Guest Blogger: Lacy Colley, Volunteer Photographer
Traveling to Uganda for the first time was more than an
opportunity for us. It was about women, hope, and most importantly water. My
sister Kirby, naturally one of my favorite women, was able to travel with me -
literally packed on a bus like sardines for eight hours, a ferry across the
Nile, and finally a boda boda (motorcycle taxi) to get us to our destination.
Moyo town approximately has 25,000 people, and is located in Northern Uganda,
close to the border of Sudan.
We arrived to Moyo alongside GWWI Uganda Team Coordinator Hajra
“Comfort” Mukasa. Talk about a passionate woman! I knew she was ingenious with
a sense of fire and punch. I asked her why she chose to be a WASH (Water,
Hygiene and Sanitation) expert, and she replied proudly “It’s what I know, it’s
what I believe in.” Could you imagine if we all felt this way about our
careers?
Angella, Martha and Anastasia, the three leaders within GWWI
Moyo, sat down with us when we arrived and gave us a little history on how they
came together. In amazement, these grassroots women have accomplished many
goals, from enrolling in WASH training programs to educating their community on
the importance of sustainable clean water solutions. They also mobilized
funding to buy an ISSB (interlocking stabilized soil block) machine that
enables them to build these rainwater tanks, and they hope to soon build homes
for families, and work outside their town of Moyo. Angella says all in all for
them it is about working hard for where they are from and being together happily.
Godliver Businge who heads up the GWWI training team with her
technology expertise in engineering and construction, led everyone on the plan,
and enabled every woman to be involved whether by plumbing bob measure, laying,
or binding and leveling the bricks to ensure their strength.
After the first day of forming the bricks and laying the
foundation for the tank, we were at the next stage of laying the bricks,
binding them with mortar, and building the tank wall. By end of day the tank
was up, 3 meters high, and ready for plastering, cleaning, roofing, piping, and
finally the tap. We cheered, hugged, and stood proudly by the tank, our tank. As Godliver stated, this
project is inspirational to her because it’s women coming together to complete
such demanding manual labor. And in the Ugandan society, women work longer
hours than the men, and bear the double burden of ensuring their households are
cared for and fed adequately. To describe this project Godliver says it’s
simply wholesome. An incredibly insightful word choice, as it truly represents
the water project’s ability to promote health and support the well-being of the
community. Wholesome ultimately describes the minds and hearts of the women
behind the bricks.
We
had arrived to that moment, to be surrounded by truly powerful women that came
from nothing, to let us in on their love. And by nothing I mean their community
was destroyed in a war in 1979, and their lives were uprooted to Sudan, eight
years later to return to Moyo that was demolished. They had to start over, and
be stronger than ever, determined to help their community move forward. Their
return, their ride was a lot more bumpy then ours to Moyo town to say the
least. Reflecting at the end of our time in Uganda, the voices of the women resonate
in our souls. We are one. We all wake to the same sun, close our eyes under the
same stars, breathe the same air, and hope for the same dreams. One day, we
will all drink the same water.
For more pictures : click here
For more pictures : click here
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