The Randal Foundation is pleased to work alongside Water for Kids.
In Uganda, only 19% of people have access to safe drinking water and over half lack basic sanitation, causing widespread disease and poor health. The Namantooke community, made up of two villages with 1,335 residents across 190 households, is especially vulnerable due to unsafe water sources and inadequate sanitation. Namantooke Primary School, which educates 937 pupils and employs 11 teachers, lacks essential hygiene infrastructure, no handwashing stations, drinking containers, or private washrooms for girls, creating health risks and contributing to high dropout rates, particularly among girls during menstruation.
This Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project will provide Namantooke’s first safe, sustainable water source through a borehole, alongside school handwashing stations, drinking containers, renovated boy’s latrines, and a new larger latrine block with private washrooms for older girls. Families will also be supported to construct their own latrines. A School Health Club will promote hygiene education, while a trained Water Committee will ensure long-term maintenance.
This six-month project aims to save lives by reducing waterborne diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea, while improving health, education, and economic opportunity. Benefits include better school attendance, especially for girls, through reduced time spent collecting water, private menstrual hygiene facilities, and improved classroom focus due to access to safe drinking water. Women will be empowered by relief from the burden of water collection, enabling greater involvement in income-generating activities and community leadership.
Economic development will be supported as healthier households spend less on healthcare and are more productive. Local opportunities such as sanitation platform (san plat) making can generate income. Access to safe water will also improve nutrition by reducing food contamination and child malnutrition.
By embedding sustainability through local ownership and training, the project will create long-term resilience, benefitting the current population of 1,335 and future generations.
Quote from Barbara Lucas, Trustee responsible for Uganda:
“Water for Kids are thrilled to receive funding to enable a holistic project at Namatooke in Uganda to move forward. For some time, we have been trying to enable this community to have safe water, improved sanitation and keep older girls in school. Water for Kids simply could not carry out our vital work without generous donors and all our donations are spent on the projects on the ground. The Namatooke project will become a reality, and our thanks go to the Randal Foundation.”
