THE CLEAN WATER FOUNDATION INC
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Mission Statement
The Clean Water Foundation, Inc, digs deep boreholes to provide pure water to rural villages in Uganda. This is used for drinking and irrigation of crops in this arid area of the country. A properly maintained well, together with proper water storage technique, eliminates deadly water borne diseases. We also provide heavy duty bikes for use on these villages' rough unpaved roads, Walking is the only means of transportation available to most of these villagers. A bike will carry children to school, often saving a 4 mile walk, will carry produce to bring to markets several miles away, will carry heavy jerry cans of water from its source to its point of use, will transport the sick and injured to distant hospital tents, and generally increase the area of travel available to these villagers. A bike in Uganda is like a car in the United States, but is much less affordable.
About This Cause
The Clean Water Foundation, Inc, bores deep water wells in Ugandan villages having no clean water supply, and gives heavy duty bikes to needy families. There is no public transportation in these areas, and bikes are the only means of travel other than by foot. In the remote and rugged heart of Africa where we work, roads where existent, are unpaved and potholed. The improvements our Foundation brings to the lives of the people in these remote villages has already brought lifesaving change to thousands of people. We have supplied pure water to half a dozen villages and most recently, an orphanage. Clean water insures the avoidance of cholera and other water borne diseases, which are rampant where there is no source of clean uncontaminated water. An amazing story of success surrounds the village of Pandinga and the entry of The CleanWater Foundation into their village life. In extreme western Uganda, this impoverished village lies about a half mile from the Congo (DRC) border. This District in which Pandinga lies, Buliisa, annually suffers many deaths and critical illnesses caused by the use of contaminated water skimmed from surface drainage and shallow holes. The water is muddy brown with many solids, often fouled by passing wildlife, and teeming with bacteria and other harmful microbes. It is typically consumed in its unaltered state. Pandinga was our first borehole project, and it incorporated one of our guiding principles -- sustainability. We did not want to follow in the footsteps of well meaning NGO's, who complete a project and then move on, never knowing the results of the effort. This was exemplified by a project we later came across, a borehole dug by the EU and a local NGO and left to the nearby village with no instruction or structure. When the manual pump broke several years prior to our appearance, the village had neither the expertise nor the money to get it repaired. The Clean Water Foundation repaired the pump for under $500.00 and restored the well to working condition. Long before this discovery, we had anticipated this problem knowing that the population we would serve was totally ignorant of well mechanics. In order to overcome such an occurrence, we secure the commitment of the entire village to follow our programs of education and administration. When we invest in a water project, we plan to support the project into the future. We know that the best follow up comes locally, not from another country, so we train key people in our project villages, follow them to insure comprehension and adherence to protocol, and follow up periodically to intercept any potential problems. Returning to Pandinga, under our guidance and instruction, the village set up 3 committees to insure eternal maintenance of this precious gift. Five young men received training by the well drillers, and were able to perform routine maintenance and repairs, and to ultimately pass this training on to others. This training was put to practical use which enabled a change out of the deep pipes which after some time had rusted out near the bottom of the borehole. The repair was completed locally without the expense or waiting time of calling for professional service. The finance committee was constituted with the most trusted senior men in the village of 1275 people. They collected tiny amounts from the villagers in order to a build a borehole maintenance fund. This proved to be useful when the pipe replacement was required, as the funds were already on hand to buy required parts, and down time and cost was held to a minimum. The third committee established was the water sanitation and education committee. Their job was to educate the entire village on methods of safe water transport and handling. This practice was historically never learned as the water was always already contaminated at its source. The villagers had to be taught that pure water will become contaminated if transported in a dirty container, and taught how to make water containers safe. These easy lessons become part of the habits of daily life. The last Cholera epidemic which swept through the District spared Pandinga, and we know it was the borehole which allowed the disease to pass through with no loss of life in the village. The water borne diseases which get no real medical treatment in these areas carry as much as a 50% mortality rate to those affected. Pandinga is remote, with plenty of land, and no nearby neighbors. With almost no water in this perennially rain starved area, they were able to grow barely enough food for subsistence, but never enough to sell in the town market. With arrival of water from the borehole, the women of the village combined to buy watermelon seeds, hand plow the ground, plant a crop, and work the fields. They carried water downhill about a half a mile from the well, 60 pound jerry can by jerry can, to hand water the melons. Then a half mile walk uphill back to the well, to vigorously pump to fill the can again, and repeat the process all day long. The crop yield exceeded all expectations, and after being brought to market in a hired truck, all profits from the harvest were reinvested in more melons, maize, pineapple, and other crops. These harvests, with good management, were also successful, and have enabled the village to now have a small positive income for the first time in its history. There is a limit to how much water can be maually pumped and brought to the fields. The hand pump is run almost continuously so it is at or near its delivery capacity, The Foundation's plan is to ultimately finance a tank and solar pump for this village. Constant equatorial sunlight, would pump much greater gallonage per minute than any hand pump, could, and it would be stored in the tank. Inexpensive PVC pipes could then be led from the tank to the fields, with gravity moving water to the site of the crops. The time saved in pumping and carrying would then be used to plant and irrigate more crops and sell more in the market. This would put the village on a positive financial trajectory, not previously possible in the village's history. Our project has already made a compelling change in the life and conditions of this entire village. Similar stories flow from the other projects we have completed. Our bike program, while not as dramatic, nevertheless changes lives. School children, walking as much as 4 miles each way to attend central schools, can make the trip in 20 minutes instead of walking for 80 minutes. The extra time frees up the older children to help with the farming and other family chores. Sick people, often carried on someone's back for as much as 30 miles to reach a central hospital in a larger town, can be transported by bicycle in a few hours rather than days. A simple trailer cart attached to the bike allows the sick or injured to lie flat while the bike carries the patient to the doctor or hospital. A bike in rural Uganda is beyond the reach of almost all. Our donated bikes may not often save lives, but they do change the productivity of the recipient family. Most of the bicycles in Uganda are cheap Indian manufactured "Hero" bikes. They don't hold up will on the rugged rock strewn and potholed unpaved roads which crisscross the country. Light weight metal parts break down prematurely and the bike's lifespan is very limited. Taking the long view, The Clean Water Foundation purchases "Buffalo" bikes, manufactured in Kenya specifically for use in the harsh African environment. Spokes are slightly thicker, tires are thicker with more durable flat resistance, and the bike itself, while basic in its one speed design, is made of heavier gauge steel and designed to last 5-8 times the life of a Hero, at about a cost increase of only 50%. A Hero takes about two years of the average annual Ugandan income, so few have bikes. The gift of a bike permits a greatly expanded radius of travel, permitting its use also for cargo transport, or as an ambulance. Arriving at a hospital a day earlier may indeed someday save a life. The founder of The Clean Water Foundation, Clifford Steele, is an attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. His office has provided all support to enable the Foundation to maximize the impact of donations received. Office space, postage, phone, email, internet, stationary, computers, etc, are donated to the organization. All of our workers are volunteers, no one is paid any wage or salary. Our website creation, logo creation, legal work for incorporation and IRS documentation were all 100% donated. The many trips to Uganda to open a well, visit a village, meet with borehole company representatives, etc, are paid personally by the Chairman. No air travel, local transportation expenses, meals, lodging, etc, are paid with Foundation Funds. All are paid personally. The Foundation pays no commissions to fundraisers. While this has kept the pace of collections low, we are proud that about 99% + of our collections are spent directly with the bike manufacturer in Kenya, and the borehole companies in Uganda. There is no waste or siphoning by third parties. The Foundation has been in operation for almost 9 years, and has built a dependable infrastructure with dedicated volunteers who manage operations in Uganda. Their duties include locating villages without water who are willing to enact the programs we insist on teaching, acting as intermediary between village leaders and the borehole technicians, sending pictures of the bore, and the first waters to flow, and all other local jobs. We are not set up to support a project in a large town of many thousands. Our work is in the tiny villages that are passed over by the larger NGO's. There are hundreds of villages which fit our profile. We have the capacity to do much more, being limited only by the pace of the donations we receive.