#MyScoutStory Scouts Run for Safe Water Project 2017 INTRODUCTION Clean and safe water supplies are the backbone of water supply in rural areas in Uganda. Safe and acceptable water for human consumption that is available in sufficient quantity, physically accessible and affordable is a crucial prerequisite for human wellbeing. Access to safe water is not only fundamental to good health but also to satisfactory livelihoods, dignity and prospects for economic growth and education. The lack of access to sufficient amounts of safe water leads to human suffering and to loss of human potential which is ethically indefensible as well as economically wasteful. Many of today's national and international policy frameworks already recognise that further attention to this topic is needed. Therefore, I organized a marathon named: Scouts Run for Safe Water 2017 Program date and Venue The program was scheduled for 1st July 2017 on Saturday at Kibibi Secondary School Butambala District, Uganda EA from 8:00am to 3:00pm. Project Implementer The project was implemented by Kibalama Mad; I’m a Youth Scout aged 23 years of age, a Professional Mathematics Teacher. During my university studies, I introduced scouting at Kampala International University MAIN CAMPUS. I hold a Scout Leaders Award of the World Organisation of the Scout Movement through Uganda Scouts Association. Currently, I serve as the Scout Leader of Kibibi Scouts Club and at the same time the District Executive commissioner – Butambala District, Uganda. Project Mission To strengthen Safe Water provision to the community using the available cheap labour from Kibibi Scouts Club (A composition of 32 scouts “16 boys: 16 girls”) and the community. Objectives The project had the following objectives; To avail Safe Water to different families of Butambala district, Uganda EA. To safe guard and rehabilitate spring wells in Butambala district, Uganda EA using Kibibi Scouts Club and the community to provide cheap labour. Construction of safe water supply schemes and ensuring management chain from source to end users. Facilitating the construction and proper use of improved sanitation facilities, focusing in the local schools. Target Groups Rural communities Farmers Scout units and Schools in the selected locations. Problem and Solution Statement The overall water supply provision coverage, reported by the Government, is low of the population with having access to sanitation facilities, with rural areas being less well served than the urban areas. The case in point is Butambala District. Consequently, women and children spend up to 1 –2 hours per day fetching contaminated water that is inadequate in quantity to allow good hygiene to be practised. In many schools, children take alternate mornings off classes to collect water for the school, thus missing 25% of their education, as well as collecting water for the household after school. Since much time is wasted in water hauling, physical injury follows from this load carrying such as back injuries, hernia & miscarriages. In order to improve this situation people must get sufficient water of better quality from well developed and improved water supply systems such that they can practice good hygiene. Although most communities have some sort of development committee (established by the Government and other development partners in Butambala- Uganda EA), these are poorly organised and lack the ability and resources to take this level of initiative prior to enhancing their capacity by the action. Consequently, the rural poor people in Butambala District- Uganda EA usually experience a negative impact on natural water sources. Actually there are over 663 million people living without a safe water supply close to home, spending countless hours queuing or trekking to distant sources, and coping with the health impacts of using contaminated water! Benefits of the Project In Line With the Vision and Mission of the Movement. The benefits of the project did not only lie in providing clean water to Butambala District communities but also in the following: Improving the villagers’ health standards through provision of clean water. Strengthened ability of the community to manage and maintain its water supply systems and sanitation facilities. Improvement of the environment: the spring water sources of KAJA MPOLA, BBEBE, MURAMUZI, KAKONGE and LUGALA were rehabilitated and all their trenches were cleared. Sustainability of the Project. We trained community members on water, hygiene and sanitation -1 group comprising of 15-20 households) Scouts Run for Safe water served as a way of creating awareness about the neglected spring water sources in Butambala district of Uganda- EA. Mobilisation of communities to establish CBOs, WASH committees, to help install, manage schemes. Train Communities and water technicians to operate, maintain, manage and sustain schemes. We trained and built capacity of community members about safe water source management. Monitoring and evaluation of progress and impact.