Buliisa residents share water sources with animals

By Pascal Onega

Buliisa: Residents of Waaki Parish in Kihungya Sub County Buliisa District are appealing for government intervention, saying they are sharing water sources with animals, which is putting their lives in danger of contracting water-borne diseases.

The affected residents are from the villages of Mugume, Waaki West, Itutwe K, and Kihungya Trading Centre. According to them, they are fetching water from unprotected sources like Kagera Swamp and the Waaki River, thus putting their lives at risk of disease.

While fetching water at the Kagera Swamp, Ms. Everlyn Ayiyotho, a resident of Kihungya trading center, narrated to this publication that the only available boreholes at Kihungya primary school and the one in Mugume village are non-functional, so they trek long distances to get clean water in Kyateriko village in Nyeramya Parish.

‘’The only available boreholes at Kihungya primary school and the one in Mugume village are non-functional; thus, we trek long distances to get clean water in Kyateriko village in Nyeramya Parish,’’ she narrated.

Ayiyotho asserted that they are at risk of getting waterborne diseases, noting that running rainwater from upstream washes human waste from the bushes into the water source.

She said sometimes animals and children also play and bathe in the same water, making it more unclean for domestic use. ‘’We are not safe, and we are at risk of getting waterborne diseases because running rainwater from upstream washes human wastes from the bushes into the water source. Sometimes animals and children also play and bathe in the same water, making it more unclean for domestic use,’’ Ayiyotho added.

Mildred Mbabazi, another resident, says that because of the situation, it has resulted in endless waterborne diseases like typhoid and bilharzia, among others. ‘’We are treating endless cases of typhoid and bilharzia due to the consumption and use of unsafe water,’’ she disclosed.

Mbabazi says that as women, they are the most affected because it is they who trek long distances in search of water from a protected spring in Kyateriko village, adding that their daughters are also at risk of being impregnated by men who take advantage of long distances.

‘’Due to unsafe water in our area, our daughters are trekking long distances to get safe and clean water, which puts them at risk of falling prey to men who seduce them into sexual intercourse,’’ she said.

Mbabazi is therefore asking for the government’s intervention by repairing broken boreholes and constructing more water sources in their area.

The LC3 Chairperson for Kihungya Sub County, Kenneth Tumusiime, acknowledged that there are challenges in accessing safe and clean water throughout the entire Sub County due to the breakdown of boreholes.

‘’Currently, most of our boreholes in the Sub County are broken down, and people are trekking long distances to get safe and clean water,’’ he said.

The politician, however, said that World Vision, a non-governmental organization, is extending tap water systems in the Sub County to solve the challenge of unsafe water.

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