Water for People Transforms Lives in Nyabihu District

Residents of Nyabihu District, particularly in the Rugera and Shyira sectors, are grateful to have been provided with clean water by “Water for People” in their project called “Isoko y’amazi.” They report that they have been relieved from the burden of fetching water from the Mukungwa River.

They say that before receiving this clean water supply, they used to travel long distances searching for water and often found it contaminated, leading to health issues such as diarrhea.

They explain that their lives have significantly improved since the water project was completed, especially after the completion of the Rubindi-Vunga clean water supply system, which was previously incomplete.

Amani Hagumimana, a resident of Mpinga cell in Shyira sector, expressed gratitude for the water provided, stating that it is the source they desired to thrive, having witnessed its significance and desiring to be the first to fight against its contamination and destroyers.

He said, “We used to suffer without access to clean water because its source was greatly polluted. The frequent floods made us struggle with the Mukungwa River, which was full of mud, snakes, dead animals, diapers, and other wastes we couldn’t imagine. Now, we are happy that we are going to have a tap to drink clean water. We thank our government for its commitment to ensuring that its citizens live well.”

Clemantine Twizeyimana also expressed her gratitude, praising President Kagame for continuously improving their lives every day.

She said, “Our gratitude is that we have a good leader in President Paul Kagame. We thank him very much because he is a parent who never ceases to improve our living conditions and what he has promised us every day.”

This water provided to the residents, including churches, schools, health centers, markets in Shyira and Vunga, is said to have been integrated into the community’s activities and has greatly improved their living standards.

Pierrette Mukantaraza, the director of Shyira Health Center, stated that this water will help them to mitigate the number of patients suffering from diseases originating from contaminated water.

She said, “In our health centers, we were given clean water to help us diagnose and treat patients who come with water-related diseases. This will also help us to reduce the number of patients who come with waterborne diseases because we used to receive them frequently.”

The Vice Mayor in charge of Economic Development and Planning in Nyabihu District, Claude Habanabakize, mentioned that this project has exceeded their expectations in terms of providing water to the residents by 100%.

He said, “I first appreciate “Water for People” for their significant contribution in providing clean water and for helping us achieve our goal of providing water to our people by 100%. Currently, we are at 77.9%, which indicates that we still have much to do to achieve our target. We have another 9 water sheds which are being mended in collaboration with WASAC, and it will help us achieve our goal of providing water to 5 sectors connected to another water shed which has 130km of pipes.”

He thanked all partners involved in the water project, including residents who contributed by giving ways for pipes, Musanze District for sharing its water sources like Rubindi 1 and Rubindi 2, Water for People, and the sponsors, including USAID.

The Rubindi-Vunga water project, which covers a distance of 34.2 kilometers and serves 13,456 beneficiaries, has cost 600 million Rwandan francs.

It was inaugurated on March 22, which is also a special day to celebrate World Water Day.