn about sanitation, hygiene, and how to properly feed their children," Aisha says. "In the future, I want to focus on hygiene and make sure everyone knows how important it is."
For education, for health, for improved lives for women – just add water.
