Program Background

The community members in the Rugerero Survivor’s Village have cited water security as a major limitation to maintaining good health. They have cited a lack of clean water available for hydration and also for promoting good hygiene. Currently, Regie Water Company supplies the village with two water pumps for 600 people. The piping is an outdated system, not suitable for drinking and many times the plumbing system malfunctions. When technical problems arise and the Regie Company perform maintenance on the pipes, the village pump is completely shut off. During these times of water insecurity, villagers travel about 1 km to collect water at the Sebya River which promotes transmission of parasitic, fungal and bacterial diseases. To help address this problem, the Philadelphia based NGO Barefoot Artists has contracted the Roto company, an engineering firm from Kigali, to build rain water gutters on the corrugated metal roofs of all the 25 buildings that drain into 1000L plastic storage tanks to help increase water supply. The Roto Company is providing materials and instructions for construction to the villagers who then must build the systems themselves. An EWB analysis is necessary to analyze the effectiveness of this system and also to ensure safe and clean storage of the water. An additional approach to address the water insecurity is the construction of a storage tank attached to the village water pump. The Regie Company has identified this construction as a very helpful solution to ensuring the village’s water supply during periods of water pipe maintenance. Since this company is stretched thin from working with many different villages, they encourage outside NGOs to work on this project.

The village’s plumbing system also needs drastic improvements. Each house has an outhouse and a bathing site that are attached to two separate PVC pipes. The pipe for washing runs above ground behind the house and drains onto the ground. Next to that, the pipe for the toilet runs into a concrete septic tank behind each house. This pipe is located slightly bellow the ground, superficially covered with dirt. Many of the concrete tops of the septic tanks have caved in. Some families have placed leaves over the tanks, while others have simply stopped using them altogether. An EWB assessment may assess whether it is possible to fix the broken plumbing systems or design a new one. It is important to note that concrete mixture is in low supply but high demand.

In addition to the Rugerero Village, the project team will be visiting the Twa Village in an effort to provide a water and/or sanitation solution. The cause of the problem is poverty in the village and treatment of the Twa people over time. The Twa people have been pushed out of many areas as more “powerful” ethnic groups took over their homes. The villagers can not afford to buy water or build latrines. Their only option for water is the river near the village. The river water is extremely contaminated. There has been no aid to this village per our NGO in Rwanda.

Description of Community

The village of Rugerero was built in 1997-98 to help the survivors of the 1994 genocide. With the exception of ten housing units, each housing unit is constructed from mud, plaster and corrugated roofing and the interior features a cooking area, bedroom, living room, living room and toilet. Squat toilets drain through plastic piping into cement septic tanks in the back of each unit. Water is required to flush waste material through the piping and into the septic tanks. Previous health assessments identified several problems including high incidence of broken plastic piping and collapsed septic tanks, both of which expose community members directly to waste material and increase the risk for fecal-oral disease transmission.

In Rwanda, there are three major ethnic groups. The Twa make up 1 percent of the Rwandan population. Over the course of history, the Twa people have suffered ethnic prejudice, discrimination, violence, and general exclusion from society. The Twa village is situated on land that can not be farmed. There are no bathroom facilities in the village, no water, and many of the homes are in very poor shape. Some homes do not have roofs. There are 23 families in the village. This community is a tightly knit community so community wide solutions may be a possiblity. As desired by the community, the project will provide the Twa people with water or sanitation, which will improve overall health in the village.

Project Location
Longitude: 1°41’26”
Latitude: 29°17’60”

Project Impact (Rugerero Village)
Number of persons directly affected: 37,000
Number of persons indirectly affected: 37,000

Project Impact (Twa Village)
Number of Persons directly affected: 125
Number of Persons indirectly affected: 600