Rukungiri school gets clean drinking water after 30 years

Rwoya Primary School in Rukungiri District has been lacking clean and safe water for 30 years.

As a result, leaders of the government-aided school, which was founded by the Catholic Church, say this has affected its enrolment and academic performance.

Located in Ndere Village, Ruhinda Sub-county, one of the hard-to-reach areas in Rukungiri, the primary school has an enrollment of 670 pupils.

In the 2023 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), the school had five candidates in Division One, 23 candidates in Division Two, 14 in Division Three and two in Division Four.

“Pupils would be forced to leave classes and walk about 10 kilometres to fetch water to school, which has been a very big challenge to us as teachers and Pupils,” Mr Julius Turinawe, the head teacher, said.

Mr Turinawe said the school is located in an area with a very low water table, which has denied the communities access to safe and clean water and compromised the sanitation of homes and the school.

“We are supposed to wash the toilets daily but due to water scarcity, we don’t do that. Teachers and learners sometimes try to sweep the toilets but the cleanliness is not up to standards but with this project, I believe the sanitary conditions of the school will improve,” he said.

However, all this is set to change after Tusaidiane Trust Uganda, a non-government organisation, installed six water harvesting tanks, each with a capacity of 10,000 litres at the school.

“Because of scarcity, we could only get a 20-litre jerrycan of water for drinking out of Shs200 litres needed daily for use but with this project, water will always be available,’’ he said.

Ms Richard Musiimanta 46, a parent of four, all at Rwayo Primary School, hailed the funders who thought about the well-being of pupils.

Parents elated

“The support will help to address the sanitation and hygiene challenges our school has been facing. Since clean water is here, I believe the lives of our children are going to change and they will perform better than they used to do,” he said.

Mr John Bosco Tumwesigye, another parent, said the water project is a great relief to the school.

“We are going to protect this project and maintain it regularly because it is ours and it will greatly improve the livelihoods of our children while at school,’’ he said. The project coordinator from Tusaidiane Trust Uganda, Mr Vanasio Natuhwera Bagatireyo, said the project is not only for the school but also the entire community of Rwayo.

He appealed to the people to protect the project to serve the coming generations.

“We visited this school about six months ago and saw pupils walking out of the gate to fetch water during learning time and it was alarming to me,” he said.

According to the district water department, safe water coverage in the district stands at 45 percent, which is 12 litre per person per day, against the national target of 70 percent for rural water access.