18 January 2025 · Uganda · by Maria Rossi
How a water kiosk became a community business
The Karamoja well, six months in: a self-managing committee, a maintenance fund, and the first replication in the next village.
Six months after the inauguration, the well in Karamoja serves on average 280 families per week. The committee — five women elected by the villages — collects the symbolic fee, keeps simple books, and has already paid for two minor repairs out of the maintenance fund. Most importantly, the committee has begun training a sister committee in the neighbouring village, where we are about to drill a second borehole. The model is self-replicating.