Help Janet through the dry season, win a bird painting!

Imagine being reluctant to drink water because it is too expensive.

I’m Evanna Lai, a fourth-year veterinary student recently home from 2 months in Uganda, where we worked with vulnerable women and children in the Isingiro district in a One Health capacity.

One of the biggest takeaways from my time there was the desperate need for water during the dry season. Some villages rely on local watering holes, which are contaminated with animal feces and can cause and spread disease. Others have installed a government-run tap, which can dry out and require payment of monthly bills. Plastic community water tanks are a decent and common alternative, but even they do not last forever due to wear and tear, and will eventually require replacement.

The woman in the picture is Janet Busingye, the president of the organization in Uganda called Western Hope for Future Initiative. They have trained paravets and village health workers who provide basic healthcare to humans and animals in their local communities.

Janet is one of the most hardworking and humble people I’ve ever met. Aside from being president of Western Hope, she is a paravet AND village health worker, and works relentlessly to put her daughter through school. She is often dehydrated because buying water is expensive; at her age, this can lead to or exacerbate health problems. Yet, I have never seen her complain. She cares for her daughter and her patients with dedication and selflessness, even to the point of sacrificing her own wellbeing.

Most women show up to health centres in Uganda with UTIs— an issue no doubt caused and worsened by the lack of clean, potable water. Both humans and livestock suffer from several water- or mosquito-borne diseases due to using unclean watering holes. And handwashing— one of the most basic things we can do for hygiene and sanitation— is impossible without clean water.

My goal is to raise enough money to give Janet a water source at her home, which she can share with her village and beneficiaries. $5000 is a conservative estimate for what it costs to hire a company to do a survery, drill a borehole, and install a tap that accesses groundwater.

As an incentive, I’ll enter every donor who gives over $100 into a draw for an original custom bird painting by yours truly. Every $100 donated is another entry. Shipping and handling will be covered.

If you wish to be entered into the draw, leave me your name and a way to reach you (text or email). The draw will happen once the fundraiser is over, and I’ll contact the winner to discuss details of the painting.

Thanks to everyone who read this far! Hopefully, we can make a real, long-term difference for Janet and her community.