WASH, Learn & Share Hackathon: A blueprint for community driven water and sanitation solutions

In Uganda, one third of children lack access to safe drinking water, and 60% of children live at least a 30-minute walk from the nearest water source. Furthermore, many people must resort to open defecation, as approximately 3 out of 10 households do not have a toilet.

These challenges severely impact school students' health, school attendance, and learning. The WASH, Learn & Share programme therefore aims to improve access to water and sanitation in schools. The WASH Learn & Share Hackathon challenged participants to create models that directly address these issues, by focusing on practical, sustainable solutions that can be locally managed and are rooted in local knowledge.

The three-day ‘hackathon’ brought together entrepreneurs from Kabarole and Bunyangabu districts in Western Uganda to address some of the region’s most urgent WASH issues. Guided by experts and mentors, teams went through a series of steps brainstorming ideas, building prototypes, and refining their solutions until they were ready to present their ideas to a panel of judges. Each team had a specific WASH issue to solve, and the hackathon provided them with the tools, resources, and support needed to turn their ideas into actionable plans.

Empowering changemakers

During the hackathon participants came up with a number of innovative and creative ideas to tackle water solutions. Including a subscription-based service offering reusable hygiene kits in schools, where low-income families are offered reusable pads and soap on a term-based payment plan. Another scheme was for a water purifier distribution model allowing affordable access to safe water in schools and households, by allowing households to buy water purifiers on installment payments. Moreover, the idea of using local bamboo gutters to build a rainwater harvesting system for households would enhance water accessibility. All these solutions are cost-efficient, scalable and can be realized locally, thus improving access to water and sanitation for school children and their families throughout the country.

This event highlights the importance of empowering local change agents and building self-sustaining solutions that reduce dependency on aid. It has the potential to be a blueprint for CSOs, governments, and communities to foster resilience and sustainable growth in the WASH sector.

The next steps

From all the innovative projects three have been selected to take their venture onwards to the Maji-Preneur Summit in Kampala City. This summit will allow the selected entrepreneurs to showcase their innovations to a larger audience, including potential investors, government officials, and key stakeholders in the WASH sector. The WASH, Learn & Share programme aims to create a thriving network of WASH innovators contributing to Uganda’s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in clean water, sanitation, and gender equality. The programme will continue to work with the entrepreneurs to further develop their innovative and creative ideas, in collaboration with the schools and community members by facilitating co-creation sessions.