Congratulations to Alice Bechtel, Riverside East Rotary’s Rotarian of the Year!

Thank you to our May speakers including Zubair Bakubye sharing an update on the Toilets for Life project in Uganda, Gayle Hawkins, Community Relationship Chair of Smile Unto Him, Jennifer Contreras, Community Engagement Specialist, Ontario International Airport, and David Brambilla, American Legion Joe Dominguez Post 742.

Thanks to Tom Evans for organizing an entertaining and educational trip to the Da Vinci Exhibit at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

Thank you to our April speakers including Adam Karelin, Executive Director of the Riverside Arts Academy, Jordan McCandliss, California Inland Empire Council, Boy Scouts of America, our RYLA students, and Finn Comer discussion preparations for Show and Go.

Thank you to our March speakers including Al Rubio, District 5330 Membership Chair, Nick Adcock, President of the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce, Jackie Phillips speaking about health and wellness, and Thomas Coates, California Program Director for CARE.

Thank you to all of our speakers for February including Dell Roberts, Community Leader and founder and Chair of the Black History Parade and the Adrian “Dell” and Carmen Roberts Foundation; Dr. Claire Oliveros, President, Riverside City College (RCC); and Jamie Zinn, District Governor of Rotary District 5330.

Thank you to all of our speakers for January, including Margie Haupt, the Arts and Cultural Affairs Manager for the City of Riverside; Nancy Melendez, President of the Spanish Town Heritage Foundation; Major Premek Kramerius, The Salvation Army; Maria Esther Fernandez, Artistic Director at The Cheech and Jo Scott-Coe, RCC professor and author, Unheard Witness: The Life and Death of Kathy Leissner Whitman.

Brief Report on Toilets for Life Project Status: December 2023

I would like to appreciate the efforts of the members of the Riverside East Rotary Club, D5330 for enabling the community of Bugiri access funding and services through this global grant.

The progress to date is as below;

Construction of toilets.

Implementation of the planned construction of five modern toilet is at 99% complete.

• Hindocha P/S. : complete 100%.
• Nakavule P/S. : complete 100%.
• Bus Park. : complete 100%.
• Central market. On going and to be completed by 15^th December 2023. There was a delay due to land ownership issues. The site was changed from Bugiri Municipal Market to Namayemba Town Council Market. Complete 95%
• Bugiri Main Hospital. Complete but there was adjustment on the design to comply with Ministry of Health standards.

Purchase of Cesspool Emptier Truck.

The truck was procured and already provides services to the schools and health centers. An affordable fee is charged for the services to supplement on fuel and related operational costs. The staff were recruited by ITT Vocational Training Center, the Co-operating Organization. The Host Club, ITT and other key stakeholders will soon discuss the details regarding the future management of the Truck as Rotary transition from the implementation phase.

WASH Training

The initial training for the WASH Committee members and staff in water sanitation and hygiene practices was conducted by K & J consult Ltd. A total of 25 members from the Bugiri Local Government, Toilet User Committee and the WASH management Committee members were trained for 3 days.  A follow-up training is to be conducted in January 2024.

M&E

The Monitoring and valuation have been conducted by the grant committee members of the RC Iganga, the cooperating organization, and the local government as well the benefiting institutions. This has resulted in an improved quality of infrastructure that have been constructed by the service providers. The members of RC Iganga and the Rotary District 9213 Officials have participated in the monitoring and appreciated the quality of work and the potential impact the project will have on the school children and entire community of Bugiri Municipality.

Other items

• Project visibility is ongoing. We made an announcement on the radio, placed Rotary stickers on the completed toilets and the truck. We plan to install a signpost along the main highway representing Toilet for Life Project and the partners.
• The laptop was procured and is being used by the Project Administrator to support documentation.
• Official commissioning is expected in January 2024. We plan to invite the District Governor and will be pleased to have a representative from the Riverside East Rotary Club.

Note: I am working with the cooperating organization and the RC Iganga Grant Committee to compile a detailed report (narrative & financial) for submission to you for your review in January 2024. The target is that before the end of January, we would submit a final report to the Rotary Foundation and then close this project.

Yours in Rotary Service,

Michael Bazira

Primary Contact

Toilet4Life Project

RC Iganga

Riverside East Rotary had a great time helping out at Overflow Farms in Riverside.  Overflow Farms is a non-profit organization dedicated to growing wholesome foods for our community, giving to local food banks, pantries, and churches who help those in need.  We’re lucky to have this much needed resource in our community!