Kowak village

Our first well in the Rorya district.

Here is a picture of a young boy standing by the newly-constructed well site in Kowak.

Kowak Village in the Rorya District was the natural choice for our first well. Our President, Margareth Awiti, grew up in this community and she still had many family members living in the village. Margareth’s father donated a portion of his land to the village for the construction of the well. This enabled the community to have public access to clean water without concerns of the routes being cut off by private use.

Visiting the well site on any given day, the grounds around the well are maintained by the community to ensure the pump remains accessible. The security guard hired by the water committee lives nearby and he will open the well at set times of day. Access to the well is intentionally limited to specific times to avoid overuse (a risk associated with wells far from open water sources).

The well in Kowak was a major success story for both PSA and the community it serves. Within months, water-borne illnesses in the village dropped dramatically as locals had access to a clean water source. Boiling water is still recommended, but the water quality is high enough that further filtration is not necessary. This is a great example of how water can have a major impact on healthcare.

To support the education of local girls, children are not permitted to gather water until after the school day has ended. It is not uncommon to find children walking to school carrying buckets or “jerrycans” so they can get water from the well on their way home.