Millennium Promise - Extreme Poverty Ends Here

Updates

• The quest for water shapes family life in Ruhiira. 23 Feb 2010

  

  "A day in the life of a villager in Ruhiira is guaranteed to beat any session at the gym," says Naomi, an intern from Millennium Promise Japan, who's looking at the region with a pair of fresh eyes. "And water is the main reason why life is so difficult." For the majority of families in Ruhiira, or at least for the women and children, the first task of the day is fetching water. Naomi found it especially interesting when meeting with various families to discuss water, that the conversation couldn’t begin without the woman of the house. "Ordinarily the men will do most of the talking, but as fetching water is decidedly women’s work, what women had to say was, for once, most important!"

  Without a doubt, distance and incline are the biggest challenges people face when fetching water. In the dry season, water can be as far as 3km (just under 2 miles) away…and the walk back with 20 liters (about 10 gallons) inside your jerrican (a large flat-sided container that carries liquids, like the one carried by the boy in this photo) can seem even father. This distance would be problematic enough were it not for the terrain: most water sources and run-off ponds are situated at the bottom of precarious hillsides and valleys.

  During rainy season, families can find water closer—usually only 1.5km away, but often from a pond gathering run-off water. The run-off carries with it all things imaginable down the hills, the murky brown color of the end result is enhanced by cows who come for a bath every now and then! Unfortunately, if poor quality water is available closer, people will use it instead of the safe water source provided by the Millennium Villages project. As yet, boiling water is often viewed with suspicion. So potential health risks are huge.

  That is why, until more reliable water sources can be secured closer to residences, that families must continue to use water purification techniques accurately. With 1 in 2 Africans suffering from waterborne diseases at any time, scrupulous attention to this relatively simple process can make a big difference in family health.

  Families describe their quest for clean water to Naomi Handa Williams, an intern from Millennium Promise Japan.

• Good news from Ruhiira's "Science Guy." 10 Feb 2010

  

  This photo shows how people in Ruhiira cook in a typical Ugandan kitchen. The stoves or firepits can be very inefficient, burning large quantities of fuel, and sending unhealthy fumes into the air. Replacing those stoves with fuel efficient, low-emission models will improve the deforestation of the environment, air quality and lung function for people. Stove replacement is just one of the many holistic initiatives that the Uganda team's science coordinator discusses in the interview below, when he explains why the project is so successful.

  What is your role in the project?
  My name is David Siriri, the Science Coordinator of the Ruhiira Millennium Villages Project. I am responsible for ensuring sound technical design and implementation of project activities in a way that responds to the project model and community priorities. I also conduct measurements, monitoring and activity evaluation to generate data that informs project design and track achievement of project targets.
  What progress has been made since 11/30/2009?
  The community health workers continued to be the first responders in providing basic treatment and referring patients to health units. As a result, prevalence and severity of malaria continued to decline while monthly child births in all health units now stands at over 400. The project registered zero maternal death in the cluster during December 2009. The emergence medical response system has been strengthened with nurses trained in emergence handling and ambulance dispatch. The operating theatre at Kabuyanda health unit is now functional after a few months breakdown. Clinical staff have been trained in use of medical equipment donated by General Electric and can now perform scans for better pregnancy management. The number of households using water treatment chemicals has increased after an initial cultural resistance. As a result, the diarrhea disease burden at health units has decreased. Villagers started using improved cook stoves introduced by MVP. This has reduced indoor air pollution which causes respiratory tract diseases and has saved up to 45% of cooking fuel wood in families using the stoves. New roads were opened and old ones rehabilitated, increasing accessibility to markets and health units.
  How important is this project to you?
  My biggest motivation is seeing people’s lives transformed. I have for the last 12 years worked with different research and development agencies but never before has my work made real community transformations like at the Millennium Villages Project. What is different here is having an integrated holistic approach to development in which all issues affecting human livelihoods are tackled at the concurently, empowering communities to take lead in planning their future and investing their own resources in implementing their chosen interventions, and having significant development assistance that reaches the intended target. These key ingredients have combined to bring hope and dignity to the many lives that were bound by shackles of extreme poverty.

  Every Millennium Village team is responsible for measuring the effectiveness of its initiatives. In this article, the Uganda team's science coordinator explains why the project is so successful.

• Ruhiira clinics report decrease in waterborne diseases. 02 Feb 2010

  

  This photo shows Olivias Kyarimpa outside her home in Omururama, a village that is taking part in the Millennium Village project in the Ruhiira, Uganda area. In her hands she is holding the Pur water purifier tablets that her family uses every day to keep their drinking water safe. She learned how and why to use the tablets from a health worker who visited her home. Our project empowers community health workers (local people who receive training in public health and medicine) to visit families and small villages to deliver water purification supplies and to explain: 1) how to purify their water at home using safe containers and Pur tablets; and, 2) why it is critical for them to exercise vigilance over their water supply.

  David Siriri, the Science Coordinator for the Ruhiira Millennium Villages project explains: “There was an initial cultural resistance to using water treatment chemicals. But the number of households using these supplies effectively is steadily increasing. As a result, we have found that the diarrhea disease burden at our health units has significantly decreased.”

  Water-born diseases such as cholera and diarrhea are extremely prevalent all over Africa, where half of all people may be stricken at any time. In Ruhiira, much of the water supply has been contaminated because of run-off from poor sewerage and farm animals. Children under five are at greatest risk of dying from diarrheal diseases contracted from contaminated water.

  This practical, yet direct, response is one of many successful applied approaches that enable Millennium Villages to provide clean water in the short term, while laying the foundation for longer term solutions. Check back to see how the project is doing, and remember to encourage your friends to consider making a donation.

  As increasing numbers of households adopt water purification practices, the people of Ruhiira are healthier.