Enabling Communities

Aidlink enables communities in Africa to take charge of their own development by improving access to basic needs and building their capacity to become active participants in their own lives.

We work with communities on the frontlines of climate change in the arid and semi-arid lands of Kajiado and Turkana in Kenya and Karamoja in Uganda who are facing prolonged and recurring droughts, with intermittent severe flooding. Working shoulder to shoulder with local partners, we strengthen local communities by supporting them with access to basic resources such as education, water, and livelihoods and train them to effectively manage resources, to demand better public services from local authorities and to deal with the effects of climate change.

Education and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) are the heart of our work with communities. Globally 1 in 3 people lack safe drinking water and over half of the world’s population lack safe sanitation, many of whom are found in the arid and semi-arid lands of Africa. A lack of clean, safe water and sanitation particularly effects the lives and rights of women and girls, acting as a barrier to their education and hazard to their health.

In the last three years, Aidlink supported 18 communities across Kenya and Uganda by drilling boreholes and provided safe, clean water to approximately 13,500 people. The benefits of access to water and sanitation ripple through societies as it improves school attendance, health and agriculture, particularly for women and girls.

BOREHOLES DRILLED IN THE LAST 3 YEARS

Community participation and ownership of projects is the foundation of sustainable change. Building the capacity of communities’ skills, knowledge and support empowers then them to improve their lives, as well as their families, resulting in sustainable change that will live on in communities long after Aidlink has moved onto new communities.

Read more on how we support and enable communities through WASH, Education and Livelihoods projects!

The Ripple Effect of Water

The people of Lomokori village in Uganda have always used water from swamps and ponds for drinking, cooking and cleaning. Personal hygiene was poor, and without access to clean, safe water, frequent outbreaks of diseases were common.

In 2018, a borehole was successfully drilled by Aidlink and our local partners Voluntary Action for Development next to the primary school. This benefitted the whole community as people are now less sick, giving them more time to grow food and tend to their animals, and school attendance has improved, particularly among girls. The local chief, Michael Lokyola has really noticed the difference:

“For years Lomokori suffered from poor hygiene and sanitation, with people drinking dirty water and living in dirty houses. Now though, families understand the importance of good hygiene and have started to change their behaviour. As a leader, I’m going to make sure that the community stays on this path. We will keep the new borehole functioning, and continue to practice good hygiene and sanitation behaviour. We’ve made some good changes so far but there is a lot left to do!”