|
Needs Identified:
The specific identified need that can be addressed by Rotary is a rainwater-based reclamation / purification / storage / distribution system for the Holy Innocents Children's Hospital Uganda (HICHU) compound in Mbarara, Uganda, to ensure a supply of clean water at HICHU during periods where the Ugandan National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) is unable to provide sufficient water to the hospital.
Background:
Hospital Background:
Mbarara District in Uganda is the benefiting community. Mbarara is located in southwestern Uganda. It is 2,900 square miles (approximately the size of Los Angeles County) and contains 2.4 million people. The population is 92% rural and 8% urban. Average per-capita income in Mbarara is $240 per year. Malaria is the number one cause of death in children under five years of age in Uganda, followed by respiratory infection and dysentery. Over 60% of all under-five deaths are due to these three diseases, which are all treatable.
Until July 2009 there was no dedicated children's hospital in all of Uganda. Mbarara community wanted a hospital focused on children, since children's bodies react differently to illnesses and treatment than adult bodies. In 2007 a San Diego-based IRS 501 (c) (3) non-profit called Holy Innocents Children's Hospital Uganda, Inc. (HICHU) began raising money to build a children's hospital in Mbarara. HICHU partnered with the Catholic Archdiocese of Mbarara, which donated the land and already operated two adult hospitals and 18 clinics in Mbarara. HICHU also partnered with University of San Diego (USD), which has sponsored six feasibility/ medical/ teaching missions to Mbarara since 2007 involving USD faculty and graduate students onsite in Mbarara. Dominican University faculty and students have become involved in 2011. Many other organizations are involved, including AmeriCares, San Diego Foundation, and Rotary Club of Fallbrook, which sponsored the acquisition of X-Ray equipment for the hospital in 2009 and a drainage project in 2010-11. The private, not-for-profit hospital is owned and operated by Mbarara Archdiocese.
The hospital (60-bed in-patient facility, outpatient/immunization facility and administrative offices) opened in July 2009. Since then over 45,000 children have been treated at the hospital - over 8,000 in-patients and over 36,000 outpatients. All children are treated, regardless of race, color or creed.
Water Issue Background:
The source of the NWSC-provided water for HICHU is a river located in a valley below the hospital. Because the city of Mbarara is rapidly expanding and there is only one service provider, there is overwhelming demand. This results in frequent water outages, especially during the dry season in June and July, when the river water level is low.
Even outside the dry season, water is often unavailable. Sometimes the lack is because pipes are old, leak and require maintenance, which temporarily interrupts the supply. Other times, when river/reservoir levels are low, the elevation difference between the river below and the hospital above means that water pressure is insufficient to deliver water up to the hospital. Still other times (such as late September 2011, as this application is being written), pumping equipment breaks down, and the entire town of Mbarara is without NWSC-supplied water.
o Explanation of how needs are currently being addressed and how proposed activities will further address needs
Currently, when NWSC-supplied water is unavailable, the hospital purchases bottled water. This is both expensive and time-consuming, especially when large portions of the city are without water and supplies have to be acquired at a distance from the city due to high demand.
A rainwater-based reclamation / purification / storage / distribution system for the hospital compound would enable HICHU to take advantage of the 47" of annual rainfall in Mbarara. HICHU will collect rainwater from hospital compound rooftops, purify it, then pump it to storage tanks to be delivered via existing hospital plumbing during shortages of NWSC-supplied water.
The new system will enable the hospital to eliminate spending time obtaining bottled water, and allow the funds currently being spent on bottled water to be re-purposed toward medicine and hospital supplies.
• Brief Description of Activity or Project
o Summary of proposed activities
To develop this rainwater-based reclamation / purification / storage / distribution system will require the following:
• Excavation and backfilling for piping systems that will run from existing gutter downspouts to the sedimentation tank and collection tank, and from there to the elevated storage tank and connecting to the existing plumbing.
• Construction and deployment of sedimentation, collection and elevated storage tanks.
• Acquisition and installation of a pumping system to deliver water to the elevated storage tank.
• A proposal from Block Technical Services for detailed tasks and costs can be provided upon request.
o List of any cooperating organization(s) or university(ies) involved
• University of San Diego has been involved in six prior medical/teaching/advisory trips to HICHU. USD's Chemistry Department has participated in water quality assessment activities on four occasions and will do so again in January 2012 in conjunction with this project.
o Description of benefiting community's involvement in proposed activities
A local Ugandan construction company will be selected to implement the proposed activities. We expect to employ Block Technical Services Ltd. of Mbarara, which was the general contractor for the hospital construction and for the recent Rotary-sponsored drainage project. There is a second bid from E. Sabiiti in Kabale with comparable pricing, but we plan to work with Block Technical since their pricing is competitive and they have an established track record with the hospital.
o Estimated start and completion dates
This project will begin as soon as the Rotary funding as available. The project will be completed approximately two months after start.
• Area of Focus
o Identification of area(s) of focus
This project will involve four of Rotary Foundation's Areas of Focus, as follows:
• Disease Prevention and Treatment
• Water and Sanitation
• Maternal and Child Health
• Economic and Community Development
o Description of how proposed activity(ies) will address goals of area of focus
The proposed activities will address Rotary Foundation's areas of focus in the following manner:
• Disease Prevention and Treatment: Having a ready supply of clean water during times when NWSC is unable to provide such will allow HICHU to concentrate its efforts and funding on capital equipment projects to extend services for the children, such as building an operating theater.
• Water and Sanitation: The main objective of this project is to provide clean water to the hospital compound at times when Mbarara's NWSC is unable to do so.
• Maternal and Child Health: Having an uninterrupted supply of clean water for children at the hospital and staff who live on the hospital compound increases the likelihood that pregnant mothers on staff will have healthier newborns, while the healthier environment overall at the hospital will help reduce morbidity and mortality rates for children.
• Economic and Community Development:
o The water reclamation project will be completed by workers from the local community, who will benefit economically from the work.
o The hospital has already acquired the reputation as the best medical facility in the area for ailing children. The hospital is a source of pride for the entire community; schools bring their children to tour the hospital to see the progress the community has made in treating child illnesses. This water reclamation project will further enhance the attractiveness of the hospital and give the community a sense of pride, accomplishment and security.
The total cost of this project is $34,250. Rotary Club of Fallbrook is providing $11,417. We are seeking $5,708.50 from District and $17,125.50 in Global Grant funds to fully fund this project.
---------------------------
08-27-2014 Date of these final notes to completely close this project.
TRF audited this project. They deemed that the contract signed by the Mbarara Club was the first contract (the required changes by the Primary Fallbrook Club were denied) and that payment to the contractor should have been paid in Uganda Shillings. Therefore, due to the monetary exchange rate, TRF said that the Fallbrook Rotary overpaid by $2,927.19. TRF required a refund; Fallbrook Rotary Club sent a check to TRF for the full $2,927.19.
The $2,927.19 is money (profit to Rotary via the monetary exchange rate) earned by the Fallbrook Club. Therefore, they would like TRF to consider it money remaining in the Fallbrook Water Reclamation account. As Rotary Policy allows, we would like to ask TRF to allow the money to be used as a future Global Grant contribution by the Fallbrook club.
Hopefully, this is the complete closing of he Water Reclamation Grant GG25883.
"Service above Self"
Herb Baker,
Fallbrook Rotary Club
| 
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)