No Access - No More

A Reflection on how our NuWaterWorks program is lifting up leaders to restore water in their communities.

The 2019 WaterPoint Conference attendees on our East Africa campus in Uganda.

“My people have no access.”

“In my village, we have no access.”

No access.

No access.

No access.

This was the refrain among a group of 30 local leaders at NuWaterWorks WaterPoint Conference this past month in rural Uganda. No access to water. ‘No access’ is defined as the distance to the water source of 1,000 meters or greater and/or a collection time of 30 minutes or more (World Health Organization). When this is the case, quantities collected are very low, less than 5 liters per person per day. This has a very high impact on health, as consumption needs are at risk, and hygiene and water quality are not ensured. Bottom line: it’s not enough water to live. How do you survive without drinking and cooking water? Without water to adequately grow food? You are thirsty and hungry. So in this land where there is ‘no access,’ people are thirsty and hungry.

Josh Kurtz, NuWaterWorks manager, trained this crew to be able to resolve water issues in their village, lifting them up to serve.

This news shocked no one. Everyone knew their people struggled with water accessibility. They didn’t necessarily know they were considered by global standards to be without access to water, but they knew their situation was grave. What was shocking came next: this area (a two-mile radius representing 15,000 people) has 77 different water sources, 54 of which are hand pumps, 92% of which are broken (not working at all or not pumping adequately). The potential for water access is there! Boreholes sit for years with water in them and no way to pump it out. No one knows how to repair them. The only man who says he does isn’t trustworthy with the community’s funds.

During the days before and after the conference, NuWaterWorks program managers Josh Kurtz and Francis Lubega trained a team of five men and women from the area in well repair and maintenance. They spent two days in the classroom and four days in the field repairing wells. At the conclusion of their training, they each passed a test to ensure their competency and are now available for hire. As soon as the trainees were introduced to the group, the leaders clapped, asking, “When can they start!? How soon will they be ready!? Can they come assess my borehole!? We’re ready for their help!” This repair team is going to help meet a major need: increase water accessibility, increase health, decrease thirst and hunger.

Our NuWaterWorks Repair Crew. This team was trained, tested and equipped to be able to restore access to water sources in their village. They were so happy to have passed the test that they rushed home to tell their families.

How are we lifting up the hungry? By getting to the source of their hunger. By empowering people who live there to fix what’s broken and offer solutions that can last for years to come. At the end of the conference, the leaders got up and shared their goals and dreams: That we may all access water that is clear to our eyes and free of germs. That everyone from those who are well-to-do and those who are poor can access pure and safe water. That we can have water pumped to our houses. That our water can be tested and treated, and supply our entire village. That accessing water is no longer our day’s work. That we can live life together.

These are their words. These things are possible, and things are going to change. The hungry are lifted up. He has filled the hungry with good things (Lk 1:53a).