Help Launch a New Program in Uganda, Bring Water to Girls Like Grace

This past year, eight-year-old Grace Tumisiime was plagued with stomach aches and fevers. Although her parents did their best to treat her with natural remedies at home, she was eventually rushed to a local clinic, where they met their worst fear. Grace had contracted typhoid fever, an illness which, in extreme cases, has been known to cause death.

Typhoid comes from contaminated food and water.

Grace is like many other eight-year-olds. She has a best friend, a family that loves her, and she has a favorite subject in school. But unlike children in countries like the United States, Grace and her six-year-old sister make two three-hour trips a day to collect water from a swamp, the closest water source to her family. This is water that they use for cooking, bathing, washing clothes and dishes, and, of course, for drinking.

After Grace beat typhoid, she was unable to return to school; her parents could no longer afford the $2.40 for exam fees at Mukora Primary. Grace was devastated, and we are devastated with her.

The sad truth is that Grace’s account is not uncommon in the rural region of Uganda where she lives. But the good news is we can do something about it.

Give girls like Grace clean water >

Why Kakumiro, Uganda Needs Your Help

Grace lives in Kakumiro, Uganda, a region that maintains a striking 96.6 percent rural population and struggles to drill wells because of limited government funding. In a recent assessment, the Lifewater team learned that 86 percent of people in Kakumiro are without adequate access to clean water.

For girls like Grace, the reality of these statistics means a long walk to gather unsafe water. Each day, Grace and her sister, Evelyn, carry nearly 90 pounds of water from the swamp.

These stories do not have to exist. As Christians, we are called to come alongside families like the Tumisiime’s and meet their greatest need.

Lifewater is beginning a new program in Kakumiro, and we’re inviting you to join us so that children like Grace can become strangers to the painful symptoms of water-borne diseases.

The new program will serve 68 villages and five schools. When you give safe water, you give valuable time and resources back to children and families. You give children like Grace the ability to go back to school and the opportunity for a better future.

Learn how you can bring safe water, improved health, and the hope of the gospel to the people of Kakumiro, Uganda today.