By Joseph muyingo
For years, women and adolescent girls in several communities in Sironko District have been forced to walk long distances in search of water, a situation that has exposed them to sexual violence, teenage pregnancies and school dropouts.
The challenge is now expected to ease after Sironko District Woman MP Asha Nabulo Mafabi, in partnership with One Ummah Uganda, launched five new boreholes in some of the most densely populated communities in the district.
The water sources have been established in Bunabonyo and Buwasa Sub-county, Kidowa and Nalusaala, as well as Nabudisirua “A”, Dahami and Bunagawoya in Busulani Sub-county.
Residents say the new boreholes will bring water closer to households and reduce the risks women and girls faced while travelling long distances to distant water sources.
Irene Nabende, the women’s chairperson in Bunabonyo Village, said women and girls were particularly vulnerable when searching for water, with some facing defilement and rape, consequences that also contributed to teenage pregnancies and school dropouts.
She welcomed the intervention, saying having a reliable water source within the community would help address some of these challenges.
Residents such as Peresi Mukwana of Bunagawoya also welcomed the boreholes, saying the community had endured serious difficulties accessing safe water.
Sironko District LCV Chairman Alex Guga Nabende said the district continues to face a major water shortage and appealed for more development partners to support the establishment of additional water sources.
For MP Asha Nabulo Mafabi, however, the boreholes are part of a broader effort to move from political promises to tangible development.
She said communities must work with their leaders to identify and document challenges so that they can be addressed systematically.
“The wars of politics are over, and now we are focusing on development,” Nabulo said, stressing that leaders must leave a tangible legacy for the people they represent.
She also thanked One Ummah Uganda for supporting Sironko with boreholes and other interventions, saying partnerships are essential in tackling challenges that government and local authorities cannot address alone.
Nabulo said she hopes that by the end of her first term, residents will judge her leadership based on what has been delivered rather than campaign promises.
“After five years, there will be no need for campaigning. I will simply come back to ask for your vote for a second term because I will have worked and delivered on the pledges I made,” she said.
The intervention has renewed calls for more investment in rural water infrastructure as Sironko continues to grapple with limited access to safe and clean water.
This angle is stronger for a news story because it leads with the human impact of water scarcity, especially on women, girls and education, before introducing the boreholes as the solution.
