Friends,
I’m writing today to provide you with an update on the Uganda Water Project. But first let me express my deepest thanks for your generous support.
Our mission with Foundation for Human Civilization is to create a future that consists of vibrant self-sustaining local communities. And every contribution makes a real difference in the lives of the people we seek to serve.
With that in mind, your support enabled us to completely fund the Uganda Water Project. And we were even able to finance a wonderful extension to the project that wasn’t in our initial budget. More on that in just a few minutes.
As for the logistics…
We funded the project in three phases. We felt this was important to ensure that the work was completed in full and that our team on the ground had ample opportunity to inspect and verify everything.
We partnered with the Kireku-Bugolo Mwera Development Association on the project. Fr. Joseph Ssessaazi served as the local project coordinator for the association.
Fr. Joseph was responsible for securing bids and then meeting with the engineers to identify the ideal place to drill the well. From there he oversaw the construction and reported back to us with updates throughout each phase of the project.
The association was also responsible for securing the best possible foreign exchange rate to convert our US dollars into Uganda shillings. For this, they partnered with the Bevar Forex Bureau in Kampala. That’s the capital of Uganda.
We wired dollars to Bevar Forex for each of the three funding stages. They converted those dollars to Uganda shillings at the agreed-upon exchange rate. Then they transferred the shillings to the Kireku-Bugolo Mwera Development Association’s bank account.
Fr. Joseph advised us that they were quite pleased with the exchange rate and how smooth the money transfer process went.
As for the project itself…
The first phase began in early October of 2023. We wired $15,000 to the Bevar Forex Bureau to begin construction. Here’s a snapshot of the heavy equipment arriving at the site:
And here’s the scene as the team prepared the site for drilling:
In this photo we can see Fr. Joseph (left) talking with the lead contractor Ssonko James (right) as the team gets set to drill.
James runs a company called Ssonkos Consult-SMC. They have drilled wells in other parts of Uganda… and the team’s expertise was evident.
Ssonkos Consult also does construction and renovation projects. They build and maintain roads throughout Uganda. They supply and install culverts to ensure heavy rainfall doesn’t wash out the roads. The team also does landscaping and surveying work throughout Uganda as well.
Here’s a list of some of the organizations Ssonkos Consult has done work for:
- Amiina Ministries Ug
- Best Queen Mother Primary School Fortportal
- Canan Junior School Matendo Luwero
- Kitongo Town
- Mwera Health Center
- Nawanjiri Community
- Partner for Community Transformation
- True Impact Ministries
Now they can add Foundation for Human Civilization to the list as well. Here’s a shot of the team drilling the well:
With the borehole drilled and the manual pump/spicket installed, Phase One of the project was complete.
Then we wired $12,000 to Bevar Forex Bureau on December 1, 2023 to begin Phase Two. It consisted of constructing platforms and installing water tanks for storage and additional access.
This image gives us a great feel for what it looks like as you approach the site:
As you drive or walk down this road, you’ll come to one of the well’s primary access points. Here’s a shot from the second phase of construction:
This is the water tank’s support structure. It features concrete footings at the base molded in wooden forms. They are what provide a stable base for the steel framework rising above.
The framework distributes the load evenly to create a stable foundation. That’s necessary to handle the weight of a water tank on top of the platform.
And here’s a shot of the completed platform:
We can see the well’s support structure in the back right of this image.
The black items to the left are the water tanks before they were installed on top of the platform. And the building we see in the background is one of the blocks of the Primary School at Mwera.
Also of note, nearby is Fr. Lukenge’s village chapel. Here it is:
And that brings us to Phase Three…
As the project progressed, the contractor noted that, given the chosen well site, it would not be difficult to install a two-way pump and a pipeline system to create several additional access points throughout the village.
Fr. Joseph brought the idea to us, and we agreed that it was a great idea – if it was in budget. The contractor ran his numbers and provided us a quote in Uganda shillings for the equivalent of $4,865 dollars.
Fortunately (for this project), the US dollar strengthened materially against the Uganda shilling from the time we received the initial contract to the time of funding. In other words, our dollars were able to buy more shillings than we originally expected.
Because the contract was quoted in shillings, this effectively reduced the total cost of the project in dollars.
Thus, the additional cost didn’t put us too far over budget. We were able to raise the additional funds, and we wired the $4,865 to Bevar Forex Bureau on December 21st to kick off the third phase of the project.
In the meantime, Fr. Joseph celebrated Christmas with a large gathering at his church. Afterwards he hosted a cookout for all the kids in the village.
He was kind enough to share a few photos with us. When we look at these, it immediately illustrates the fact that children make up roughly half of Uganda’s population:
As for the final phase of construction, here we can see one of the water tanks being positioned on a platform:
And at the bottom of this image we can see a trench. It pipes water from the borehole to the five access points in the village.
This next image gives us a better feel for it:
That’s the well in the bottom of the image. And we can see the trench running up to one of the access points about 150 meters away at the top of the image.
And the final piece of the puzzle is the solar installation. It will ensure that water can be constantly pumped from the borehole and piped to each access point for storage and collection.
Here’s the solar array being put together:
These images were taken as construction was ongoing. The last several images I’d like to share with you gives us a feel for how the project looks post-construction.
These next ones show the well after the site was cleaned up:
Here we can see that the villagers can now get water from the well or the main water tank any time they want. They no longer need to walk up to a mile to get to the natural spring.
And next is a shot of Fr. Joseph preparing the fifth access point. This is one of the add-ons that we were able to finance. Fr. Lukenge shared with me that this one is where his mother and her neighbors will collect their water.
I’m happy to report that these additional access points were made possible by the project extension that wasn’t originally in our budget. We had to raise a little more money than we originally expected to fund this extension, but please know that it was well worth it. Having multiple access points and storage tanks will enhance life in the village and ensure that clean water is always nearby.
Here’s Fr. Joseph preparing the site for the fifth access point:
They will position another large water tank on this platform. And the piping trench will extend to this location as well – delivering clean water upon command.
And finally let’s revisit that first platform we observed from the second phase of construction. Here it is with the water tanks installed:
In closing, I can’t thank you enough for your generous contributions. Thanks also for your trust in Foundation for Human Civilization.
We set out to fund the Uganda Water Project in the summer of 2021, but we didn’t go public with the project until nearly a year later. We had to spend considerable time getting all of the necessary infrastructure in place first.
When we did go public with the idea, I didn’t know if we would be able to get any traction.
Would there be any interest in the project? Would people trust us to get the job done in a timely and budget-conscious manner?
Well… I’m blown away by your support and your kindness. And I’m more encouraged than ever before.
You know, if we look out at nature, we can observe many different creatures who clearly serve a specific purpose. For example, earthworms fertilize the soil. Bees pollinate flowers and make honey. Bats help control insect populations.
It’s amazing to think about. But these creatures can only do what they were created to do. They can’t perform any other productive activities.
Then if we look at ourselves – the human race – we have no such limitations.
We can learn new skills, engage in new tasks… I don’t think it’s a stretch to say we can create at will. If we truly direct our mind and our energy towards something, odds are we’ll find a way to accomplish it.
My friends, we just came together to accomplish something wonderful.
In partnership with the Kireku-Bugolo Mwera Development Association, we built a robust water collection and distribution system in a rural village half-way across the world. We brought clean water to a place where people previously had to walk a mile or more each day to get it. There was a clear need.
Of course that begs the question – if there was such a clear need, why didn’t someone install a similar water distribution system in the village before now?
And the answer is because we were the only ones who were willing to take the time and pool our resources together to do so. I think that’s something to be quite proud of.
So thank you once again. It’s an honor and privilege to be associated with such generous people.
Sincerely,
Joseph Withrow
President, Foundation for Human Civilization