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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