NTV, Ruparelia Group partner to improve hygiene in slums
Mr Johnson Omolo, the NTV Uganda general manager
Kampala. NTV has partnered with Ruparelia Group of Companies to raise money for improving hygiene in Kamwokya slums by building improved pit-latrines.
Mr Rajiv Ruparelia, the director of the Ruparelia Group of Companies, said the pit-latrines will be built using proceeds from the upcoming 27th Royal Ascot Goat Races at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala. The goat races, held at the Speke Resort on the shores of Lake Victoria, have been an annual Kampala tradition since 1993. It is arguably, the biggest event in Kampala city’s social calender.
Mr Ruparelia, who was addressing the press about the upcoming goat’s race, yesterday said: “Diseases like cholera, which is a result of poor hygiene, always break out in slum areas like Kamwokya, yet the government is slow to react and slum residents are too poor to afford proper treatment and end up dying. So it is better to prevent [diseases] than cure [them],” he said.
He said they will also train youths in the area to recycle plastic, which can be used for making art and craft to earn some money.
Mr Ruparelia also said the plastics block sewage, causing flooding and subsequently disease outbreak in the slums.
On his part, Mr Johnson Omolo, the NTV Uganda general manager, said: “As Nation Media Group (NMG), we cherish people’s lives and it is our responsibility to educate the masses about good hygiene and dangers of disease outbreaks.”
He pledged NTV Uganda’s commitment to sponsor the event for the next three years and said they will expand the initiative and build more pit-latrines in other slums in the country.
