The immediate goal of the Ngenge Water Project is to raise $75,000 to implement a sustainable solution that will solve Ngenge’s water crisis now and for many years to come.
About Engineering Ministries International, EA
Christchurch has requested the help of a team from Engineering Ministries International, East Africa (EMI EA) who conceded to visit the area and develop a plan for an integrated program that would meet the needs of the Ngenge sub-county. In May of 2008, after much surveying and close cooperation with the Ngenge community, the team from EMI drafted a complete report on the needs of the sub-county to be presented to the leaders of the Sebei Diocese and us at Christchurch. Engineering Ministries International will be working closely with the Sebei Dioceses and the Sub-community to ensure the fluency of the impending program.
God has raised up an engineering missionary to go to Ngenge for a year to implement a solution, designed last year by EMI, to bring immediate water relief to Ngenge, with sustainability once he finishes. Paul Berg and his family will be in Ngenge in August 2009 and will be based out of the EMI East Africa office in Kampala, Uganda. Paul is now raising his own support separate from this project.
About Christchurch and the Sebei Diocese
Christchurch is a parish in Montgomery, AL, USA and is a member of the World Wide Anglican Communion under the jurisdiction of some of its foremost international leaders, the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Uganda, the Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi, as well as the Bishop of the Sebei Diocese, Church of Uganda, the Rt. Rev. Augustine Salimo. With our Diocesan head in Uganda, and through our partnership with the Sebei Diocese, we wish to act as the hands and feet of Christ in reaching out to our brothers and sisters in the Ngenge sub-county.
About Ngenge
Ngenge is a struggling sub-county in the country of Uganda, in the plains area to the north of Mount Elgon. Ngenge is located within the Kapchorwa District, on the eastern border of Uganda, under the jurisdiction of the Sebei Diocese. Uganda’s geopolitical structure consists of Districts which are subdivided into Counties, then Sub-counties which are further divided into Parishes and then into Villages. Within the Ngenge sub-county, the Kapwot and Sundet Parishes suffer from the most extreme poverty; so the “Water for Uganda” project scope is limited to these areas.
Cattle Raids
The people of the Ngenge sub-county are traditionally cattle farmers. Cattle raising has been the greatest source of income for Ngenge for generations. Sadly, its people have been subjected 60 years of cattle-raiding from Kenya, and by neighboring tribes from the North and the East. The raiders have for these 40 years robbed the people of Ngenge of their livelihood, and in many cases, their lives — they have threatened or killed the residents and stolen their cattle. These raids have been a major factor in fostering the number of serous challenges the community now faces. There has not been a major attack since March of 2006 and the people are returning from the foothills of Mount Elgon to resettle their land in the plains.
Current Conditions
Many residents, for fear of further raiding, are turning away from their roots as cattle farmers and looking towards planting rice as it will produce the highest return for their investment. The current water conditions of the sub-county cannot sustain such ambitions, which are necessary if the people of that area are to survive. Potable water is the first and most important step for the people of Ngenge. The team from eMi observed that over 18 boreholes have been drilled over the years in the Ngenge sub-county; only 8 of these where confirmed to still be functioning. The reported population of the sub-county is 4,000 residents which can as much as double seasonally. This number of borehole wells in insufficient to support even the minimum of population of 4,000.
Seasonal Issues
The region is bounded by two rivers and during the wet season month, excessive rainfall causes the rivers to flood into the low plains surrounding them; however, during the dry seasons, the entire plains region suffers from drought. Depending on the year, some of the rivers may dry up completely. In the rainy season, the influx of field laborers is said to as much as double the population. The majority of settlers now live in semipermanent mud walled and thatched roofed structures.
Economy
The Cattle raiding, begining in the 1940’s, forced most of Ngenge’s inhabitants into the foothills of Mt. Elgon and up into the town of Kapchorwa. Residents return to their sub-county home will put extra stress on an already limited water supply. The only means of income in the sub-county, apart from agriculture and cattle keeping, has been the unsustainable production of charcoal by harvesting trees; and according to residents, the number of trees in the area has already been significantly reduced. Suprisingly, the community’s production of charcoal plays a factor in its poor level of sanitation and increases the need for clean potable water. The biggest challenge facing the community at this time is the lack of clean water. Current practice is to draw water from the rivers or the few existing boreholes.