Preventing Gender-based Violence in South Sudan

Accessing safe water is a huge challenge in Uganda. The needs are particularly acute in the north of the country, where years of violent insurgency have taken their toll on vital infrastructure. In Gulu district, two decades of war have had a severe impact on an estimated population of 400,000 people. IsraAID’s team found that, as people moved back to their ancestral villages from internally-displaced persons camps, both a lack of working water sources, such as boreholes, and a lack of expertise in maintaining the water systems that did exist were crucial problems.

Compounding the issue, Uganda has one of the world’s youngest populations, with more than 78% under the age of 30, while, in 2017, youth unemployment was particularly high - estimated at 34%.

IsraAID’s response

In order to meet these challenges head-on, IsraAID has collaborated with Gulu University to create the WaMTech program. We provide education about water technology, sanitation and hygiene and community mobilization to unemployed young people from rural villages affected by conflict in northern Uganda, most of whom have had relatively low levels of academic education.

WaMTech provides students with practical skills, professional knowledge and experience in the field, increasing their employability and ensuring they can serve the water, sanitation and hygiene needs of their communities.

So far, the program has trained 168 young people, providing access to safe drinking water and basic hygiene education to more than 18,000 residents of Gulu and neighboring districts in northern Uganda.

A participant speaks

“Growing up in poverty at the height of the insurgency, I wasn’t able to have a proper education. Because of that, there weren’t many jobs I was qualified to do. I could work at a farm or run a motorcycle taxi, or – depending on the season – mold bricks for sale. But then a friend told me about the IsraAID WamTech program.

When I joined the IsraAID training, I gained a profession: water engineer. Now, I can repair and help drill boreholes. I feel proud of myself, and I can help ensure people have access to safe water. The qualification has transformed mine and my family’s life, and, together with my fellow graduates, I am helping to transform my community.”

Opiyo, 25 years old from Koch Goma Subcounty, Nwoya district.

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