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Waterscene helps provide clean drinking water for
Uganda orphanages
 A
volunteer team of 10 Canadians, including Steve and Linda Kovacs
of Waterscene, traveled to the tiny village
of Gulu in northern Uganda, as well as
other parts of the country, to install
drinking water systems and sustainable
food fish farms.
The Gulu village houses
orphaned children between the ages of
2 and 12 who are recovering from the
effects of civil war or the ravages of
AIDS. Steve and Linda have been part
of two prior clean water installation trips
to Africa.
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Solving a growing problem
In recent years, these orphanages have faced
extreme challenges due to the shortage
of safe drinking water. Many wells have collapsed, contaminating the
water with poisonous gases. Drilling new
wells is a costly process, and the nation's government has been closing
orphanages unless they can sustain themselves
with safe drinking water.
An initiative called H2O
4 ALL helps develop
rainwater harvesting systems which allows
these villages to collect and filter abundant rainwater as a source
of clean drinking water.
 The H2O 4 ALL projects include automated
solar power water treatment plants using
proprietary technology developed by Canadian
water purification experts Genieye Systems
Inc. that can produce over 10,000 liters
of clean drinking water for the village each
day. The clean water improves the children’s
health and subsequently all life opportunities.
The clean water will also give the children
opportunities to develop new sustainability
skills with agricultural farming involving
fish, meat, vegetables, dairy and poultry.
H2O 4 ALL has installed 5 automated solar powered drinking water systems presently operating in various villages in Uganda, East Africa and Ghana, West Africa.
Liquid miracle
 One of the most memorable parts of the trip happened when
an underground river was found by accident in one orphan village that was scheduled
to be closed due to its loss of clean water.
When a bulldozer became stuck
and began sinking, locals worked feverishly to dig it out. As they did, water
began seeping to the surface and an underground stream was discovered. The
village once again had a source of safe drinking water. The team helped install
a containment basin.
 Trip a big success
The team of Canadian volunteers, including five people from
South Delta, took part in a trip to Uganda to help provide sustainable food
and water to this thirsty region. The team included Steve and Linda Kovacs
of Waterscene, Lee Mussell, Gunnvor Felland and Dale Maranda. The trip was
funded in part through donations organized by South Delta Baptist Church.
The team of 10 Canadians worked with local villagers in each
community, setting up rainwater collection and filtration systems for orphanages.
In addition, H2O4All completed construction of a fish farm in partnership with
Surrey’s Pacific Academy at an orphanage ten hours drive south of Gulu,
so that the local community could feed themselves on an ongoing basis rather
than relying on the ever-diminishing supply of donated food from western nations.
Another five hour drive south of Gulu took the team to Subi,
where they began construction of another fish farm. Water pumping stations
were installed, filtering rainwater to provide clean water. Existing wells
have become contaminated, and are expensive to construct. Rainwater collection
systems are effective and much less costly to install than building new wells.
Team members also assisted by teaching in the local schools,
helping the local people in various ways, and providing valuable consulting
services.
Watoto Children's Choir coming to South Delta
The team traveled to different orphanages, including Gulu,
the Kampala village that’s home to the Watoto children’s choir
which travels the world bringing attention to the issues of this region.
The
Watoto
choir will be performing at South
Delta Baptist Church on Sunday, January
17 at 10:30am. All of them are orphans from Uganda, their lives transformed
by the helping hands of others, their faith in God, and their dedicated commitment
to becoming leaders for their communities and nation. The choir’s performance
is a unique blend of native African rhythms, contemporary gospel music and
ethnic dance. They’ve released 4 CDs and toured 4 continents. |
