Positive response to Rotary's consistent approach

The Rotary 3H goat project in the community of Kitariro.

Hello all,

Below is an update written by Tor Erickson working on the ground in Kanungu District. The projects have moved forward with tremendous success in large part due to the ever increasing trust formed between the Batwa and Bakiga communities and our Rotary 3H implementation team. We have found trust building to work on multiple scales that include:

A consistent approach- Remaining consistent with our methods of community interaction and our expectations of community involvement.

A focus on individual relations with members the communities- This has seen a huge boost since Tor and I have nailed down the basics of the Rukiga language and can now interact on a higher level of engagement with the people we are trying to support.

Using existing community resources- We have maintained our efforts on using community based organization structures to run the projects while emphasizing community representation. We have also focused on using the existing skills of the communities as well as the material resources available to each community.



Update written by Tor Erickson:

The past month has been a good one for our Rotary Grant in the Kanungu District. In addition to marked progress on our deliverables, we have taken significant steps towards project sustainability as well. For the past few weeks we have been conducting an internal evaluation of our work carried out by the Batwa themselves. I will intersperse the following update with quotes from the interviews that have been conducted.

A spring protection in the Batwa community of Kebiremu was completed successfully, and initial talks with the Batwa and Bakiga communities there show a high level of participation, ownership, and overall sense of accomplishment. In the words of one man, when asked how he participated, "We all cooperated to carry sand and stones."


A local mason from Kanungu town directs the community of Keberimo for the protection of their spring. The spring serves about 40 Batwa and Bakiga families.

People have expressed great happiness with having a protected water source. The following sentiment from a Mutwa man was echoed in every interview conducted: "Before having this protected water, we used to fall sick almost every day. I haven't seen anyone sick since we got this spring."

A mukiga man looking to muscle up some stones used for the Keberimo spring protection!

Additionally, we continue to collaborate with the Bwindi Community Hospital on a spring protection at the mixed Batwa/Bakiga community of Mukungoro. The community there has nearly organized everything required for us to begin work; this includes bringing massive piles of rocks to the site, and organizing community labor for the project as well as food and lodging for the masons involved.

Sanitation work has leaped forward. In the last report I mentioned that work had begun on 3 latrines, at this point in time that number has jumped to 10 with a completed foundation at least. This means 10 Batwa families have invested the time and energy into digging a pit 16 feet deep to protect their family's health.

A Batwa couple stands next to their completed 16 foot latrine pit now ready for Batwa masons to begin construction.


When asked how they felt about the latrine project, people answered with things like, "I feel very good about this. People will not fall sick," or "I feel very good about this project so far. It keeps us from using the bush," or "It helps us so that we don't fall sick." Work on latrines has included one for a nursery school at Kitariro, which has included contributions from both the Batwa and Bakiga in terms of money, labor and materials.

A Rotary trained mason demonstrating a a local method of reed tying for building structures.

The work on these latrine projects has been conducted by our Batwa masons. These men continue to shine as intelligent and responsible community members and masons, capable of doing excellent work. They are now laying out foundations to square, pouring stepped concrete foundations on sloping hill sites, laying brick stem walls, building sophisticated and light weight ferrocement floors, and framing the walls and roofs of these structures without any sort of outside assistance whatsoever.

Trained Mutwa mason puts the finishing touches on a school latrine in the community of Karangara.

When asked how the vocational training he has received will be useful, one of the masons said "In case my latrine collapses I will build a new one using the knowledge that I learnt from the workshop," and another said, "I am getting some money from it, sometimes people call me and give me a job to build them latrines."

Goat shed in the community of Keberimo.

The goat projects are where some of the most interesting and impressive work is taking place. 10 months into the project our three communities continue to feed and water their goats twice a day, patiently planning and waiting for the time to 'share,' meaning when the herd will have grown large enough for every family to have their own goat to sell or eat. In only one instance have the communities sold one of their goats, and this was done to buy medicine for a sick woman and was completely within the limits of the by-laws that the community had decided upon. This accomplishment is impressive almost beyond words, and demonstrates with crystal clarity the ability of the Batwa to work towards long-term goals in spite of their extreme poverty.

The chairman of the Batwa community of Bikuto prepares a penicillin shot while our animal husbandry trainer, Henry, looks on.

In the meantime, however, the Batwa have been able to enjoy the benefits of the manure and milk of the goats. When asked why he wanted to participate in the goat project, one man said, "Because they are useful in that they can give us manure and milk for our children," and another: "So that after sharing I can get my own goat and when I get any problem I can sell it to solve that problem."

Healthy goats!!

All projects show good signs of sustainability, though there is still room for improvement. In Byumba, where we protected a spring source, the Batwa mobilized themselves to pressure the secretary of the spring committee to replace money that she had taken. They then removed her off the committee due to her poor transparency and accountability and are now voting to replace her with someone else. This shows a sense of ownership; that rather than have Rotary come in and replace the money, or tell the woman to comply with the community, they went and did it on their own. A number of participants in the internal survey stated a need for more education in the areas of animal husbandry and spring maintenance: "Education is required in measuring the drugs when injecting the goats in case they are sick."

-Update end-

Water tank in the community of Byumba serving 30 families, a school, and a clinic.

Thanks again for following our ongoing work in Uganda! Your comments and questions are greatly appreciated.