Vienna (Fides Service) - In this UN International Year of Fresh Water, there is growing awareness of the importance of access to clean water, and the fact that many people are denied this right, especially in African countries, Uganda for example. In view of this Missio Austria, the national office of the Pontifical Mission Societies has decided to support two village water projects in Uganda. To guarantee water also in the dry season wells must be dug, pipes and rain water tanks installed. In fact collecting rain water is one of the best methods of guaranteeing water in the dry season.
Kotido village has a public water network but it is not very reliable. For the small hospital with about 180 patients run by the Catholic parish and a school for 120 children water shortage is a serious problem. Oleba village has the same situation. To guarantee clean water for all each village Missio Austria hopes to install three water tanks holding 25,000 litres each.
Bishop Ludwig Schwarz, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Austria, Missio, underlines the need for more awareness. "When we turn on the tap we take it for granted that the water is clean. But in Uganda the situation is very different: water is scarce, very often water pipes do not even exist and people have to walk as far as 15 kilometres to find clean water. This is why Missio is asking people to support initiatives to provide water in northern Uganda."
In view of the third World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan, 16-23 March, Missio Austria asks Austrian participants to ensure that access to clean water remains a right of all peoples. It also asks the European Commission to guarantee that water remains a public state service, and not to allow water to be included in the General Agreement on Trade in Services which foresees liberalisation and privatisation. MS (Fides Service 12/3/2003 EM lines 27 Words: 338)