World Vision Brought Clean Water to More Than 1 Million Rwandans

Access to Clean Water Transforms Lives in Rwanda

For years, whenever Regina Mukasimpunga sat in church, she found it hard to concentrate on anything other than the chore awaiting her when service let out: fetching water.

The never-ending task dominated the life of the rural Rwandan community, forcing residents to leave the house with jerry cans before the sun came up to take long walks in the darkness in the hilly terrain to reach a spring. There, they often competed with other families to fill jugs, everyone desperate to move on with their days as quickly as possible.

“We would wake up at 5 a.m. to get water, which often took two hours. When we finished, we were exhausted,” said Mukasimpunga, at her home in Gicumbi district, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of the capital, Kigali. “We couldn’t farm productively.”

Mukasimpunga and her husband, Fulgence Ndemeye, enlisted their three children to help, but the job could last so long it made the children late for school, their tardiness earning them reprimands from their teachers and challenging their ability to keep up in school and study when at home.

Then, in 2021, World Vision opened a water station about 50 meters (164 feet) from their home. The life change was immediate: Now, everyone could start their day on time, take more showers, and wash their clothes more frequently. Mukasimpunga and Ndemeye could grow tomatoes year-round and not just during the rainy season. They could triple the livestock water ration, which meant their cow gave them more milk, which they could sell to their neighbors. The family’s economics improved so much, they were able to join a savings group.

Mukasimpunga and Ndemeye’s story is just one of many. The same story has happened over and over again in Rwanda, changing the daily lives of 1 million people in this country of 13.4 million, thanks to one of the final commitments made by former World Vision CEO Richard Stearns.

A 30-year partnership

World Vision’s now 30-year history in Rwanda—the ministry has been serving in the country since the genocide ended in 1994—has played a critical role in allowing them to build physical and social infrastructure at scale. World Vision Rwanda is the largest NGO in the country, with an average annual budget of $34 million, and only six of their 303 staff are of non-Rwandese nationality. They are also the country’s largest non-governmental partner in providing clean water.

After the universal basic water coverage initiative kicked off in 2018, World Vision met leaders of the districts where its 39 areas are based to set goals. They signed memos of understanding stating that World Vision would contribute 60 percent of the project’s costs and that the government would contribute the remaining 40 percent.

“If you just look at the journey from 1994 to now, infrastructure development, compared to other countries, has gone very fast,” said Pauline Okumu, the national director of World Vision Rwanda. “The message is: We have to build our country. There’s intentionality around goal setting.”

For engineers, their first step of creating clean water infrastructure is studying the topography of a region and determining if they need to build a pumping station or if they can supply water by gravity, says Murebwayire Marie Léonce, a technical program manager for World Vision’s WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) program. Engineers must design the correct water pumps and install them, and a technical team services the water treatment system.

“Most of the areas where we serve are not reached by road. Service providers transport all materials by car till the nearest road, and the community supports by transporting materials manually from the road to the designated site,” said Léonce.

Not everything has been smooth. Existing infrastructure has been vulnerable to floods and landslides. Land needed for new infrastructure sometimes runs through people’s private property. Negotiating with farmers takes time and occasionally requires the government to step in.

But Okumu, who has worked in a number of countries around the continent, noted that in contrast to public officials she has observed in other places, the Rwandan government has frequently reached out to engage World Vision. Public officials are regularly evaluated on whether they accomplish their goals, and in turn, this accountability spurs them to reach out to their NGO partners to ensure they are doing their part.

Unlike other organizations based in Kigali who might make trips to other parts of the country, “World Vision is community-based,” said Alice Muhimpundu, WASH’s health behavioral change manager. “We are there.”

Further, World Vision’s own vision casting makes them an ideal partner, said Parfaite Uwera, the acting mayor of Gicumbi District, an area of nearly half a million, where CT visited a water pump, a water point station, and a clinic, church, and school.

Providing sanitation education

World Vision also works with churches from numerous denominations to teach sanitation curriculum, identifying priests and pastors as “key change agents” who can help students make connections between hygiene and Scripture. The most effective teacher, though, has been COVID-19. Anxiety about contracting the disease changed personal behavior and policy.

When churches closed during the lockdown, the government worked with religious leaders to determine its criteria for reopening houses of worship. One feature now necessary for churches: handwashing stations. When people met for the first time after lockdown at one ADEPR (Association of French Pentecostals in Rwanda) congregation in Gicumbi, greeters met them on the steps and directed them to handwashing stations, delivered to them by World Vision.

“Then they could hug and sit next to each other and not feel nervous,” said Sunday Emmanuel, one of the pastors. “Washing is now part of the culture.”

The church has a large outdoor baptismal font; previously, they used rainwater, but now they can take from their clean water supply.

Not all churches have had access to these types of hygienic facilities. For months, the ADEPR church has been hosting another congregation that has been unable to get its own building because of the sanitation requirements.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

   • Target 6.1: By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.
   • Indicator: Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services (mentioned in the article as achieving universal basic water service coverage).

2. SDG 4: Quality Education

   • Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable, and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.
   • Indicator: Percentage of children attending school regularly and on time (mentioned in the article as children being late for school due to fetching water).

3. SDG 1: No Poverty

   • Target 1.4: By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular, the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services.
   • Indicator: Percentage of households with access to improved water sources (implied in the article as improved access to water leading to economic improvements for the family).

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Analysis

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

   The issues highlighted in the article are connected to SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 4: Quality Education, and SDG 1: No Poverty.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

   Based on the article’s content, the specific targets identified are Target 6.1: Achieving universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all, Target 4.1: Ensuring that all girls and boys complete free, equitable, and quality primary and secondary education, and Target 1.4: Ensuring equal rights to economic resources and access to basic services for the poor and vulnerable.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

   Yes, there are indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets. The article mentions the proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services as an indicator for achieving universal basic water service coverage (Target 6.1). It also implies the percentage of children attending school regularly and on time as an indicator for ensuring quality education (Target 4.1). Additionally, the article implies the percentage of households with access to improved water sources as an indicator for reducing poverty (Target 1.4).

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Fuente: christianitytoday.com

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