St. Theresa Secondary School Well

Project Snapshot

Country: Rwanda

GPS Coordinates:
  Latitude -1.960967
  Longitude 30.535600

Impact:
  Total Served: 700

Status:  Completed (What's This?)

Completion Date (or estimate): 08/19/2011

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A hand-pumped well was recently completed at the St. Theresa Secondary
School and surrounding community in Rwanda.  It will serve up to 700
people in the area.  The community used to draw it's water from a nearby
pond.  The school would often send a vehicle to find a clean water
source for students at great expense.  Now, both the school and
community are freed from this burden so they can pursue more productive
activities without the risk of illness from dirty water.

Our implementing partner reports from the project that...

"When the LWI Rwanda team arrived, community members were dependent on a municipal water system located three kilometers away from the community, to meet all of their water
needs. Because of the community's dependence on this inconsistent water
source, families were, at times, forced to seek local and contaminated
water sources to meet their water needs and were suffering from cholera,
dysentery, typhoid and malaria. During the team's stay, community
members assisted the team with the water project whenever possible and
helped provide security over the project during the night. Most
community members earn a living by small scale farming or by teaching at
the secondary school. The school is located three kilometers away from
the community, whose students, teachers and administrative personnel all have access to the new, safe water source. Before leaving the community, the team provided community member, Abraham Kitende, with a LWI Rwanda contact number in case their well were to fall into disrepair, become subject to vandalism or theft.

The LWI Rwanda team had an opportunity to meet with fifty-five year old
community member and school directory, Abraham Kitende, who stated, 'The
municipal water system was not enough especially for the girls, we used
to get more water from Lake Muhazi which was dirty but we had no
alternative. We are so happy to have this water well which shall relieve
our cost of repairs of the [school's] cars and fuel to and from Muhazi.
We are so blessed to have clean water. Thank you.'

The LWI Rwanda team shared an introductory hygiene lesson with community members gathered at the well site. During the hygiene education, the team addressed: Disease transmission, germs, hand washing, proper water saving techniques, healthy and unhealthy communities, Oral Rehydration Solution, how to take proper care of the pump, how to keep the water clean, community mapping and identifying good and bad hygiene behaviors, and dental hygiene."

Project Photos

Recent Project Updates

08/19/2011: St. Theresa Secondary School Well is Complete
A hand-pumped well was recently completed for the St. Theresa Secondary School and surrounding community in Rwanda.  It will serve up to 700 people in the area. We have posted pictures, GPS coordinates and a report from the field.