The Oakville Rotary clubs are asking the
community for help in bringing clean drinking water overseas to a
country ravaged by war.
The Rotary Clubs of Oakville Trafalgar
(RCOT), Oakville (RCO) and Oakville West (RCOW) are partnering with the
Rotary Clubs of Kampala and Lira Uganda on the WASH (Water, Sanitation
and Hygiene) Project to help those in need in Uganda.
The RCOT held a fundraiser recently at
Otello’s Banquet and Convention Centre to raise money and awareness for
the ongoing effort. The luncheon featured presentations from Martin
Ogang of the Rotary Club of Kampala and Lorna Pitcher, founder and
president of Children of Hope Uganda.
“Uganda has come from a very difficult
past. When I went to Nairobi in 1973, I was basically running away
because there was a real abuse of power at that time,” said Ogang.
“Things have improved considerably since then because we have some form
of democracy.”
The near-$450,000 project will install
water supply systems, solar-powered bore hole wells, reservoir tanks,
rainwater harvesting tanks and flush-toilets in Aloi and Barlonyo.
It will also use bio-gas to improve soil
fertility in the area and plant trees to serve as windbreaks. Once
finished, WASH will improve quality of life for more than 8,000 people.
“I was excited to learn how important
water sanitation is. While we have power from solar, flush toilets and
water, it is isolated. So many people don’t have anything,” said Ogang.
Barlonyo has inadequate toilet
facilities and lacks access to clean water, which results in outbreaks
of disease and fighting among the residents.
Access to water is also a problem in
Aloi, where nearly 4,000 people share one, often-broken down, water
pump.
Ogang noted his involvement with WASH
began last January after he attended a conference near Lira. He began
working on the sanitation project a few months later after visiting
Barlonyo.
“We started preparing an 83-page
document on the WASH project in northern Uganda. I advised to combine
the two communities, Aloi and Barlonyo, and make it one project,” said
Ogang.
Before the project could move forward,
he said the Rotary Clubs had to complete a needs assessment for Aloi and
Barlonyo.
“Does the community really need this? Or
is it a matter of saying, ‘the community needs this?’ As Rotarians, we
had to go down to Aloi and Barlonyo and ask the people, ‘What is it that
you need?’” said Ogang.
While the physical implementation of
WASH is expected to take six months to complete, Ogang said, “the
behavioural change of the community” will take two years.
The Rotarian noted the local club will
be visiting the communities every other week to monitor progress and
will send frequent reports to the International Rotary Clubs.
In 2004, Barlonyo was left in ruins
after a deadly attack from Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army — a
rebel group the Ugandan government has been fighting since 1987. The
assault killed 301 men, women and children.
Part of Pitcher’s presentation showed
slides of the aftermath in Barlonyo, including images of a memorial site
for victims.
“In March 2012, a video was put out
called Kony 2012 and was seen by 88 million people around the world. It
explained who Joseph Kony was,” said Pitcher.
She said the leader of the Lord’s
Resistance Army is the first to be indicted by the International
Criminal Court. He was charged with 33 counts of war crimes and crimes
against humanity.
“He is responsible for the displacement
of 1.8 million people, most of them in northern Uganda. They were sent
to displaced persons camps,” said Pitcher. “The horrific part is the
abduction of (more than) 20,000 children as child soldiers or sex
slaves.”
But Pitcher said there was a “happier
ending” to Barlonyo’s story and the Rotary Club is a part of it. She
showed an image of a school the Children of Hope Uganda charity built in
2010.
“The (residents) are warm and
forward-looking. They are not dwelling, but they sorely need our help.
The water and sanitation situation is appalling, but it (doesn’t have)
to be.”
The RCOT’s goal is to raise $130,000. If
successful, the group will qualify for matching grants from its Rotary
District and the Rotary International Foundation.
Those wishing to make donations can mail
a cheque to June Oliver at 2530 Sixth Line, Unit 14, Oakville, ON, L6H
6W5. A charitable donation receipt will be provided.