clean water – Planet Changer

Let’s Build A School

Lena Baunsgard, Director of Planet Changer

Nakalado needs a new school.

In this classroom 50 children sit on the dirt floor of an old pig pen to attend classes. There are hundreds of children in this community who attend this school. We at Planet Changer have been a presence in this community for over 10 years, as they were selected as one of the first to receive one of our cistern wells (pictured below still running clean, image taken Feb 22, 2024). We have brought several groups of visitors and they have been extremely hospitable. When the head teacher presented to us their students and their joyful welcome, he also shared their plea, they are long overdue a new school building and latrines for students. This message was echoed by many.

When we entered the newest of their classrooms (presented in image above where I am speaking), I knew it had not changed in the past 4 years since my last visit. I also could see on the teachers faces a fear that my words would be empty. We even visited their dying elder of the community, a man I remembered as having been in better health 4 years ago, and he made the same request, “Build us a school and latrines!”

My friends, the time is now. There is no reason why this community where there are hundreds of healthy children trying to learn, a place where they have had clean water for over a decade, there is no reason why they shouldn’t have a nice school. It doesn’t have to be outrageous or fantastical. It needs to be clean and functional. They need to not sit on dirt floors. They only ask for meager wooden desks, simply and locally made. They deserve chalkboards that are not broken. They deserve lesson books for students (which literally cost $5 a piece). They are asking to demolish the old pig pen their kids are learning in and put up a solid and “modern” structure that can provide protection from rain and empower learning.

Wouldn’t you want this for your children?

Let’s come together and inspire hope for this beautiful community. The teachers work hard. The students desire learning. The families want hope for a better tomorrow. We will soon have the figures available to plan funding, but we are tentatively asking to raise $40k. Together we can get this project started and we can show this community that they are not forgotten.

Spring Protection | Uganda

Planet Changer has been asked by local residents in Eastern Uganda to protect springs, beginning with the Tororo District. This will bring clean water to communities for the first time. Over 40 springs are currently identified.

Only local labor is used during the protection of the spring, and each community is required to be involved with labor and providing locally available materials (sand, stones, etc). Surveys show that community involvement drastically improves the long term success of the project.

The cost to protect each spring ranges from $650-$950 depending on the size of the spring (some springs are large and serve the needs of over 800 people). Each spring protection project offers a sustainable solution for clean water and includes hygiene and sanitation workshops for the community, water testing at the completion of each project, and regular inspections to ensure the integrity of the protected spring.

“Protecting water springs for families in Eastern Uganda, will enable them to begin accessing clean water and thus help them in overcoming various water borne diseases such as malaria, bilharzia, dysentery, among others, which they are currently suffering and which has on several occasions led to death of many people majority being children, as a result of them using dirty water drawn from unprotected community springs which is unfit for human consumption.

Protecting water springs for families in Eastern Uganda, will enable the families to begin accessing clean water within the vicinity of communities where they stay, this is not the case today, as many hundreds of communities lack clean water and therefore have to walk for a distance of over 7 miles if they are to get some how clean water in towns.

Thousands of Pregnant mothers and children in Eastern Uganda, are always sick due to water borne diseases they get from consuming dirty water drawn from unprotected water springs, they are too poor to afford drugs in health centers and their lives are at risk, protecting community water springs for them, will greatly enable them to overcome these diseases and improve their lives.” -Moses Hategeka, Ugandan Farmer and Project Coordinator

Planet Changer invites you to invest in our clean water projects in Uganda. People/families/groups donating $500 or more will receive recognition as special thanks on the completed project. Donors of $100 or more will receive pictures of the completed project, and a copy of the letter of thanks from the receiving community.

100% of all public donations will go to the project or fund that the donor designates (minus transaction cost, if applicable). Donate to protect springs in Uganda now.

Planet Project Funded | Community Tube Well, Nepal

A community tube well, often serves 6 to 10 families. Typically, this is the first time in their lives that these families have access to a deep well that provides clean water. The impact on their lives is dramatic. The clean water improves the health of the individuals in the community. Children who were collecting water all day long for their families can now go to school. Women are able to better care for their children and even contribute to the family’s income, rather than spend innumerable weekly hours carrying water. Local technicians have been trained in sound well-drilling practices. This ensures wells are constructed properly, are sealed (preventing contamination) and provide clean water from a deep source. In addition, selected community members receive system maintenance and repair training to ensure sustainability of the project.

This fully funded project brought clean water to a remove village in Nepal. It included material cost, local labor for installation, and associated education programs to the village (sanitation, system maintenance and repair, etc.).

Spring Protection | Kenya

Planet Changer has entered into a strategic partnership with an incredible organization saving lives in Kenya by protecting natural springs to offer a clean water source for the nearby community. Springs are currently being protected in the Emuhaya and Kwisero Districts in the Western Province. A positive relationship has been established with the District Commissioners and District Officers. Over 350 unprotected springs have been identified; Planet Changer is helping our partner reach their commitment of protecting each spring within the next three years.

Each spring provides water for communities ranging from about 160 to 250 people. Many of the springs are located near schools, which means over 500 children could collect clean water from a protected spring.

Only local labor is used during the protection of the spring, and each community is required to be involved with providing locally available materials (sand, stones, etc).

Each protected spring offers significant health improvements in the community (decrease in typhoid, water-borne disease, and malaria as mosquitos breeding grounds are eliminated), less firewood consumption and deforestation as there is no need to boil the water, and drownings of children collecting water are prevented.

The cost to protect each spring is $500. Each spring protection project offers a sustainable solution for clean water and includes hygiene and sanitation workshops for the community, water testing at the completion of each project, and annual inspections to ensure the integrity of the protected spring.

100% of all public donations will go to the project or fund that the donor designates (minus transaction cost, if applicable). Donate to protect springs in Kenya now.