WATER FOR SCHOOLS PROGRAME

• Local schools become the Water Delivery Hub for the surrounding communities. A 10,000 litre community tank with four water delivery points is strategically located and installed to meet the community water need and reduce time and distance spent walking to fetch water daily. As a result, more girl students attend and remain in school. Women are able to spend more time tending crops and other income generating activities thus increasing the household income.
• Using Solar Water Pumping technology, more than 5000 people gain access to clean water.
  Up to 1500 school children gain access to water and sanitation.
  Bio sanitation technology is used in the school eliminating solids and re-cycling the water for irrigation, eliminating smells and flies.
• Hygiene education and a hand washing campaign become a part of the school curriculum. Hand washing points are installed near the toilet blocks and hand washing messages are displayed on the sides of the water tanks. Water is supplied in the school kitchen for cooking and kitchen utensil cleaning.
• Garden water points are installed in the teacher and school gardens. Produce is used to improve student nutrition. Excess produce is sold and funds are used to purchase school supplies including soap for hand washing.
• A one off $20 contribution per beneficiary is one of the lowest in Africa.

Community water supply tank stand under construction

1200 Watt solar arrays provide power for the borehole pump

Lusoga language hand washing campaign poster

NEW SOLAR ULTRAFILTRATION SYSTEM COMMISSIONED

Traditional surface water treatment requires a large power supply and expensive chemicals making it costly and out of reach for African rural communities. East Africa has an abundant supply of surface water but most of it is polluted and unfit for human consumption. Using the new solar powered ultra filtration system developed and donated by Mono Pumps Australia, Vision Africa in partnership with Global Development Group and the Chinese Medical Association of Victoria Foundation has installed the first unit at the St Francis Nyenga Hospital near Jinja in Uganda. Current water source for the Hospital is from a polluted spring which is located more than a kilometer away. 2400 Watt solar pumps which is still to be installed will feed the water from the spring into a dirty water tank which then gravity feeds through the ultrafiltration unit and once the water is filtered, water is pumped by a solar pump into a 10,000 litre overhead tank making it available for the Hospital and the surrounding community use.

Next five sites designed on the same model as the Hospital have been selected on Lake Albert in Uganda for installation by the end of April 2009.

More information soon...

New clean water tank and the 300 watt solar Mono Pumps Ultrafiltration unit at the St Francis Hospital in Uganda

Solar Ultra Filtration produces 15,000 litres of clean and safe drinking water per day

Mr Athol Wraith from Mono Pumps Australia hands over the new Solar Ultrafiltration system to Sister Goreth at the St Francis Hospital in Uganda