Educational Concerns of Implementing Biosand Water Filters in Rural Uganda

The world is facing a shortage of clean drinking water. Current predictions, due to growing population, urbanization, and climate change estimate access to clean water to be further challenged in the coming years. Research has indicated that point of use (POU) technologies are likely to be the most efficient at delivering clean water (water cleaned of diarrhea causing microbes and bacteria) to rural populations. POU technologies, and specifically the biosand filter (BSF) are shown to be affordable, effective, and sustainable in rural areas. Many studies point to the need of proper education and follow-up with BSF users. BSF technology has been used for the last 4 years in Nkokonjeru, Uganda by a partnership between Engineers Without Borders, Davis Branch and a local nongovernmental development agency, Rural Agency for Sustainable Development (RASD). Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered at 10 sites with 23 water filters to identify the bacteria count before and after BSF use. Users at sites answered questions from a structured interview and demonstrated their BSF procedure. The survey indicated many BSFs were not being used or were not yielding clean water, due most likely to insufficient education and follow up. Implications of research led to the development of a training and implementation approach to improve the BSF program in Nkokonjeru, to modify RASD’s ongoing program of BSF distribution