Currently, students use over 1.5 hours round-trip to the closest borehole. It is many times dried up and they must walk another hour round-trip to another public borehole. Waiting in lines to collect dirty water occurs frequently. We visited for 5 weeks July 2011 to design the after committee with the school community (students, teachers, staff, priests, and parents) and secure sanitation and hygiene classes monthly (ongoing) for the committee to then train the school monthly about the safe water chain and other water concerns. There was a site visit done by an engineer who located the place where the borehole will be dug-this took an entire day.

The school community and engineer decided that a borehole with a hand pump on the schools grounds was their first choice for having new water access. Their second choice would have been rain water harvesting, but rain has been unreliable and the "roof" structures are very unstable and would have to have been replaced to do so efficiently. The borehole will be at least 70 meters down.

This drilling phase is considered Phase 2 and a Phase 3 will be designed for a piping and holding tank system that will provide three taps direct on site near cooking/latrines, the school building, and the dorms. Phase 3 is being designed as of June 2012.

The borehole water has been tested and is deemed safe for human and all domestic use. The water turbidity will be tested once more in September/October to ensure quality is being maintained; the annual testing will follow one year later pending all test results are up to safe drinking standards.

DLDT has secured annual water quality testing onsite to monitor the safety of the source. A protective wall and lock will be used to protect the borehole from open/public use and further protect it from unsafe use leading to contamination/degradation.

Our Ugandan project manager is donating much of her time to better her community- Nakamatte Irene is a district planner and teaches hygiene and sanitation to communities. Our Ugandan project engineer is the Minister of Water for the District and is also donating much of her expertise for this "off the grid" orphan school. Ms. Irene has signed an MOU with us to promise the ongoing hygiene and sanitation training with the school's water committee.

Drink Local. Drink Tap. is CURRENTLY FUNDING the final making a movie tentatively called "Making Waves from Cleveland to Uganda" A documentary about one woman’s journey from water-rich Cleveland to bring a rural Ugandan school access to clean drinking water and the grassroots story that made it all happen. The borehole constructed by the DLDT team will save children from walking hours per day and improve the health and hopes of the community. This is a story about a passionate wave made in the Great Lakes region that is being felt on the other side of the world.. The movie trailer and 26 minutes of the movie can be found on the Drink Local. Drink Tap. website or Youtube channel. Sponsor opportunities are available now.

Unfortunately, this school is off the grid and the rural communities in Uganda are the last to get assistance. Boreholes in rural areas are not inexpensive in Uganda. There is no chance of municipal water piping coming to this area (as per the Minister of Water) and no interest from large NGOs (ie Africare) to be involved with such a small project. So, if we don't help as promised, there is no one lining up to serve these children and the selfless teachers and community who take orphans in and care for the HIV infected people/children. They are left to suffer.