PAPOLI VILLAGE IS SET TO GET THE FIRST RURAL COMMUNITY OWNED AND CONTROLLED PIPED WATER IN TORORO DISTRICT:
“Water is life”- this has been a local saying that has been in use in many of our local languages in Uganda, so much that it has been adopted as a water corporation slogan. This slogan is so true to Papoli village and many other villages in Uganda and many developing countries worldwide.
Eight years back Papoli village had two water spots/ spring wells that would have very little water during dry seasons or dry out completely and family members of Papoli had to travel not less than 5 miles to collect water, that they had to wait for hours, at times sleeping on the lines. With God’s grace and support from our loving friends from Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church in Tampa Florida, all these water challenges are no more. These loving friends financed our village, with a population of just over 5,000 people, to drill 8 borehole wells which provide clean water all year round and other neighboring villages as well collect water from our village.
Other basic projects followed water drilling, preschool and primary school with boarding dormitories, daycare centre for malnourished children and those infected with HIV, a modern health centre with maternity wing and a number of income generating projects supported the village by our friends from PCPC and Village Partners International- VPI. With this support and others, Papoli has become a village to admire and a number of families in recent past have moved to Papoli village souring the cost of land/property!
Water at the pediatric and health facility is a very critical “commodity” that is a must, this has been central at all planning and resource allocation engagements. VPI has been at the forefront to source for funds to install running water at the Robert Cooley Pediatric clinic in Papoli and latter extension to the Jay and Janice health centre and maternity; this is becoming a reality. Funds have been realized to install electric driven water pumping system that will fill 10,000 liters tank and water will run to the daycare centre, kitchen and other water points. For this we in Papoli, say, “Thank you’’ to the people who have contributed to making this a reality; our Loving and Gracious God thank you for often times favoring us the people of Papoli. We have no words to thank you with.
Emma Ofumbi. Village leader.
