Rose

Uganda is the country Rose calls home, and finally, the water-related issues faced by so many in Uganda will no longer affect her family.

Rose is 33 and lives in Bombo Town where she dropped out of school after fifth grade. It is no surprise Rose quit school so young as globally, the daily struggle to secure water burdens mainly women and children; this priority for survival certainly took Rose’s time away from the classroom. Rose, now an adult, is a single mother of two.  She earns a living to support her family by selling charcoal. When not traveling to Gulu, Northern Uganda for supplies to run her business, Rose spent time each day walking to collect water for her family. This could take her up to six hours per day.

Rose and her young children live in a two-bedroom brick home on a small plot of land. Only recently was she able to construct the home after becoming a client of PostBank, a local microfinance institution in Uganda. Rose was approved for a loan to build her house. Since that time, PostBank has partnered with Water.org to add loans for water and sanitation solutions to their lending portfolio. Now, not only can customers  like Rose access funds to construct houses or start small businesses, now they can take out a small, affordable loan to build toilets or connect a tap at home. 

As a customer of PostBank, this type of loan helped Rose fund the construction of a pit latrine and water tap. Now, her children will not know the water crisis like she once did. Now, she is pleased they don’t have to worry about collecting water or search daily for a safe place to relieve themselves. Now they can focus on going to school and making a good life for themselves.