Emergency Borehole Rehab Programme

On 31st March, as Uganda went into lockdown due to the coronavirus, the President made a plea to his District Officers:

"to prioritise the repair of non-functional boreholes, to ensure that the population in your respective areas access clean water"

With 32 years of experience "in the field", the staff of Busoga Trust donned their face masks and prepared for battle. Non-functionality of boreholes and wells is a huge crisis in rural Uganda, and a problem for many developing nations.

There are several reasons why a borehole breaks down, however one of the main reasons we come across is the use of galvanised iron (GI) pipes- the high mineral content of the water, pumped through the pipes, causes the pipes to rust and corrode. Fortunately our team are extremely experienced in rehabilitations, and often all it takes is removing the concrete apron, opening up the pump, removing the GI pipes and replacing them with stainless steel. 

Since the 31st March, the team has rehabilitated over 50 boreholes and wells, bringing back clean water to over 40,000 people (alongside our usual work constructing wells etc.). Alongside this, the teams have been gifting soap and water dispensers, running radio shows, and delivering hygiene and sanitation messages of the back of Land Rovers to communicate the importance of hand washing, good sanitation, and social distancing in this time of coronavirus.

We haven't even got to the best bit... The best bit, is borehole rehabilitations offer incredible value for money. As the borehole has already been drilled and sited (the most expensive part- a new borehole typically costs over £7,000), often the only materials required are the stainless steel pipes and parts and the concrete apron. This means, water can be brought back to a village for as little as £1,750.

We are totally committed to rehabilitating every non-functional borehole we come across (apparently there are more than 6,000 in Uganda) and we need your help.