The Water Project
Learn
Act
See
Give

Share the Story

Musenyi Community Well

Photo of Musenyi Community Well

Project Snapshot

Country: Rwanda

GPS Coordinates:
  Latitude -1.347533
  Longitude 30.218733

Impact:
  Total Served: 500

Status:  Completed (What's This?)

Completion Date (or estimate): 11/09/2011

Share this Project

The people of Musenyi had to walk over a kilometer to swampy unprotected spring for their water. The vice mayor of social affairs for the district of Nyagatare, Charlotte Musabyimana, asked LWI Rwanda if we could help these people. After visiting the community and talking to the people and hearing their stories of the ravaging effects of diarrhea disease and malaria that has been a norm in this community, we decided this would be a great place for a well. A well committee has been formed for this well, consisting of the village chief, a church representative, and a layman from the village. This committee has opened a bank account which will help fund repairs in the future and ensure financial ownership of the well by the community which will assist in the project's long-term sustainability. This well has also been enrolled in LWI's operations and maintenance program which will ensure that the site is visited quarterly to check on the pump's operability, as well as to perform follow-up health and hygiene training, tell Bible stories, pray with the community, and strengthen ties with the local church. Most community members earn a living by herding cattle for daily wages. The nearest school is located two 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, Pierre Akizimana, 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 thirty-three year old community member and cattle herder, Augustine Ngwabije, who stated, "We are excited about our new water pump. Having clean water in our village will transform our lives. We are thankful to God and to Living Water International."

Melchizedek Keoye taught health and hygiene practices to 50 local people in the village of Musenyi. LWI Rwanda hygiene educator, Melchizedek, addressed: Disease transmission, germs, hand washing, proper water saving techniques, healthy and unhealthy communities, causes of diarrhea, how to take proper care of the pump, how to keep the water clean, tippy tap and simple hand washing devises, good and bad hygiene behaviors, disease transmission stories, clean hands and clean hearts and dental hygiene.


Project Photos


Recent Project Updates

11/09/2011: Musenyi Community Well is Completed

A new well has just been completed for the Musenyi Community in Rwanda.  We have posted pictures, GPS coordinates, and a report from the field.



Sponsors


86 individual donors
Duck Creek Community Church
Chaparral Middle School
Oyster River High School
SECA Environmental Supply, LLC
Nitya Surya
EmpathyTURNEDON.com
Delta Sigma Theta Soroity Inc - Framingham
ASA Summerfuel
Kehillat Israel Blue Room Children and Families, 2010-11
American Endowment Foundation
Lackland Chapel Community, USAF
Neighborhood Artists
Powell United Methodist Women
Ecole Seconaire Ballenas Secondary School
Dylans Dharma


Country Details

Rwanda

Population: 10.2 million
Lacking clean water: 35%
Below poverty line: 60%
Climate:Varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north
Languages: Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers
Ethnic Groups: Hutu (Bantu) 84%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 15%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%
Life Expectancy: 51 years
Infant Mortality Rate: 72 deaths per 1000 live births

While 35 percent of Rwanda's population lacks access to an improved water source, the country has numerous rivers and streams as well as tremendous potential for developing groundwater resources. Villagers in many areas are forced to walk several miles to the nearest source of water—contaminated water from a swamp, stream, or open well. For these desperate communities, Living Water International offers hope. Since beginning operations in Rwanda in 2007, Living Water has completed more than 195 water projects there.

Read more about the program »

Partner Profile

Living Water International

Nearly 20 years ago, we set out to help the church in North America be the hands and feet of Jesus by serving the poorest of the poor. 600 million people in the world live on less than $2 a day. 884 million people lack access to safe drinking water.


For all practical purposes, these statistics refer to the same people; around the world, communities are trapped in debilitating poverty because they constantly suffer from water-related diseases and parasites, and/or because they spend long stretches of their time carrying water over long distances.


In response to this need, we implement participatory, community-based water solutions in developing countries. Since we started, we’ve completed water projects for 7,000 communities in 26 countries.


It all began in 1990, when a group from Houston, Texas traveled to Kenya and saw the desperate need for clean drinking water. They returned to Houston and founded a 501(c)3 non-profit. The fledgling organization equipped and trained a team of Kenyan drillers, and LWI Kenya began operations the next year under the direction of a national board.


That pattern continues today; we train, consult, and equip local people to implement solutions in their own countries.


Remembering the life-changing nature of that first trip in 1990, we also lead hundreds of volunteers on mission trips each year, working with local communities, under the leadership of nationals, to implement water projects. It’s hard to know which lives are changed more—those “serving” or those “being served.”


Our training programs in shallow well drilling, pump repair, and hygiene education have equipped thousands of volunteers and professionals in the basics of integrated water solutions since 1997.

Implementer


Living Water International

Living Water International exists to demonstrate the love of God by helping communities acquire desperately needed clean water.


Program Summary


Wells for Rwanda

The Water Project is partnering with Living Water International to provide wells in Rwanda that bring clean, safe drinking water to thousands. And we're committing to making sure that these projects last for a long time by thinking through sustainability first.  From the beginning, we'll have a plan in place to monitor and evaluate each well over time.  We'll train communities in basic repair and maintenance, and we'll be available to help if things break down.

LWI will work with each community to ensure there is local ownership.  We'll also fund sanitation and hygiene training so that better health practices will multiply the good of a new clean source of water.  And then we'll keep going back...to make sure things continue working long into the future.


Sponsor a Project


Project Data




A new well for a community in Rwanda

Project Type:  Hand Pumped Well

Location:  Nyagatare, Karama, Musenyi, Gikundamvura, Rwanda

Depth:  120.00



ProjectID: 3019

 
 
Give Water. Donate Now »
The Water Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit | Privacy Policy | © 2013