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The mission was to assess the health, production, social, and economic
affairs of Kibaire village, with emphasis on the situation of water, hygiene and
sanitation.
People who carried out this survey
Dr.Ssenoga Dickson -Director RHCF
Mr.Walusimbi Willy -Resource director RHCF
Mr.Wamala Moses -Water technician RHCF
Ms.Joanita Isingoma -Representative of Kibaire village
Brief description of Hoima district
Hoima is one the districts of south western Uganda. Its population is 343,618
according to 2002 census of which 172,046 are male and 171,572 are female. The
natives of Hoima district are the Banyoro tribe and their language is Lunyoro.
Women and girls are major players, contributing 75% of subsistence farming,
mostly agriculture.
Objectives of the survey
-To collect first hand information about water, hygiene and sanitation situation
in Kibaire village.
-To identify the real needs of the Kibaire community.
FINDINGS
Water
All of the valleys in Kibaire village and the neighborhood have springs of water, but they are unprotected. Some use ponds, others use running springs in which they bathe, wash and share with their animals.
Right: One of the water sources found in Kibaire village
It is a stream with springs of water flowing from a rock.
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The majority of the people in the whole sub-county take unsafe water
which is the major cause of water related illnesses. The most vulnerable
groups, children and PLWA (PeopleLiving With AIDS) are dying. From
left- Dickson, Joanita and Willy inspecting a pond which is one of the
water sources used by villagers of Kibaire (see photo at right) |
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Distances from which water is collected.
People near water sources are at an advantage, but others walk long distances
which can be 2km and more.
SANITATION
The sanitation in the district generally is low and varies from home to home. There is a problem of waste water and garbage disposal resulting from numerous economic activities that take place in these areas. Similar to other places in the country, the latrine coverage is still poor and those who have latrines don’t know proper construction.

One of the latrines found during the survey
HYGIENE SITUATION IN THE AREA
The hygiene in the area is generally poor in almost all families in the
community of Kibaire. Hygiene is not given much attention for several reasons.
There are many common bad practices in the community that are observed, for
example lack of drying racks. Many families have dirty containers for water
collection, dirty compounds with domestic animals loitering around, un-boiled
drinking water in several homes, lack of kitchens and bathrooms in several
families in the whole community.
One of the homes at Kibaire town centre.
EDUCATION
As in other rural
areas of the country, schools lack classroom blocks and facilities. Students are
without scholastic materials because of poverty.
The schoolhouse in Kibaire
ECONOMY
All of the people in Kibaire are subsistence farmers. Their land has loam
soils which are relatively fertile.
The hunger problem is very low but the community needs sensitization on
sustainable agricultural methods.
Hoima is a rural District where 80% depend on traditional agriculture. They grow
cassava, millet, maize, beans etc.
One of the farmers “Grace” in her
garden. We found her on our way to a water source.
GENERAL HEALTH
Kibaire
village has a government health centre (centre II ) with 2 nurses, well built
and equipped, but they lack a nearby doctor and maternity services. HIV/AIDS is
the major health problem in this community and lack near by referral network
because many people die of opportunistic infections which commonly are water
related illnesses. Better treatment can be accessed in Hoima hospital which is
30Km from Kibaire.
Kibaire health centre
CULTURAL BELIEFS
The community of Kibaire has a positive attitude toward cultural beliefs. For example the streams on the first photograph, women and men have different sites they bathe from, and each side has a respective ghost. It is good that the community has no negative attitude toward development programmes.
NEEDS OF KIBAIRE COMMUNITY