Rajiv (in white T-Shirt and shorts) unveiling the modern toilet facility that will help many residents of Kamwokya
Pupils of Good Samaritan Primary School in Kamwokya and the surrounding residents in slums of the area have a reason to smile after receiving a fully furnished Eco-brick toilet facility courtesy of the Ruparelia Foundation.
This comes at a time when schools are set to reopen in October 2020.
The project will benefit 500 underprivileged pupils of Good Samaritan Primary school which has been running without toilets.
Residents in the neighborhood will also benefit from the toilet facility.
The facility was built using proceeds from the Royal Ascot Goat Races 2019 in partnership with Tamarai investments ltd and Ghetto Research Lab also the project contractor.
Other funders included Tusker larger, Robbialac, Speke Resort Munyonyo, NTV Uganda, Sanyu FM and Goldstar insurance company.
Its construction commenced on December 6th 2019 but delayed due to COVID- 19 pandemic.
While handing over the project, Rajiv Ruparelia, one of the trustees of Ruparelia Foundation said the project was chosen due to its sustainability in nature and its positive impact on the environment while helping local community to earn a living through skills and knowledge transfer and to save the school from being shut down due to lack of sanitary facilities.
“This project is going to help very many children, girls and women to go back to school and it’s this facility that the whole community will benefit because now they have where to put the human waste,” Rajiv said.
He also explained that this project has helped to reduce plastic pollutants in Kamwokya slum area because plastic bottles have been collected and turned into bricks as a way of restoring beneficial uses of plastic waste management as outlined in the KCCA Waste Management act.
According to Rajiv, the Foundation plans to put in place 50 more projects like the one of Kamwokya across Uganda as a way of reaching to more communities while positively impacting the environment.
Patrick Mujuzi, the founder of Ghetto Research Lab, who is also the contractor, said he came in this slum area 12 years ago after completing his education from Kyambogo University.
“I found when the environment was at risk because of plastic wastes which were being disposed into the area and some were being carried by the running water,” Mujuzi said.
He added that through a friend, they thought of solution of building using plastic bottles the project he says is now employing 500 women in the area and men to earn a living.
The project has seen 13,200,000 plastic bags removed from the environment, 22,000 Plastic bottles recycled and used to make bricks to build the toilets, 500 pupils saved from school closure by health officials because of no sanitary facilities.
Also 100 community members have earned from building the structure, 50 community members acquired skills of making bricks by stuffing plastic bottles with plastic bags while 13.2 tons of plastic were recycled and 10 toilets built.
