By Ben Musanje
After years of depending on a single failing borehole, residents of Kapir Sub County in Ngora district are celebrating the arrival of a new solar-powered water system that has brought clean, reliable water to schools, homes and health facilities. For a community long trapped in a cycle of scarcity, the development marks the beginning of a new chapter.
For many families, the struggle for water controlled their entire day. Before dawn, children walked long distances to distant water sources, returning home exhausted and late for school.
The only borehole in the area was overwhelmed, often surrounded by long queues of pupils, teachers, health workers, parents and livestock.
“We had only one borehole serving 508 pupils, 10 teachers, the health centre and the whole community,” said Gerald Aikomo, the Head Teacher of Kapir Primary School. “People used to cry at the borehole.”
Aikomo explained that the water table had become so low that the borehole sometimes produced fewer than ten jerrycans a day. Lessons started late, classrooms remained dusty, and school hygiene suffered heavily. Attempts to collect small community contributions for borehole repairs often failed, leaving the school to struggle on its own.
The situation changed sharply in August 2025 with the completion of the installation of the new water supply system, Kapir Solar-powered water supply project.
Since water became available on the school compound, attendance has improved, late-coming has reduced, and teachers now begin lessons on time. “Hygiene has also improved,” Aikomo said. “The learners and teachers now get water without stress.”
Helen Amoding, a mother of five and a resident of Atapar village, Atapar Parish, Kapir Sub County in Ngora district, described the hardship her children faced before the project.
“Children woke early to look for water far away,” she said. “Sometimes they came back at nine. When they reached school late, they cried because they were tired.”
With water scarce, many families could not wash clothes regularly. In fact, Amoding revealed that school uniforms were washed only once a week, on Sunday and worn throughout the week without another wash. Cleanliness became nearly impossible, and even drinking water for visitors was hard to offer with confidence.
“When I saw the vehicles bringing the new project, I ran from the garden,” she recalled. “We thank His Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and the government. Now it is easier to drink, wash and live better.”
According to officials, maintaining the new system will require community involvement. Samuel Oyo, Deputy Manager of the Eastern Umbrella of Water and Sanitation, explained that his team is responsible for operating and maintaining similar systems in 34 districts.
“If we do not operate and maintain these structures, within one year you may not find anything,” Oyo warned.
He added that although the water will be affordable, it cannot be entirely free, as user fees help pay operators, guards and future extensions of the pipeline network.
“Once the community supports the system, everyone will benefit,” he said.
Yusuf Mutebi, Project Manager at Nexus Green Limited in the Eastern Region explained that the Solar-Powered water supply delivers eight cubic meters of water per hour and is powered by 36 solar panels.
The system pumps water into two reservoirs with a combined capacity of 80 cubic meters before distributing it through 10 kilometres of pipeline. Eleven public standpipes have already been set up, and the system can serve more than 4,500 people. “The project cost 314,563 Euros,” Mutebi said.
The funding came through UK Export Finance in partnership with the Government of Uganda, while the community supported the project by providing land and labour during installation. The Ministry of Water and Environment (MoWE) is the project implementer through contractors, Nexus Green Limited.
Across Kapir, the transformation is clear. Children arrive at school earlier and cleaner. Teachers no longer lose time waiting for water. Homes are tidier, and parents report less stress in managing daily chores. The borehole that once symbolized struggle and frustration now stands quietly in the background as a reminder of the past.
For Kapir Sub-County, the arrival of the new water system is more than a technical improvement it is a return of dignity. After years of waking up to fear, the community now wakes up to something far different: the sound of flowing water and the promise of a better life.
Residents say the difference can be felt everywhere. And for the first time in a long time, the story of Kapir is no longer about scarcity—but about hope. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
