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!

The news was so simple and terrific, we wanted to share the message directly with you as-is.

Hello Martha,

Thank you,
Mugega Sulaiman

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

We toured the grounds and inspected the tank that had been installed and was now collecting safe drinking water direct from the sky.

Then, it was time for us to sit, as guests of honor, to enjoy what we had been told was a “special program.” We had no idea what an amazing gift we were going to be given.

The school’s chorus began to sway and sing as student drummers accompanied them. The words, written for RainCatcher, and the joyous sound of this chorus of talented and beautiful singers washed over us.

Combined with the other moments we experienced on that trip to Mityana – teachers telling us about significant drops in absenteeism now that safe water was available at school, pupils thanking us specifically for “bringing me water that doesn’t make me sick,” and a family that walked some distance just for the opportunity to hand us a gift in gratitude for the difference clean water made in their lives in mere weeks – this event at St. Matia Malumba School capped an incredible day.

The whole thing felt touched by the divine. The energy soared with their clear, earnest voices. You could feel the love of it all in your heart and in your soul. The students were all smiles and so were we. We hummed that song the whole ride back to our Uganda home and over the following days we would sometimes play the video just so we could hear the song again.

To have the amazing audio from that “special program” shared with every person who watches Dennis Haysbert’s new Clean Water Ambassador PSA brings it all back.

When you listen, please remember: those kids are singing in gratitude for WATER they can drink. They’re singing for RainCatcher. But, if you’re someone who helps by donating, spreading the word, or by helping raise money, they’re really singing for you.

One of his stops was the RainCatcher office to review all that the Team Beachbody partnership had accomplished in 2011 and to make plans for the upcoming year. On his list were even more schools we plan to equip with permanent rainwater-harvesting systems in 2012 and some inspired ideas for outreach into the war-ravaged northern parts of Uganda.

We shared with him the new PSA, which features an original song from one of the schools in his parish. That led to us reminiscing about the RainCatcher team’s visits to that school and others in March and July of this year, including the day it rained for the first time in months, seemingly in quick response to a quiet prayer with Father Kizito.

His commitment is humbling and by the end of the meeting the whole group was beaming and fired up about next steps. Father Kizito continues to be a key leader in the mission to bring a better life to the children of Uganda, through reliable access to clean water today and hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Whether sourcing materials, identifying suitable projects, or navigating red tape, Fred’s devotion and skill makes the difference in whether a rainwater-harvesting system gets installed now, later or never. His commitment to getting a system in place sooner leads to more lives saved.

This year, Fred was absolutely instrumental in getting 11 community locations – a church and 10 schools – equipped with the permanent tank-and-gutter solution donated by Beachbody. Even the local leaders who’d specifically requested Fred and RainCatcher’s help expressed amazement about how efficient and comprehensive the project turned out to be.

What’s so inspiring about Fred is that he’s one of those fabled “local boy done good.” He grew up in the Nyahera area of southwestern Kenya, not far from Kisumu and Lake Victoria. He has moved on to Nairobi, where he  lives with his young family, is the star employee of an established company and is an entrepreneur.

That would be enough for most people, but not for Fred. You see, he is compelled to give back to the struggling community he came from. He travels back to Kisumu frequently to bring opportunity and secure resources for the people of his own village and surrounding villages.

Everywhere you go with Fred there are people greeting him warmly, thanking him, and giving him gifts to demonstrate their gratitude. He is continually referred to as “such a good boy,” by the  aunties, neighbors, and former teachers you run into while in the field.

In addition to partnering with RainCatcher, Fred has formed a youth leadership group to encourage other educated young people in Nyahera and beyond to help the youth of the area. The are initiating grassroots change by being visible examples of what can be achieved by staying in school and by providing practical hands-on training in computers, business, sports and health.

By extension, RainCatcher now has a growing legion of knowledgeable supporters in the area – teachers, business owners, mothers and more. They’re like an army of optimistic agents-for-change in blue RainCatcher shirts.

In a way, through his tireless commitment, Fred is a revolutionary. With his powerful vision and his big heart, Fred is bringing more than just clean water to the people he cares about; he’s bringing a brighter future and hope.

Today we celebrate the birthday of someone who’s more than just “a good boy.” Fred Mango is a great man!

Suzanne and Whitney – representing the leadership for HELP International’s Uganda programs – brought portable clean-water systems donated by RainCatcher back to Mbale and wove them seamlessly into the other amazing work their team was already doing. Check out this amazing video they did – RainCatcher is happy to be in it as well.

Through these efforts, RainCatcher and HELP International partnered to bring clean water to Kakoli village and to the slums of the Mbale area. This uplifting and gorgeous video summarizes the accomplishments of their team this year and highlights the beauty of Uganda. It’s no wonder all involved can’t wait to go back!

New team members ask, “How do we know so-and-so?” or “How did we find this group?” Father Kizito is frequently the answer.

It was Father Kizito who introduced us to Sylvia. You may remember her: she brought clean water to Kirinda schools.

He leads the Mityana Parish and a whole rectory of priests from an impressive headquarters – a massive, gorgeous red-brick church “built by Germans” in the early 1970s.  But, in reality, he’s not just there – on those beautiful grounds, conducting Mass and bringing out the best in his young clergy team; he’s everywhere.

Emails from Kizito, even just this summer, come from Spain and Los Angeles and so many places, as well as from Uganda. Email from his proteges pop into our inboxes from Finland. As a team, they’re out, making connections, and bringing great things to the children of their Ugandan parish and beyond.

Today, Kizito’s birthday is being formally and enthusiastically celebrated by admirers and supporters in California. His initial connection with RainCatcher came because he was there on a visit to these same church partners and heard of the new rainwater harvesting initiative. He went to Malibu to find the people doing it.

Based on Kizito’s determination and charisma, those people were compelled to bring the gutter-and-tank solutions to Uganda. That team developed into RainCatcher.

This summer, during visits to finish up Beachbody’s 2011 project with RainCatcher, Kizito escorted the team around to schools already benefiting from the rainwater harvesting. The team was greeted with gratitude, singing, dancing and tales of the impact the tanks had already made. As part of this project, a total of 11 Ugandan schools now have reliable, safe water caught from the sky, thanks to Father Kizito and Beachbody.

But, he’s not done yet. He has a list for a new wave of school tanks and there’s no doubt that as he tours the planet this fall that he’ll be making more connections and conceiving bigger plans for helping the people of Uganda. He is always on the move, relentless in his efforts to serve. We’re so proud to be partnered with a man with such vision. RainCatcher looks forward to doing more great work with him and saving more lives.

Happy Birthday Father Kizito! There is no end to the joy and celebration that accompanies the anniversary of your birth. Your commitment to service fuels so much good in this world and the impact cascades and flows and simply gives and gives and gives.  

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

As we’d shared in July, they were quickly converted from skeptics of what a filter could do to enthusiasts excited to share the simple solution with the people they cared so much.

Here is part of the story from Suzanne’s own experience and report. We were thrilled to hear back from her and see photos from what she, Whitney and their partners in service had done in the village of Kakoli just outside Mbale in the Budaka district of Uganda.

“The people of Kakoli are forced to use a ridiculously dirty, muddy hole as their water source and many in the community are sick due to the bad water. We were able to help them obtain clean water thanks to RainCatcher!

Thanks for everything! We look forward to future projects together!”

It’s all important and quite serious, but when you’re in the field you simply can’t deny the joy that permeates RainCatcher’s school visits.

There is no dirge playing as we approach. Though the water situation is literally life and death, the conversations are lively and there is always laughter. They’re kids!

One way we add fun is by bringing soccer balls as a gift for each location. In every case, the crowd lights up. And it’s not just the kids who get excited.

The appeal is universal; everyone wants in on the action. Nearly every school has a soccer field. There may be cows, goats or chickens running around.

The students may be kicking a makeshift ball, made of plastic bags, leftover fabric, strips of inner tube, or some combination of things.

But, make no mistake about it: these children are playing and having fun every day and that often means soccer.

Thanks to the generosity of Nike, we’re able to travel with a stash of gorgeous, brand new, bright orange soccer balls. At the end of each visit to a school or orphanage, Jack hands one of the donated balls to a teacher or tosses it into the crowd.

The gift of such a simple item, a soccer ball, makes a big difference in the day. The students may forget that the bacterium that causes cholera is 0.5 micron and the filters block anything larger than 0.1 micron. They may forget how frequently they should back-flush the system for optimal water flow. But, they will remember the day the RainCatcher’s came to school and they were able to start playing soccer with that orange ball.

The overall philosophy is a simple one: RainCatcher wants to bring life-saving water to the people in these communities AND support the natural fun that fuels the joy in those lives. The smiles on the faces of the young and old alike show that it’s a pretty good plan.

Throughout this area, people collect their drinking and cooking water daily from boreholes, streams, rivers and other contaminated sources. By installing equipment to catch rain, this project is designed to provide reliable water to the anchors of the communities – the schools.

RainCatcher returned to the Kogelo area of Western Kenya to check on the progress of the tank-and-gutter installations and to meet with leaders to demonstrate the point-of-use filtering process and distribute filters.

Some of the tanks were near empty, as it hadn’t rained much recently. For one demonstration, the students had to go collect water from a borehole down the way. That water was dirty, making it the perfect sample for a training, but the hearts of the team sank, thinking that the students weren’t fully benefiting from the work that had recently been completed.

Besides the water being clean and safe, the aim is for it to be convenient, readily available. Women and children spend a great deal of time collecting water daily and the hope is that by reducing that collection during the day, the students will have more time for class and for fun.

But, while RainCatcher’s Fred Mango took the team around to different schools to meet the students and teach them about safe water, clouds gathered, it got very dark, the skies opened up, and torrents of rain came down.

With the roads muddy, the treks on the back roads slippery, and one visit cancelled, there was only one sentiment among the team traveling in the trucks: A desire that it keep raining and fill those tanks!

And, much to the RainCatcher team’s delight, rain it did. That day, that night, and the next day.

One surprising source of inspiration and direction has been our room steward, Joseph. Though he also has a new church and ministry he runs, a wonderful wife and four young sons, Joseph spends very long days here at the hotel.

He may seem quiet and unassuming, but that demeanor masks an incredible strength and devotion to his village, his parish and his neighbors. Joseph asked about our projects the week we arrived. Since we left early each morning and returned, exhausted, at sunset it was easy for his training to be delayed.

We would schedule a time and something would come up for us or his shift would go long due to things like the frequent blackouts or generator issues. But, Joseph was not going to allow the long hours or chance to prevent him learning about the filters. At times we returned to find him waiting for us, ready to be trained, ready to bring life-saving systems to his village.

The night before we left the country, he patiently waited again. Now trained, focused on the idea of using schools as a starting point to help the most people, and with three filters in his bag, he went home and we left for Kenya. We didn’t give Joseph and his three filters another thought.

When we got back, though, he was like a magnet! We were transfixed by his energy. As he explained how he’d identified 21 schools, visited three of them and conducted training, he was glowing. He presented the list and gently, but firmly, described how we were (he was?) going to equip the remaining 18 schools. How could we refuse?

So, we gathered again, with his list, now officially referred to as the “JOSEPH – Clean-Water Project, Uganda” and provided enough filters and money to set up each school.

And he left with a bag containing enough gear to bring safe water to thousands of people.

We’ll conduct a larger training in his area soon and, because we’ll never again doubt Joseph’s conviction, we expect his vision of bringing the RainCatcher solution beyond the schools and into the surrounding villages to come to pass.

This will certainly require some addendum to the list and a new name for his project. Perhaps “JOSEPH – Today the schools. Tomorrow the World!”

That road trip is how we learned so much about Sylvia and about a day in the life of the average Ugandan student. We had ample time to witness her determination, her brilliance, and her heart.

On the way, we passed children hauling a variety of water containers, many clearly empty. Gathering water is a daily, time-consuming chore. Crowds of children gathered around open pits by the side of the road and we knew that water was surely teeming with life-threatening microbes.

After about four hours, we pulled up to the school and a sea of different colorful school uniforms worn by unbelievably well-behaved children. How they managed to remain quietly seated as we got out of the car, started taking pictures and pulling out equipment is a mystery. Later, knowing how thirsty so many of them surely were, we would marvel that they still demonstrated such restraint as we passed very few cups of water around for only some of them to taste.

Sylvia was impressive. She had their complete attention as she alternated between making the students and the teachers laugh and impressing upon them the value of the systems. The children already knew the dangers of their drinking water.

Sylvia posed the question, “What are the bad things that happen when you drink unsafe water?” Their hands shot up as they answered her: diarrhea; fever; dehydration; cholera; typhoid…

With their training from the night before, Sylvia and her sister Noelene led the demonstration, with Jack’s assistance.

They gave clean-water systems to the headmasters of all six schools: Kyakajwiga; Mirembe Muslim; Kabandiko; Makukuulu; Bulenge; and St. Jude of Kirinda. Previously they’d had to either try to keep up with demand by boiling water or watch their students drink the dirty water they brought to school.

With this simple solution, each school now has an endless, clean water fountain for their students. Sylvia vows to do the same for the district’s remaining 51 schools and there is no doubt that she will do it quickly.

By the end of the demonstration, Jack was ready to initiate some fun. With the headmasters’ permission (the students would not have moved a muscle without it), Jack ran to play soccer with the children, balls donated by Nike, and a resident cow.

Their playful shrieks and laughter filled the air. When they had worked up a thirst, they were able to easily fill their cups with safe water for the very first time. And there was no threat that the supply was going to run out.

To see a slideshow of images from this day in Uganda, including more pictures of the students having a blast playing soccer, please Click Here

Suzanne and Whitney are an example of the type of caring people we seek out. They are Country Directors with a group called Help International, which sends them new volunteers every few weeks. Before this meeting, their exposure to RainCatcher was limited to a couple short email exchanges with Jack.

Yet, because they knew RainCatcher had set up a temporary base of operations not far from the airport, they decided it couldn’t hurt to stop by on the way to pick up their next round of volunteers. Why not give us a chance to show them how it all works?

Both Suzanne and Whitney were lovely. Friendly, savvy and more than a little skeptical, they visited Dennis, Jack and Martha for a complete RainCatcher lesson.

From the start, they had some very good questions. You see, it’s not uncommon for groups to come in, drop off a “solution,” and move on to the next project. Because the need worldwide is so great, it’s understandable that follow-up isn’t thorough and that the original group might never even see how their “solution” works out.

Having experienced the disappointing aftermath of some incomplete water projects, Suzanne and Whitney wanted data, they wanted details. And, because old-style filters wear out, get clogged, and become useless rather quickly, they really weren’t expecting much from RainCatcher. But, it was only a little out of their way, so they arrived, politely obscuring their low expectations.

So, we gave them the whole RainCatcher show! Dennis rigged up a way to fill the bucket from a sink in the yard. Jack showed them videos on point-of-use filters as a solution and pages of documentation on how the filters not only remove anything larger than 0.1 micron but how they last for years. (For comparison, the bacteria that causes Cholera is 0.5 micron.)

Then, since they were playful and there was a lot of teasing going on, we made the water extra dirty and let the results speak for themselves. They were flabbergasted.

After that, they couldn’t wait to get RainCatcher up to the Mbale area to distribute a solution to the Ugandans they work with, live with and love.

Plans were made: We’ll travel to Mbale soon to get a program started and deliver filters. By the time Suzanne and Whitney departed we had two more partners eager to teach people how to use the filters and help us save more lives.

Four hours by car from where we were meeting. Tomorrow.

Sylvia, the first person in her family to graduate from high school, went on to major in environmental studies in college. She was identified by UNESCO as one of the top 45 students in Africa and traveled to Denmark and Paris to attend economic and environmental conferences. She returned home and set up a nonprofit.

She is concerned about the future of Uganda and is devoted to improving lives. At the urging of her father, Frank, she will return to school for her post-graduate degree next year.

As the oldest of Frank’s seven children, Sylvia was a trailblazer; each of her siblings are on similar educational paths, including Noeline and Sylvia’s other sisters. That rarely happens in Africa. Educating daughters is one of the last priorities for families who often struggle to come up with the school fees.

IF they have the money, they first will send a son, because the investment in a daughter doesn’t seem worthwhile in a culture where her professional opportunities are so limited and where many believe her only value is in keeping the home (including gathering water several times daily), being the breadwinner AND having babies. (As if balancing all those things isn’t a feat that demonstrates the woman’s incredible capacity!)

This is particularly interesting, since as she’s almost singlehandedly delivering a solution to the life-threatening water situation for thousands of people by partnering with RainCatcher, Sylvia is pregnant with her first child. At 29 years old, she’s an exception, because the average African woman has had multiple children by her age.

Sylvia’s leadership is so apparent that, within an hour of seeing the demonstration, she has selected a location for distribution, has whipped out her cell phone and gotten commitments from the head teachers of six schools, based SOLELY on her reputation and her command to “bring 20 – 50 of your students to see this tomorrow.” She’s built an impressive network of 57 local schools, so these six schools are just the beginning. Her power and her passion are jaw-dropping.

Sylvia explained how students often miss class because of illnesses caused by the contaminated water they are drinking at home. Since the only guaranteed “safe” water is bottled water, which is too expensive for the school to provide, the children often don’t have anything to drink during the school day.

When they make it to school, their level of dehydration makes it difficult to concentrate, difficult to learn. The children KNOW the water makes them sick – and can even kill them – but they have no choice! It’s hot. They’re thirsty. And they NEED water to live. So they drink it, knowing it likely will make them sick.

Sylvia is an ideal partner for RainCatcher: she knows where the need is great, where people are receptive, and where to find additional leaders so more people can be reached and the most lives can be saved. She’s also an incredible example to other girls and their families that an investment in their education can produce benefits they may not have ever imagined.

All checked in @ LAX for 16 hour flight to Dubai. First leg of journey. Then 8 more to Entebbe, Uganda.

Top duffel on this pile contains 44 NIKE soccer balls. Other bags contain 400 filters. Martha is arriving same time (from NY) with 400 more.

Together, with a host of amazing local networks, we will bring clean water to over 80,000 people.

I love bringing joy to remote village kids at the far edges of the world.

Jack Rose

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.