Under the Solar Water Disinfection technique, residents pour water in plastic bottles, and leave it under the sun for several hours before they can consume it. Godfrey Baweesi, a resident of Kyamukaka village in Makondo parish in Ndaggwe Sub County is one of those who have embraced Solar Water Disinfection.
According to Baweesi, the students carried out several sensitisation meetings and distributed plastic bottles to residents. Baweesi says he didn't believe that pouring water in plastic bottles and placing it under the sun for several hours would make it safe for drinking.
He however, says all the same he started applying the knowledge he had learnt from the training. Bawesi says none of his family members complained of any complications after taking water, an indication that the water was safe for consumption.
Bawesi says since he embraced the program, he has never looked back. He says unlike the tiresome process of boiling water, which requires a lot of firewood, solar water disinfection is easy. He explains house the process works.
Nalongo Norah Nassiwa, another resident of Makondo, says with firewood scarcity solar water disinfection has made life easy for her. According to Nassiwa, her children used to drink unboiled water that would cause them complications.
She however, says none of them has suffered any water borne disease since they adopted the Solar Water Disinfection technique. Nassiwa wants the authorities to provide them bigger containers that can store more water. She says the plastic bottles they use currently cannot store enough water for large families like hers with six children.
How Safe is this water?
Dr. Jacinta Asiimwe of Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, one of those who introduced the innovation in Lwengo, says their study found out that heat from the sun kills all the germs in water. She says before they rolled out the innovation, they carried out a series of trials and studies from internationally recognized science laboratories.
Professor Kevin McGuigan also from Royal College of Surgeons says they even trained primary school children in Lwengo district to work as change agents in their families. He says over the years, they have realized that this innovation has addressed water related diseases.
Prof. McGuigan notes that before the Solar Water Disinfection technique was introduced in Makondo, residents used to suffer from water borne diseases, which is not the case now. He explains that they chose Makondo because this area hosts MMM Covert Clinic in the area, whose nursing students go to Ireland for studies.
He says Makondo was used as base for the 8 PhD projects in Uganda. The Solar Water Disinfection technique is not unique to Uganda. Residents of Kibira in Nairobi, the biggest slum in Kenya, have been using the technique for long to purify their water.