STARS Foundation

Bwindi Community Hospital: Improving Access to Clean Water

7 year old Kyokusiima comes from a family living on less than a dollar a day. She lives in one of the Batwa pygmies’ settlement of Mukogoro Village and attends Mukongoro primary school. Kyokusiima used to suffer from constant diarrhoea, and would have to walk the one and a half hours to Bwindi Community hospital (BCH) at least once a month where she would be admitted to the paediatrics unit as a result of these illnesses. The constant diarrhoea and the admissions to hospital interfered with Kyokusiima’s education and her studies.

On visiting the area, the community Health and Batwa team from BCH discovered that the villagers were drinking unsafe water scooped from the nearest pond, which would frequently result in diarrhoea and intestinal diseases, and occasionally the death of small babies. Now, with improved access to safe and clean water thanks to the BCH, Kyokusiima is living a healthy life and she is at school studying hard in the hope to fulfilling her dream of becoming a doctor and serving her own community. The hospital continues to play an integral part in issues relating to good hygiene and proper sanitation in the region, as well as transforming for the better the lives of many children like Kyokusiima.