Friday, May 15, 2015

VIVA CON AGUA CONCERT RAISES FUNDS FOR CLEAN WATER IN NORTHERN UGANDA



THE Viva con Agua (VcA) concert would not have come at a better time than when some parts of Kampala District are battling the deadly typhoid disease caused by a poor water and sanitation system in the capital city.

The concert dubbed ‘We love YoUganda!’ was organized by VcA supported by Welthungerhilfe, Goethe-Zentrum Kampala/Ugandan German Cultural Society (GZK/UGCS) and Afrika Arts Kollektive in collaboration with various musicians and artists to realize the great vision “all for water - water for all!”

Revelers parted with Ushs3.000 ($1.03). The proceeds will go towards providing clean water for people in Northern Uganda.

Held at the National Theatre in Kampala on February 28, the concert attracted Bebe Cool, Abramz and Sylvester, Lady Slyke, Tim Ukena (Germany), Onejiru (Kenya) and Razor Blade, Tucker HD.

Accompanied by his Gagamel band Bebe Cool alas Moses Ssali the headline act played Love You Every day, Big Size, We Love Uganda, Nkwagala and Everywhere I Go.

Schindler Wanjiru alas Onejiru based in Hamburg, Germany performed Few Reasons, Caro Kongo, Tujenge, We Carry On and a cover song Girlie Girlie by Sophie George.

Sharon Bwogi alas Lady Slyke played Action, Bring the Love Back (featuring DJ Nesta), Nowhere to Run (featuring Blessed Sun) and Nkabongele. Fred Kasekende did his Maide Maide (featuring Lady Slyke).

Allan Kakuru alas Razor Blade and a former street boy did Mugetto, Ensi nge kaya and Ensi nge eganye.

There was no lack of art with local and international artists painting some outer parts of the walls of the National Theatre.

VcA is a German-based charitable organization campaigning for clean drinking water worldwide focusing on “water, sanitation, hygiene” (WASH).

Its current project is to build and restore wells and source developments in Northern Uganda for the people who are returning back to this region after the Lord’s Resistance Army civil war. 

Every February VcA officials visit their projects in Uganda. This year they visited their water project in Lira District which included the provision of water through water wells or rainwater tanks as well training courses about hygiene, maintenance and repair works. Also they have wells close to where they live and do not have to walk long distances anymore.

VcA has since 2008 supported 200,000 people with clean water in Uganda. It has assisted 500,000 people around the world with clean water and sanitation.

Michael Fritz (founding member of VcA) observed that under development in the past has been conveyed through sad stories. “Today’s youth in Germany now prefer fun-based narrative. It is now about positive images that the sad pictures and stories that we used to in the past. About 4.5 billion people have no access to proper sanitation and hygiene in the world today.”

“It is taboo to talk about open defection in some societies. How much do we lose in terms of treating diseases when we don’t have toilets?” We need pop artists to promote the cause of safe water and sanitation. And nobody should have bad water in the world today,” Fritz adds.

According to the founder of VcA Kampala, Norbert Latim “Today’s generation is fan-based because they don’t want to read long text in newspapers. If you invited them to attend a football game or music concert through social media they will turn up in big numbers.”

“I believe in projects that have an attachment to the local people. There are people living in discomfort and if this project can bring change than I am glad to be part of it. I believe in charity and water and sanitation are very serious issues in Uganda,” Bebe Cool said.

Razor Blade was glad of sharing the stage with big local stars like Bebe Cool. “We may have water in Kampala but people upcountry are suffering for lack of the same. Their domestic animals are dying and people keep flocking to the city and we don’t know the reasons why.”

The GZK/ UGCS Director, Carolin Christgau, said: “We are partners in this project because it is a good cause combining the provision of water with culture. We need to sensitize people through different avenues.

The poet and master of ceremony Ife Piankhi noted that concert was about mobilization and sensitization of the people about the issues of water and sanitation. “This touches on women a lot in terms of productivity, menstruation and nutrition. Girls miss school during their menstruation periods and mothers will not provide meals for their families for lack of clean water. Women are the most productive people in Uganda.” 

So far two people have died from typhoid since the first case was diagnosed early last month in central Kampala. Over two thousand persons have tested positive with typhoid.

Uganda is still experiencing cases of disease associated with poor sanitation such as cholera, dysentery, worm infestation, typhoid and malaria.

Poor sanitation is a serious drain on the economy as government and local authorities spend colossal sums of money on treatment and drugs for sanitation related diseases.

Individual families also spend their hard earned, meager incomes on treatment of sanitation related diseases. Parents or caretakers may also lose work-time as they look after the sick ones.

Household sanitation and hygiene encompass the isolation of excreta from the environment, maintenance of personal, domestic and food hygiene, safe disposal of solid and liquid wastes, maintaining a safe drinking-water chain and vector control.

Safe disposal of human and other wastes is an important step in disease control and in Uganda; the former poses a huge threat to health.

Ends.

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