In Luwero district Uganda,  members of Bajja Basaaga loans and savings group in Dekabusa Village, Luwero Sub-county have in recent months found a new way to improve their household hygiene and sanitation. They started a new initiative dubbed Kagwirawo (meaning ‘instant cash’), through which they make cash contributions that are passed on to a different member every week. The cash is then used to improve a selected aspect of domestic hygiene and sanitation in the members’ homes.

Cash rounds are not a new initiative in the area. Groups of different sizes have been meeting in the past with the bigger groups called SACCOS while the smaller groups are called ebibina. These groups in the past have saved for events such as burials, wedding ceremonies and small economic ventures but infrequently for health related concerns. In these arrangements the group members met regularly and are allowed to make deposits  and borrow from their group. However, as a result of increased awareness of hygiene and sanitation issues stimulated by the CoHeRe project, members decided to work through their group to improve the hygiene and sanitation in their homes. Most homes had no latrines, proper kitchens or other recommended sanitation facilities such as drying racks. Kagwirawo (Instant cash) was selected as a preferred alternative to collective action because it saves the members’ time and provides cheap instant cash, compared to the interest-laden loans from the group.

Research findings from CoHeRe indicate that the initiative has become popular amongst members and they agreed to continue with it after the first year of pilot. Two members including the Chairman of the Village Local Council constructed kitchens, saving them the troubles of cooking from open spaces. The Chairman summed up the benefits they are reaping as follows:

“Before I built this kitchen we had challenges in terms of cooking because whenever it rained we would delay to cook and find difficulties in cooking because we were cooking in open space; firewood would get wet, the fire place too, and we would eat half cooked food or eat very late because of those reasons. Firewood would get used up very fast because wind would blow it and we would use a lot of firewood. People would know what a chairperson for the entire village has cooked because they would see the wife preparing food or sauce in the open and they say today chairman has eaten ground nuts. Now that I have a kitchen such things no longer happen. We are able to keep our firewood dry and we eat in time” (Chairman, LC1).

Meeting in Progress                                                     Before: Birungi’s open-air kitchen kitchen at the side of the house

Several of the women members bought dish racks and moved away from keeping their utensils on dusty floors. Others bought domestic utensils such as plates, flasks, cups and lunch boxes for their school going children. This initiative has also yielded unexpected benefits for instance, new members were attracted to join the group as a result of this initiative. Moreover, those who made sanitation improvements with the Kagwirawo cash made additional changes using their own money. Some installed improved cooking stoves in the new kitchens, while others added drying racks to their compounds. Members reported that they were able to address sanitation and hygiene needs that they would otherwise have never given priority. Female members were happy that they were able to meet their priority needs in the home without having to beg for money from their husbands as one female member explains.

“Sometimes men are reluctant to buy such items and we keep admiring neighbors with such items, so if one gets that money – you definitely buy the item. … these men  keep on dragging forward their promises, you know for us women we love seeing that one meets our needs once and for all, so if we have money we meet our needs, in that way we stop begging for the same item – this also prevents conflicts in families” (group member).

This experience shows that there exist within communities initiatives and resources that can be harnessed successfully for health. Potential community resources and initiatives need to be identified. Indeed tapping into the Kagwirawo approach can be one way for improving people’s health. We therefore recommend that it should be scaled up in other social groups that exist in communities in and outside Uganda so as to improve hygiene and other health related aspects even as other community resources which can be harnessed to improve health are identified.

The writer is the contact person for the Strengthening Sustainable Community Health Resources in Resources Poor Settings (CoHeRe)