Kapchorwa

I'm currently in the middle of 2.5 weeks in Kapchorwa, a small town in eastern Uganda.  There's not too much to do here, but it therefore has been very relaxing.  (I've read 2/3 of Pride & Prejudice in a week!!)  And the best part is that it is often very cool.  Sometimes even cool enough (when it rains) to put on a sweater!!!

Each day we travel about 1.5 hours down the side of the mountain (SUV required!) to the plains of Ngenge (which is much hotter) where Travis (another intern) and I are helping with a borehole project.  I have really enjoyed getting to know all the people that we are working with here (from the Church of Uganda), and I'm excited about the difference we are helping to make.  The people in Ngenge live very simply (no electricity and mostly mud & straw huts) and depend on agriculture and cattle/goats, etc., but they have very few water sources, so these borehole wells are crucial.  Whenever we visit a new village, they are so excited about the prospect of having a clean water source nearby.  Otherwise they use rivers (which are not sanitary) or have to walk several kilometers.  We are helping oversee the repair of 14 current boreholes and the installation of a few new ones.  So far we have watched the borehole assessments and the water/sanitation/hygiene trainings that are also being delivered to all the villages.  Tomorrow the actual borehole repairs are supposed to start!

Off to Eastern Uganda

I probably won't have much internet access for the next several weeks because tomorrow I'm heading out to Kapchorwa in eastern Uganda.  Travis (another intern) and I will be out there for an unknown amount of time, but it's looking like probably 2 weeks.  We are going to help document a borehole project that is taking place in small villages in the dry plains of Ngenge.  A Ugandan drilling ministry has been hired to assess, fix, and install borehole wells so that the villages can have access to clean and plentiful drinking water.  They are also training locals to help maintain and fix the wells themselves, and they're also doing "Water and Sanitation Health" trainings in the villages.  Ngenge (sort of pronounced "nyay-nyay") is supposed to be very hot and dry, but we're staying in a town part way up Mt. Elgon, so I'm looking forward to it being much cooler!!