Its all about water!

Over the last week and a half, Ruco and I have been working with the Water and Sanitation Team in Kamwenge. We have helped construct home water filters, large water tanks which collect rain water, aided in public health and sanitation talks, and performed home visits. We visit with many people each day-all of them shocked to see “mzungus” in their village and in their home. All the children gather in the doorway when we are visiting inside a home. They are so curious, a little scared, but always beautiful.
My eyes have really been opened to the need for clean water in Uganda. Most people fetch their water from nearby streams or shallow wells. The water is muddy and cloudy. It breaks my heart because I could not imagine drinking it. SP uses a technology called “bio-sand” water filters and supplies people with their own home filter. It is totally constructed from local materials besides the concrete needed for the outside molding. Basically the water is filtered through a layer of sand, coarse sand, and gravel. There is a bio-film that lives on top of the sand which catches micro-organisms that would otherwise cause a person to become sick. It is amazing. The muddy water comes out clean and clear. One woman (Joseline) told us she is so happy because her water is now “white!”
I loved having the home visits and coming to understand how having a water filter has impacted the health of each family. It was even more exciting to talk to one woman who had accepted Christ because of the team who had been visiting with her and had installed her filter. The SP Water and Sanitation team have hearts for people and actions permeated with kindness. Because of that, people come to know Jesus. They are truly the fragrance of Christ.
We are really enjoying being in Uganda. Our internship with SP keeps us busy, but it is such a “good busy.” We love being out in the community and making new friends. I was watching all the kids yesterday evening as we were going on a walk. They were all having fun with their arms around one another. I thought about a story my mom tells of me at four years old crying because “I didn’t have any friends.” She says she remembers her mom and my Aunt Gwen feeling so sad for me, and her thinking, “What four year old has significant friendships?” I guess relationships were important to me at four! Then I thought of how much I would have loved growing up feeling the extent of community and companionship that Africans experience. Even grown women walk down the street holding hands with their friends…as do men. Here people spend an unlimited amount of time together. They feel cared for when a friend comes over for a long visit to talk and would never turn someone away who has come to their door. Although the people here in Uganda have so many needs, their hearts are in line with God’s heart when it comes to caring for others on His terms, not their own.

we saw hippos!

Ruco helping to deliver a water filter

Ruco aiding in a community public health talk

monkeys we spotted on our hike

husband and wife beneficiaries of a bio-sand water filter

everyone likes to see their photo afterwards

bio-sand water filters