Mission

To empower rural communities to take informed action to improve human, animal, and ecosystem health through equitable access to safe water and resilience to climate change.

Vision

A world where rural communities live and prosper in harmony with nature to meet their water needs and build resilience to climate change.

The Rural Water Initiative for Climate Action (RWICA)

is a woman- and youth-led nonprofit Community Service Organization (CSO) legally registered with the Republic of Uganda since 2020. RWICA is focused on community-driven solutions to WASH issues -- from the grassroots to the policy levels. RWICA’s unique One Health holistic approach aims to improve human, animal, and ecosystem health through community engagement and multisector collaborations that advance equitable access to safe water, resilience to climate change, and gender equity.

RWICA’s Projects Across Uganda

What makes RWICA unique?

RWICA is a model for women- and youth-driven action in the WASH arena. Our Executive Director, Aisha Nankanja, is an emerging leader that has a talent for inspiring others. The multidisciplinary RWICA team has academic training and practical experience in sociology, forestry, mechanics, accounting, and public health. RWICA understands the daily water challenges faced by women, youth, people with disabilities, refugees, and other marginalized populations, which makes it uniquely positioned to work effectively with rural communities.

The WHO and UNDP, recently promoted the cutting edge One Health approach that considers the links between human, animal, and ecosystem health and encourages multisector collaborations. Unlike others, RWICA applies One Health to WASH issues with the innovative addition of a social science aspect to frame contexts in a way that resonates with Ugandan values — Rethinking how we live with nature. We also have a designated One Health Advisor based in the USA to ensure a rigorous approach to project management.

RWICA activities are more effective when coordinated together. RWICA can provide community engagement, education, and training, and provide the technical know-how and the skills for driving the changes needed for structural and sustainable progress. We partner with other organizations and the Ministry of Water and Environment to build capacity and leverage resources.

We disseminate findings by being active members in organizations, such as UWASNET, presenting at local, regional, national, and international events, and publishing in a variety of formats to reach a broad audience.

Rwica Programs

Community Empowerment

RWICA engages and educates Uganda’s most vulnerable communities to empower them to take informed action and build social entrepreneurship Learn More

Ecosystem Conservation

RWICA builds community awareness of the holistic One Health approach and provides opportunities for local action to restore ecosystems to build resilience to climate change.

Water System Solutions

RWICA helps communities to identify and implement solutions to the most pressing water challenges.

At RWICA, we believe that understanding and monitoring water quality is crucial for the health of our planet and the well-being of all living organisms. Through the lens of citizen science, we empower individuals like you to actively contribute to this important cause.

Discover the key indicators of water quality, such as pH levels, dissolved oxygen, temperature, turbidity, and more. Learn how these factors influence the health of aquatic ecosystems and the safety of our drinking water.