Stories of water harvesting, pollution, scarcity and misuse among others are not new in developing countries.
And in Uganda and several other countries in Eastern and Southern Africa region (ESAR), where UNICEF estimates that about 157 million people are not connected to a clean and safe water distribution system, and thus need to use external water sources, stories of this nature are made frequently.
But whereas several stories of this nature are made, not all of them are told. Some never make it to the media.
WaterSan Perspective brings you the picture story of water harvesting, pollution, scarcity and misuse among others in Uganda which Fredrick Mugira produced with support from the CSE Media Fellowships Programme for the Global South.
In Uganda and several other developing countries, children and women are the main collectors of domestic water. They often walk long distances to fetch water.
This sometimes makes the children miss school while others reach school tired and late
Studies done by various international organisations including UNICEF indicate an increase in school attendance in communities that are provided with safe water
The gendered division of labour in water collection tasks deprives women and girls from opportunities to escape the vicious circle of poverty and disempowerment
Villagers soak themselves in the famous Kitagata natural hot springs in Kitagata, Sheema district to have their various ailments healed. Kitagata hot springs are well known for their curative waters. Patients from as far as 100km flock these springs in a bid to have their diseases including rheumatism and arthritis healed
Despite receiving enough rains throughout the year, several families with iron-roofed houses still use dirty water fetched from shallow wells. They fail to harvest rainwater and opt to follow it up to the swamp
