The Katine Community Partnership Project has worked with the community to form water committees, to manage and ensure the sustainability of the water sources. The water sources also have care takers. Mary is the care taker of a borehole in Abia village. Once in a while, she consults with the project officers on a number of issues, and here she tells us about one such day.
I am Mary Amulo and I come from Abia village in Ojama parish in Katine sub-county. I am 31 years old and my husband is Elwangu Julius and is 33 years old. Both of us are peasants and have six children, four girls and two boys.
In the morning I woke up, cleaned my face, started cleaning the compound. After which I went to the garden with a hoe and when I came back home I bathed. After bathing I took some porridge which I had made earlier.
Then I dressed up and came to the sub-county and visited the Katine Project to see Richard, (Richard is AMREF’s community empowerment officer) and greet everybody at the office.
I had gone to see Richard to discuss some few things, and then talk to Anthony (the Project Assistant responsible for Water and Sanitation). I went to meet with Anthony to talk about the work plan for the village; to see how we can serve our people better.
When I went I saw a number of photographs that where taken in Katine. I really liked them. I even saw myself in some of the pictures. 
From there I came here for a meeting to see what to do, since our local council leader for Abia village had died. The chairman died on 26 June after a short illness.
I am the care taker of the borehole in Abia and I am also going to hand over the money that members contributed to the treasurer. I have been keeping the money since the death of the chairman. I used to bring the money to him.
The amount I have collected so far is 27,000 Ugandan Shillings (about £9). The policy we made in our village is that each month each family has to contribute 500 Shillings, which is put in a pool, so that when the borehole breaks down we can use this money to make repairs. We have ninety-nine households in Abia village.
Most household pay but some don’t. Some complain that they don’t have money, some say they stay very far from the water source, yet others don’t really stay in Katine. They just have houses, and come here once in a while. Indeed, many people don’t have money. Even how to get food is becoming a problem; crops are drying up and we are experiencing a draught.
At the moment we buy food. Myself, I have some goats from which we can sell one to get money. At times I go to the bush, collect firewood that I sell in the trading centre, from where I get some money to feed my family.