As Told by Jake Seegrist, Senior Product Specialist Next Meters
When I boarded the plane to Uganda, I thought I understood the importance of clean water. I had heard the statistics: millions of people without reliable access, countless hours spent fetching water, and waterborne diseases. But numbers and facts only tell part of the story.
It wasn’t until I stood in a village, watching a community celebrate their new borehole, that I began to understand the impact.
The End of Their Water Crisis
The first borehole opening ceremony I attended was unlike anything I had ever experienced. The entire village gathered; men, women, children, and elders dressed in their very best. Some wore bright, colorful fabrics; others wore tattered clothes, but you knew it was their best.
There was an overwhelming sense of joy and gratitude. A few children prepared speeches, elders offered prayers, and both reverence and anticipation filled the air. This was not just a well, it was a lifetime event for everyone in attendance.
For years, these families relied on water miles away that was often contaminated and unsafe. It wasn’t uncommon, a mother explained to me, for children to fetch water unsupervised. Only two weeks before we arrived, a young child had drowned in one of the water sources while trying to collect water for their family. Having a toddler of my own, I could not imagine the pain the child’s family must be feeling.
Their daily struggle for water was not just exhausting but also dangerous, costing some families far more than just time and effort. It made the arrival of clean, safe water all the more powerful. The moment when water poured out for the first time was spiritual and moving. The long walks for dirty water in the hot sun were over.
Hope for the Vulnerable
Music played as the celebration continued, and many villagers danced and prayed. I noticed this young boy with Down syndrome, dancing to the beat, his face lit up with excitement. Seeing him so free, so included in this community celebration, was deeply moving.
It made me realize what this mission really means for those who are most vulnerable in an environment where life is fragile. For the elderly, the children, and those with disabilities, it means they can thrive.
Without clean water, survival is a daily struggle. But with it, life is sustained and lengthened. I thought a lot about how life-changing it is for a child to access clean water on their own. It’s quite literally “liquid life,” sustaining both the present and future generations.
Light-Handed and Life-Changing
One thing I deeply respect about Family Humanitarian [the charity the Water Impact Network has partnered with] is their commitment to sustainability. They don’t just install wells and walk away. Each borehole is a collaborative effort with the community, ensuring they are trained and equipped to maintain it for generations.
Before a village receives a borehole, they engage and complete an application, qualification, and training process. This ensures they take ownership of the well, not just relying on outside help, but actively maintaining and protecting it as a vital part of their future. This aligns with our responsibility to tread carefully, ensuring our help empowers rather than disrupts.
Preserving a Way of Life
This charity provides an opportunity for us to help preserve a way of life that has existed for millennia. It doesn’t change their way of life, it sustains it.
As industry expands, villages are at risk of being bought for resources. The people are then forced to move into cities where they may lack the skills to thrive, leading to slums and homelessness. Many long to return to their villages, but economic pressures and a lack of resources make it difficult to do so.
Clean water and education helps them stand more firmly in the places they call home.
What I Brought Home
Leaving Uganda, I felt like the real gift was mine. I was able to step into a different dimension of human life on Earth. These people are happy and thriving in ways we often miss in the Western world. They are glowing, happy, and full of life, despite lacking what we might consider essential.
I don’t want to impose Western ideals in a way that erases their beauty, but I know that access to clean water is undeniably good: it prolongs life, improves health, and allows children to go to school.
I will always be grateful for the time I spent with the wonderful people of Uganda and for their inspiring example of celebrating every blessing in life, big or small.
