Bufumi Village’s story  

In mid-2021, the village of Bufumi was declared ‘open defecation free’ by District officials. It’s what our health worker had been working hard to achieve since we began working with Bufumi’s 1,200 residents (300 adults and 900 children) in March.

For a village to be declared ‘open defecation free’ it means that at least 90% of households have access to a (good) latrine – which can be used at any time during the day and night. In addition, there must be handwashing facilities, rubbish pits, drying racks for utensils and there should be no trace of faeces either on pathways or in the bushes. There also must be no, or very few, outbreaks of disease, or deaths, because of poor sanitation.

When a little bit of HOPE starting working with the village only 34% of households had latrines – and many of them were in a poor condition. This has now risen to 97%!

Our approach is to work with the community, providing education, technical assistance, and where necessary equipment (e.g. tools). The community set the goal of becoming ‘open defecation free’ together, and therefore they work together, helping one another, and providing peer accountability, to improve the conditions of the village.

Bufumi is one of only 32 out of 443 villages in the Butaleja District to have been declared ‘Open Defecation Free’. As well as working with other villages, we will continue to work with the proud residents of Bufumi, as they become a model village in their area.