Protecting Health and Dignity: The Urgent Need for Better Sanitation in Uganda for the Children of Kyasira Home of Hope

Water and sanitation are essential for life and health, but they are also essential for dignity, empowerment and prosperity, notes the United Nations Children’s Fund (better known as UNICEF), which adds: “Water and sanitation are human rights, fundamental to every child and adult.

“But in Uganda, poor sanitation and hygiene, as well as unequal access to safe drinking water, make thousands of children very sick and at risk of death.”

In 2019, UNICEF reported, “Diarrhea alone, one of three major childhood killers in Uganda, kills 33 children every day.”

In most cases, children get the disease by drinking unsafe water or coming into contact with contaminated hands — theirs or parents or caregivers — that have not been washed with soap. 

Early childhood diarrhea is not only deadly; it also contributes to Uganda’s high levels of stunting, which in turn affects children’s cognitive development and performance at school. In school, lack of proper sanitation facilities also leads to high absenteeism and dropouts, especially for girls, according to UNICEF.

Today, sadly, not much has changed in the passing years for millions of Ugandans – especially for a large percentage of children and youth under age 18, roughly half of the impoverished country’s total population of approximately 46 million people.

World Toilet Day, a day of awareness and action, shines on November 19!

At Bread and Water for Africa® we recognize the United Nations’ World Toilet Day, held every year on November 19 “is about inspiring action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and reach the 3.4 billion people still living without safely managed sanitation,” states UN Water — the UN’s coordination mechanism on water and sanitation.

Established by the World Toilet Organization in 2001, World Toilet Day was made an official United Nations Observance in 2013.  

Every year, UN-Water sets the theme for World Toilet Day, and in 2026, the theme is “Sanitation and gender equality”, with a campaign focusing on how access to safe and secure toilets, alongside soap, water and menstrual hygiene facilities, can protect and empower women and girls.

The global campaign – “Safe toilets. Equal futures.” – focuses on how access to safe sanitation protects women and girls’ health, safety, dignity and opportunity – enabling them to go to school, work and fully take part in society.

The campaign highlights the need for more investment in gender-responsive sanitation to make toilets a force for equality that benefits everyone, everywhere, without discrimination.

Bread and Water for Africa WASH (Water, Sanitation AND Hygiene) Program

This past year, Bread and Water for Africa® completed a total of 62 WASH projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Uganda, benefiting more than 75,000 individuals through the construction of new wells, the repair of nonfunctioning wells and the protection of spring water sites.

In addition, Bread and Water for Africa® completed three school latrine toilet projects in Malawi at the Mambala, Ndalopa and Rabu primary schools in the country’s Chikwawa District, greatly enhancing sanitation for more than 3,100 students and school staff members.

Working with our in-country partner, the Faithful Heart Foundation, we were told by chairperson Alex Steven Bango that nearly 1,200 students at Rabu primary had no choice but to use toilet facilities that were damaged and in poor condition, which led some students, particularly girls, to miss lessons which led to poor performance in the end-of-term examinations.

Thanks to the supporters of Bread and Water for Africa® we were able to complete the construction of two four-room pit-latrine toilets to ensure the health and safety of both the female and male students attending the school, which led Alex to report that new facilities resulted in a reduction of absenteeism almost immediately, an increase in the school’s enrollment and improved student performance due to their regular daily attendance.

This year, we are actively engaged in planning the construction of new emergency toilet facilities for the Kyasira Home of Hope orphanage, located in Kisubi, Entebbe, Uganda. This facility is situated not far from the beautiful shores of Lake Victoria and currently provides shelter and support for a vibrant community of 38 girls and 29 boys, along with 13 dedicated staff members who work tirelessly to ensure a safe and nurturing environment for the children. The addition of these toilet facilities is a critical step in improving sanitation and overall living conditions at the orphanage, helping to promote health and well-being among the children and staff alike.

Local Superior and program manager Rev. Sr. Mary Peter Namasinga reported to us that the home’s toilets were damaged by floods from the lake, which she described, of course, as “a serious concern.

“This has resulted in the practice of open urination outside due to the fear that the huge cracks in our toilets would collapse at any time,” she recently told Bread and Water for Africa® executive director Beth Tessema.

Sr. Namasinga also expressed concern about the lack of utilizing proper toilets could cause the transfer of bacteria and viruses resulting in the contamination of water resources, soil and even food.

She explained that since they have no choice but to use the old toilets, “we walk in water to go use the toilets, and the sewage in the toilet is mixed with the flooding water, which is not healthy at all.

“During the rainy season it’s worse so our toilets are really challenged, and we have no other options other than constructing new toilets so that we can have good hygiene in our orphanage charity.”

Additionally, she noted that the cracks in the current facilities walls “get bigger every day; we are just living by God’s mercy.

“Pray for us, please, so that God helps us to construct a new toilet because I am afraid of our children getting infections from the toilets, and also afraid of the toilet collapsing while it is in use.

“I really don’t know what else to say; we are in a state of emergency of toilets.”

As World Toilet Day approaches, the needs of the children at Kyasira Home of Hope remind us why safe sanitation matters so much.

Clean, secure toilets protect health, preserve dignity and keep children – especially girls – in school.

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, Bread and Water for Africa® has already brought safer water and sanitation to tens of thousands of people, and we are committed to continuing this work in Uganda and across the communities we serve.

Together, we can help make “Safe toilets. Equal futures,” a reality for the children who need them most.