Espag II, Rwanda

Project Snapshot

Country: Rwanda

GPS Coordinates:
  Latitude -2.241933
  Longitude 29.690517

Impact:
  Total Served: 500

Status:  Completed (What's This?)

Completion Date (or estimate): 10/30/2012

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Upon completion of the project, our partner in the field reports...

When the LWI Rwanda team arrived, community members were utilizing a water source that was unable to maintain their water needs. The school had no alternative for water and are in the process of collecting funding for upgrading their well to an electric submersible pump that will be managed by the school. The LWI Rwanda team was pleased to learn of the community’s use of a covered pit latrine as this will help prevent further spread of disease in the area. Most community members earn a living by farming and selling what excess produce they have at nearby markets or by teaching at the nearby secondary school. The secondary school has 1,185 students who now all have access to clean, safe drinking water. Before leaving the community, the team provided the school head master with a LWI Rwanda contact number in case their well were to fall into disrepair, become subject to vandalism or theft. One the projects implemented is for the school and the other is for the hospital, named "Institute de Gitwe". They have plans, like the rest, to upgrade these to submersible electric pumps with a gravity fed tank scheme. That means all 5 hand pumps have plans to be upgraded in the future to SEP's.

The LWI Rwanda team had an opportunity to meet with forty-two year old community member and teacher, Berenika Niyoyita, who stated, "The new water is clean and good for the students but the old one was dirty and from the swamps, and here the Interview one and caretaker are the same person because its two boreholes in one place of school."

During the hygiene education, the LWI Rwanda team addresses: Hand washing, how to properly transport and store water, disease transmission and prevention, how to maintain proper care of the pump, as well as signs and symptoms of dehydration and how to make Oral Rehydration Solution. All of these lessons are taught in a participatory method to help community members discover ways to improve their hygiene and sanitation choices, and implement community driven solutions.

Project Photos

Recent Project Updates

10/30/2012: Espag II Well Complete

We are excited to report that the Epsag II well is complete, serving a school in Rwanda.  We have just posted a report from the field including GPS coordinates and pictures from the project site

10/18/2012: A Brief Project Update

We are told by our partner that Project updates are on their way; we expect them in the next few weeks.  We'll be sure to pass them along as soon as we can.