It’s a poor school, private, with no government support. With almost 1,000 students, almost no budget, and buildings that have seen better days, it’s amazing that these determined adults are holding things together.

The rainwater-harvesting tank is a prized addition to the campus. Its mere presence significantly reduces the amount of time the students need to spend collecting water each day. This frees up time for their studies, just as it frees up some of the school’s limited budget by cutting down on the charcoal they need to make surface water the kids gather safe by boiling it.

Having the tank also seems to be fueling enthusiasm for some restoration projects. The community is so grateful for the water, that they’re rallying around the school to improve other areas.

Even as they pray for rain to fill the tank the Sumner M. Redstone Foundation provided, they try to mitigate the impact that same coveted rain sometimes has on their structures. They’ve dug some trenches to redirect some of the rainwater that flows down the hill and damages the foundations of the newer buildings.

To make repairs and get a little money to support the school population, they recently cut down a very large tree on the property to use for lumber and to sell for cash for other supplies they needed for repairs. On our last visit, that tree had been the site of an amazing ceremony of gratitude. Since that visit last summer, the parents and staff have also teamed up to fix some big holes in the walls of some classrooms.

All of this highlights the significant impact one tank can make on a community. More time spent in school. Less money spent on fuel. A reduction in illness. For a group of people trying so hard to get their kids educated and keep this school afloat, the gift of the tank is one that helps them make more strides every day.

When you’re there, you can SEE the difference it makes. When you’re there, you know that RainCatcher is on the right track. When you’re there, you want to show every RainCatcher donor exactly how their money is changing lives.

These parents, the kids and the teachers are a shining example that together we can do more!

Bryan’s project encompasses a church with a large population, a dispensary and clinic, a primary school and a secondary school. He is a teacher at one of the schools and has demonstrated his devotion to the village and the surrounding areas by acting as a key connection as we settle on schools, churches, hospitals and orphanages to deliver clean water to over the next year.

Dennis had visited Bryan’s project in the fall, conducted a demonstration of the portable clean-water systems and confirmed that the climate and the population made it the perfect match for RainCatcher’s bigger systems. He will manage the project of getting of the systems installed properly and as soon as possible, because this community’s borehole isn’t meeting the capacity needs and is in danger of breaking down at any moment.

We toured the grounds, assessed the suitability of campus buildings for a tank-and-gutter rainwater harvesting system, and were thrilled to see the smaller systems clearly in use and benefiting the kids.

The campuses were decorated with signs that delivered advice to the students. We couldn’t resist getting a picture of Dennis next one in particular.

-Martha McBride on the ground in Uganda

With the world’s population more than doubling over the last half century, basics like food and water are under more strain than ever, say experts, and providing for an additional 2-3 billion people in the next 50 years is a serious worry. Right now:

• Some 1.8 million child deaths each year as a result of diarrhea
• The loss of 443 million school days each year from water-related illness.
• Close to half of all people in developing countries suffering at any given time from a health problem caused by water and sanitation deficits.
• Millions of women spending several hours a day collecting water.

As it stands, globally nearly 1 in 5 people do not have access to safe drinking water. By 2025, 2.8 billion people in 48 countries will be facing water shortages. And water demand is supposed to increase by 85% over the next half century. In the U.S., 36 states are predicting water scarcity over the next ten years.

Perhaps the U.N. feels it’s time for us to take a good look at our situation and start addressing the challenges that lay ahead.

This was an original song written in honor of RainCatcher by their music teacher, chorale leader Nsubuga David.

The school already reports a notable reduction in illness and absenteeism and the headmistress – who lives on the school property – and other teachers say it makes a huge difference to have water readily available to give the pupils.

Lyrics of the chorus:

Our dear visitors you are welcome.
to St. Matia Mulmba
We appreciate the good services
given us from Kiyinda-Mityana.
(Our dear visitors)
We thank you for having thought of Kiyinda-Mityana
and having our school selected
for USA RainCatcher support

The Home is dedicated to care for the abandoned, destitute and orphaned babies and children of Uganda.

It cares and gives hope with the Love of God to the hopeless abandoned, destitute and orphaned babies and children of Uganda. Up to 50 babies and toddlers aged between 1 day old and 4 years old. Many children are found abandoned in garbage heaps, pit latrines, ditches, taxi parks or are left by the side of the road. The orphans received range in age from a few hours to two years, with no known parents or relatives.

Sanyu Babies Home is dedicated to providing these children with love, security, medical care and education. There are over 2.3 million known orphans in Uganda more than any other nation in the world today. We found they were having a challenge of getting pure drinking water. As they were depending on boiling and putting chlorine which was laborious. We demonstrated and passed on to them the water filter. Find pictures attached. Thanks to Rain Catcher!

Yours truly,

Julius Ananura
Team Leader
Reach the Un-Reached Ministry
P.o box 5090

KAMPALA-UGANDA-E Africa

Mobile + 256 782 370307/+ 256 752 370307

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter below and Facebook and Twitter feeds as we get ready for this three week trip to Africa. Darin Olien, Field Director for RainCatcher, leaves today for West Africa and has a few meeting planned to see how RainCatcher can help the people of West Africa.

Mr. Camdessus, former Managing Director of the IMF and strong advocate for the development of water and sanitation infrastructure in Africa, warned of the catastrophe that awaits the continent if governments fail to address the issue in the next decade, “Governments must realize that if the situation is serious today, it is likely to gravely worsen in absence of proper national water strategies and policies” he said.

Around 40 percent of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa still lacks access to safe drinking water sources and 69 percent does not have access to improved sanitation facilities. The situation in rural areas is even worse, with 53 percent and 76 percent not having access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, respectively . Low access to sanitation and water supply are the root causes of many diseases that affect the continent.

According to Mr. Camdessus, access to water and sanitation is a human right, yet numbers show it is not granted to all “there is great human suffering behind these statistics, which in the end reveal a silent form of injustice that cannot be ignored” he said.

To Read more, please click here – http://allafrica.com/stories/201106100526.html

It is so easy for RainCatcher to go into new areas and villages to provide quick and low cost access to clean drinking water. With your continued financial support, we are helping 1 person 1 dollar at a time. Thank you.

Thank you for all you do!

In Gratitude~
The staff at RainCatcher

Valentina Castellani, Francesco Quinn, Grace Lubwama of World Vision, Mark Armfield and Max Musina

We were very fortunate to meet people involved with many of the organizations, and a few which RainCatcher could partner with to provide relief efforts throughout the world.

The proceeds went to the charitable alliance World Vision. World Vision is a humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. They serve close to 100 million people in nearly 100 countries around the world.

RainCatcher also met with Marie Esther Gomez of LA-MEX, Alex Fortunati with Support Services of America and with actor Francesco Quinn and his lovely wife Valentina Castellani.

Valentina Castellani, Francesco Quinn, Mark Armfield, Max Musina and David Zielski

David Zielski and Maria Esther Gomez of LA-MEX

Max Musina, Linda Zielski, Valentina Castellani and Francesco Quinn

Alex Fortunati of Support Services of America and Mark Armfield

Gina Armfield, Mark Armfield, Linda Zielski and David Zielski

EVERYBODY WINS!

Here’s how it works.

Beachbody will donate $10 to RainCatcher for each & every new registration to SHAKE & SHARE through Sunday night. That means clean drinking water in Africa to those without–get on Shake & Share if you haven’t already! Simply go to Shake & Share in your Team Beachbody online office and sign up NOW!

http://teambeachbody.com/promotions/shake-n-share

Also, for ALL appointments and invitations to a Shakeology presentation to your prospects, Beachbody will donate $10. To report your number of confirmed appointments, text “COACH + # (of appointments) to 35863. (ex: “COACH 4″ for 4 confirmed appointments) by 12:00 PM PT / 3:00 PM ET on Friday, April 22nd.

“Carl Daikeler has continued to amaze me with his tenacity and commitment to bring clean drinking water to those that goes without. His motivations and inspirations are selfless and for the higher good of people who suffer – which allows an open environment for people to help people.” – Mark Armfield

Again, RainCatcher thanks Team Beachbody and Carl Daikeler for this generous donation.

Greetings to all of you guys the RainCatcher wonder team. Thank you for the noble work you are doing. I would like you to share with us the experience of the clean water activities that we undertook at Apule Primary School and Logiri Sub-County Community in Zombo District which was curved out of the famous West District of Arua in Uganda, East Africa.

This school has 400 pupils’ boys and girls. They have one block with an iron sheet roof. They have only one water sauce, an open stream which even under the current rains has very little water. This stream has a point at which children cross from one side to another and another point along the way for drawing water WHICH IS NEVER BOILED NOR PURIFIED IN ANYWAY. THEY DRINK STRAIGHT FROM THE SPRING.

Thank you very much RainCatcher for the Clean Water filters you forwarded to this school and community.
God Bless You

Dennis
RainCatcher Uganda

Apule Primary School is a 5 class school (Primary 1 – Primary 5) under the recently introduced Universal Primary Education (UPE) program by the government. Under this program, the government pays the school fees for the children. It also provides grants to be spent on instructional materials, co-curricular activities like sport, and the management and maintenance of utilities like water and electricity. However, much of this mandate remains on paper and little on the ground. This program has got enrollment figures shoot faster than the facilities.

In front of the Head teachers Office stands a raised metallic can and a jerrican containing water (see picture) probably to wash their (children) hands from the “Toilet”. This is another Sanitation Campaign going on in most schools. Asked about clean safe water for drinking, it was something that had not crossed the teachers and head teacher’s mind in the memorable past. It is true and probably the culture. Drinking straight from the stream.

To the children, they have seen this raised metallic can in front of their head teachers office for a few years now but they had never seen such abundant Clean Safe drinking water like the one NOW STANDING INSIDE EACH CLASSROOM on all classroom block. Thanks to RainCatcher. Water drinking or consumption has tripled.

Those who used to eat a small piece of cassava at lunch can now take in too much water and improve on that meal. Increased water consumption has improved alertness in class, reduced fatigue and the general health as per the most recent call made for follow up.

To the children, it may not be the safety of the water from RainCatcher at fore play, it is the first time in life, most of them have ever seen such clean clear crisp collection of water free of charge as seen from the pictures. (fighting for the clear clean water)

Morbidity. According to the H/T, “We are not experiencing a lot of malaria incidentally. Their only problem has always been diarrhea, cough, constipation, skin problems” and a few others. Thanks to God. I labored to inform him that due to the few and distant water sauces maybe the reason as to why malaria prevalence was low.

However, diarrhea, constipation was a result of using little and unsafe water, which am sure is reduced by now. Within the first week, am told, total re-hydration is clearly visible in all the children of Apule Primary School.

Logiri S_County Community.
This community is found in the new Zombo District recently curved out the former mighty West Nile District of Arua. Here there is an interesting source of water. Small hole is dug in the ground after a careful follow up of some signs.

When one draws water from the hole about 10litres, the other one is supposed to wait or comeback after one hour. Reason, for more water to re-collect and water to settle down since it is always muddy due to freshly dug ground as seen from the pictures.

The amazing RainCatcher water filter has enabled people to ‘JUST COLLECT’ vast amounts, filter from home partly with clothes as demonstrated to them and later on using the filters. Result. There is abundant water in homesteads much more than before. clean drinking water, no waiting for hours.

Women who go for business carry with them jerricans to their work places because some of these places are close to rivers or bigger streams from where they can collect water other than waiting for hours in this area. Others go to dig in far places with jerricans and clothes to be washed in those streams found wherever they dig. They even carry the jerricans, basin and clothes in taxis or any other means of road transport.

With RainCatcher, it is now simple. They carry the jerrican, collect all the water they can. Come home, get clean and abundant water. Women of Logiri S_County are so happy with the RainCatcher Clean Water systems.

Darin Olien and Jarrod Holbrook discussing the upcoming trip being planned by RainCatcher to Kenya and Uganda in March 2011. They are planning to install 10 rain catching and harvesting systems on schools over there and hand out 1,000 portable systems.

The next phase of our African trip will take place in mid March. The target is to provide 125,000 people with clean drinking water.

To accomplish this, RainCatcher will do the following:

• Install 5 RainCatcher systems (gutters/downspouts/tanks) in schools in Uganda
• Install 5 RainCatcher systems (gutters/downspouts/tanks) in schools in Kenya
• Implement and setup 1,000 Portable rain catching systems with Sawyer filters and buckets

In this video, HUB (Humanity Unites Brilliance) founder Charlie Stuart Gay and Feed the Children founder Larry Jones discuss HUB’s RainCatcher installations in Africa with Fred Mango of RainCatcher Kenya.

The simplest way to catch, store and deliver clean drinking water is through with a RainCatchrer. Along with impact partner, Raincatcher.org, HUB has installed raincatchers in schools in Africa and also supports efforts to dig water wells.

Unregulated irrigation along the shores of Lake Victoria in Africa has drastically lowered the availability of clean water. Women and children become critically ill through lack of water or usage of dirty water.

With the support of impact partners like Raincatcher.org, HUB has installed many RainCatcher water tanks at rural school sites, with guttering on the roofs and water filters.  http://www.monolithic.com/stories/a-practical-life-sustaining-water-filter

Now children and their families can have clean water for drinking, washing and gardening.

The Hippo Water Roller

Can see Peter Macomber’s  The Hippo Roller video at  www.serumlab.com

www.metaefficient.com has story about the Hippo Water Roller:

Rain ‘n Roll – The Hippo Water Roller

The HippoRoller is a heavy-duty plastic drum that can be filled upright, then sealed and rolled like a steamroller across rough terrain. The 24-gallon (90L) tank weighs 200 pounds when full, but the rolling drum has a functional weight of just 22 pounds, so virtually anyone can use it. The current design has been tweaked to ease shipping and transportation of the carriers, which are manufactured in Johannesburg, South Africa. They are distributed mainly by local NGOs to communities throughout southern Africa, along with training on water purification and sanitation.

A single HippoRoller can hold a day’s water for an entire family of five. Great potential here to work with RainCatcher systems to help people transport water more easily and efficiently from a central location in a village out to individul homes. And what an improvement to go…

…from this…

…to this! (All photos: HippoRoller.org)

Another simple solution to the water problem: Rain ‘n Roll.

For more information, visit the HippoRoller website at  www.HippoRoller.org.

Water is the sleeping giant issue of the 21st Century and we all need to wake up about it. FLOW opens our eyes about the greatest threat of our time – the global water crisis. It is a compelling and passionate film. Its engaging narrative will grip the viewer. — Robert Redford

Check out the trailer and a review of the film, below.

MOVIE REVIEW

‘Flow’

Irena Salina’s documentary looks at all things water and the effects a dwindling supply has on health, prosperity and security.

By Kenneth Turan, Times Movie Critic

As if we didn’t have enough to worry about, the quietly apocalyptic “Flow” makes a good case that what’s going on with our planet’s water supply should make you very, very afraid. Any film that begins with a bleak W.H. Auden quote (“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water”) is not going to be a ray of sunshine in anyone’s life.

Made over a five-year period by director Irena Salina, who went all over the world and talked to an impressive list of experts, “Flow” (which also stands for “For Love of Water”) is a smartly done, involving look at a number of interrelated water issues.

For one thing, it seems that the planet is simply running out of water, which, given our dependence on it, is not a good thing. “We have wars going on over oil,” one of the film’s authorities says. “Water can be oil all over again.”

Also a problem is that as a society we are terminally polluting what water we have. “Flow” opens with a shot of India’s Ganges, kind of the poster image for polluted water, and it tells us that water-borne diseases kill more people annually than either AIDS or wars.

It turns out, however, that these kinds of problems are not limited to the developing world. Rocket fuel seems to have made its way into some American water systems, and herbicides such as Atrazine, banned in the European Union, are still in wide use over here.

More unexpected is “Flow’s” examination of the bitter, at times physical, conflicts that erupt when major corporations have tried to privatize water in parts of Bolivia, South Africa and other countries.

From the companies’ point of view, they are providing a service by bringing safe water to areas that don’t have it. But if the need to make a profit means that safe water will be priced above what the poorest people can afford to pay, those folks will continue to use the unsafe but free alternative. It is a dilemma we are likely to hear more about in years to come.

One of “Flow’s” most intriguing segments concerns bottled water, the alternative of choice for society’s most prosperous elements but a liquid that turns out to be less regulated and possibly less safe than what comes through the tap. In addition, we’re told, society could provide pure water for everyone on the planet for what we pay for the bottled kind. It’s something to think about, as is this entire film.