Photo Sets » Lake Albert - Kaiso, Uganda
View Slideshow
Kaiso is a small fishing village perched on the shores of Lake Albert with a view of the Blue Mountains of Congo (DRC) 23 kms away. This fishing village is exceedingly marginalized with one of the worst qualities of water around. There are no other NGOs within 2 hours of this village. We travelled here to meet the other Peace Corps Volunteer who works and lives in the community on a multitude of projects. There is a huge irony here that just hits you in your soul; these people have no clean water even though they live on the shores of one of the largest fresh water lakes in the world. This isn't about "no water in the desert." This is about an area where livestock feed and defecate in the same water that women wash clothes. And then you see a small kid gather 5 gallons of the same water. On one level, it's sad. On another, it's amazingly beautiful. Beautiful, but amazingly difficult. Lake Rescue works here trying to help the villagers, teaching them how to swim, providing a project for village-made life jackets, and providing a search and rescue service. It's a harsh place. In the last six months, 57 of the 2600 people have died for various reasons: drownings, malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition, etc. That's close to 5% in half a year.
Kaiso is a small fishing village perched on the shores of Lake Albert with a view of the Blue Mountains of Congo (DRC) 23 kms away. This fishing village is exceedingly marginalized with one of the worst qualities of water around. There are no other NGOs within 2 hours of this village. We travelled here to meet the other Peace Corps Volunteer who works and lives in the community on a multitude of projects. There is a huge irony here that just hits you in your soul; these people have no clean water even though they live on the shores of one of the largest fresh water lakes in the world. This isn't about "no water in the desert." This is about an area where livestock feed and defecate in the same water that women wash clothes. And then you see a small kid gather 5 gallons of the same water. On one level, it's sad. On another, it's amazingly beautiful. Beautiful, but amazingly difficult. Lake Rescue works here trying to help the villagers, teaching them how to swim, providing a project for village-made life jackets, and providing a search and rescue service. It's a harsh place. In the last six months, 57 of the 2600 people have died for various reasons: drownings, malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition, etc. That's close to 5% in half a year.
