Project Title: Clean Water and Appropriate Technology

FSD Partner: Busoga Trust

Summary: Over the past few months, FSD intern John Allen has been involved in water development efforts in Jinja, Uganda. John’s internship has been hosted by Busoga Trust, an organization that seeks to extend the coverage of safe drinking water and sanitation to rural communities in Uganda. With his background in Civil Engineering, John has been working actively with the technical team at Busoga Trust to serve communities by facilitating the construction of shallow well sources. This has improved the health of residents in communities like Igombe, where villagers have worked together to construct a clean water source.

Project Title: Eco-tourism a Solution to Over-fishing

FSD Partner: Ugandan Fisheries Development Association

Summary: Lisa Zhu, an Urban Studies major from UPenn, worked with the Ugandan Fisheries Development Association in Jinja, Uganda. Lisa helped to found an eco-tourism business to aid the socioeconomic and environmental conditions plaguing the island communities of Rwabitoke and Kisima. The business (which involves boat excusions for tourists) developed out of a need for alternate methods of income generation for the island residents, most of who live in poverty and exploit Lake Victoria’s resources through over-fishing. In other words, the business created non-environmentally damaging jobs for the local community members, either by employing them directly in the tour operation or by providing micro-entrepreneurs with an external market of foreign tourists to purchase their goods.