A new public standpost constructed by SCIF in partnership with WaterAid Uganda and Kalungu District Local Government is providing residents with a clean, safe and more accessible source of water.
For nearly two decades, Desiranda Nanyonga lived with the daily consequences of an unreliable and contaminated water supply.
Desiranda moved to her community in Uganda’s Kalungu District around 2006. At the time, residents collected water from distant swamps and ponds. The journey was difficult, and the water they found was often muddy and shared with livestock.
“The water was grey and muddy because cows would often walk through it,” Desiranda recalled. “Sometimes we would arrive to find that the water had dried up. Then we had to walk an even longer distance to other ponds.”
During periods of drought, those ponds would also disappear. Residents would then travel miles to the nearby village of Nabajuzi in search of water. For Desiranda, carrying it home became increasingly difficult. Paying someone to fetch water cost between 1,500 and 2,000 Ugandan shillings per trip, an expense that quickly accumulated when water was needed every day.
The poor quality of the water affected even the simplest parts of daily life.
“When we cooked with it, the food would turn muddy,” Desiranda said. “Even the tea would become grey. We eventually stopped using tea leaves and used coffee instead to disguise the colour of the water.”
Another community resident, Nakazibwe Fiona, remembers the serious sanitation concerns surrounding the old sources. Cattle would walk through the swamps, while human and animal waste would wash into the water. She recalled that diarrhoea and other illnesses were common among residents.
Desiranda would boil the water before using it, but collecting enough remained an exhausting physical burden. She would return from the swamp carrying one 10-litre jerrycan on her head and another in her hands.
Over time, illness and weakness made that journey impossible.
“I reached a point where I had to beg people to help me,” she said. “It became very costly, and after I fell sick, I could no longer carry the jerrycans.”
A clean source close to home
In March 2026, life changed for Desiranda and her neighbours with the construction of Public Stand Post 4, part of the Kabale Water Supply System in Kalungu District.
The water point was constructed by SCIF in partnership with WaterAid Uganda and Kalungu District Local Government. It now gives community members convenient access to clean and safe drinking water, without the long and difficult journeys to swamps and ponds.
“We are no longer troubled because of water,” Desiranda said. “I have been saved as well, because now I can take a cup and collect water.”
Having a reliable source nearby is especially meaningful when Desiranda is not well enough to fetch water herself. She can ask a younger member of the community to fill two small jerrycans at the tap and keep them in her home.
The change has also eased the financial pressure she once faced. Instead of spending money each day for someone to travel long distances and collect water, she can use those savings for other household necessities.
“Now I save the money I used to spend on water,” she explained. “I use it to buy some sugar.”
Nakazibwe has also welcomed the new water point and the difference it is making for local residents.
“The new source was provided by SCIF and WaterAid,” she said. “It is so good and clean, and it is safe to drink, even without boiling.”
Partnership delivering lasting change
The new standpost reflects the importance of collaboration between SCIF, WaterAid Uganda and Kalungu District Local Government. By bringing together technical expertise, local knowledge and community participation, the partners have helped provide a dependable water source designed to serve residents for years to come.
A heartfelt expression of gratitude
SCIF’s Director of Operations, Ola Bankole, attended the launch of the new water point. Desiranda was so grateful that she presented Ola with a chicken, a personal and heartfelt gift expressing what the project meant to her.
Her message to everyone who helped bring water closer to the community was simple but powerful:
“We thank SCIF and WaterAid for constructing this tap for us. Thank you so much for this great kindness. You saved us. You personally saved me. I am so happy, without a doubt. May the Almighty bless you abundantly.”
For Desiranda and her neighbours, Public Standpost 4 is more than a piece of infrastructure. It means less time spent searching for water, lower household costs and freedom from the physical strain of carrying heavy jerrycans over long distances. Most importantly, it brings a dependable source of clean, safe water closer to home.
SCIF develops climate solutions that deliver meaningful benefits for public health. By placing people and their everyday needs at the heart of climate action, SCIF creates impact that extends beyond emissions reductions, and carbon credits that represent measurable change in people’s lives.
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