Help 1500 Women/Girls Lift Themselves from Poverty

Dear Lifeline Supporters,

Lifeline has been hard at work these last few months implementing its programs in the Apac District of Northern Uganda. Lifeline produced 650 of its rural wood-burning stoves (RWS), which will provide cleaner, safer cooking technology to about 3,250 beneficiaries. At a cost of about $2 each, Lifeline markets these stoves to bottom-of-the-pyramid beneficiaries that live in rural areas. Lifeline also established water points in 9 villages, providing about 4,500 beneficiaries access to clean drinking water, and ensuring sustainability by establishing and training a Water User Committee (WUC) in each community to oversee the operation and maintenance of its water point. These activities will save over 3,000 trees per year, cut C02 emissions by about 1,000 tons per year and save women and girls about 700,000 hours per year that they would have otherwise spent cooking and collecting firewood/water and can now dedicate to other activities such as education, income generation and civic participation. [1]

During this time period, Lifeline also made progress on programs beyond the scope of its Global Giving Campaign. Under its H20 Health Plus (H20+) Initiative, Lifeline is partnering with four organizations to build on its water and stove programs to improve health outcomes and increase incomes through social entrepreneurship activities in the Apac District of Northern Uganda. Indeed, Lifeline is in the process of completing 75 community health clubs (CHCs) through which 70%+ of a community’s households receive intensive training on proper hygiene/sanitation practices. Lifeline is also supporting the University of Notre Dame in its launch of a first-of-its-kind study on tracking and quantifying the health impacts of fuel-efficient stoves (FES) over 3 years. In addition to its H20+ activities, Lifeline’s stove factories in Northern Uganda/Haiti produced and sold 3,500 of its charcoal-burning FES. Lifeline sells these stoves at a subsidized rate to the urban and peri-urban populations of Uganda/Haiti that rely on charcoal as their primary fuel source. Through these activities, Lifeline reached more than 17,000 beneficiaries that will see a 10%+ increase in their family’s disposable income and, over the course of the next 3+ years, these stoves will save about 52,000 trees per year and cut C02 emissions by over 10,000 tons per year.

Thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,

The Lifeline Team

Stories From the Field:

Water

Sam is a resident of the Northern Ugandan village of Alaibung. Sam and others in his community used to gather water from a small, muddy hole in the ground. When speaking about the previous water source, Sam noted: “We used to maintain it by digging regularly to keep water coming up.”

With the generous support of its donors, Lifeline was able to construct a borehole in Alaibung to provide access to clean, safe drinking water. In addition, Alaibung’s community members have mobilized their own CHC. Sam and his family are active CHC members and Sam proudly serves as the secretary of the WUC for his community borehole. On the impact of receiving access to clean water, Sam shared: “Before the borehole, we used to suffer from typhoid, diarrhea, stomachaches, intestinal worms and so many illnesses...” In addition, residents of Alaibung reported that the borehole saves them time now that they only walk an average of three to five minutes to access clean water.

Stoves

Tom and Catherine and their eleven children are residents of the village of Alaibung. Like many residents, they used to face the challenges associated with preparing food on inefficient stoves. Countless hours were spent collecting firewood and meals would take about four to six hours to prepare. In addition, cooking on inefficient stoves exposed the family to hazardous smoke.

Thanks to Lifeline’s supporters, Tom and Chatherine's family now cooks on one of Lifeline’s RWS. This stove is a single, pre-fabricated unit made locally from clay, rice husk and mica. The stove offers a safer alternative to cooking on an open fire and it results in fuel savings of about 45%.

[1] Lifeline’s RWS have a lifespan of approximately 3 years and its boreholes are expected to last 10-20 years.