In line with the Rwandan Government’s target of reaching 100% of access to clean water by 2024, WASAC has been implementing various projects among which the project on the Rehabilitation, Upgrading and Extension of Water Supply in Nyagatare District and Peri-Urban areas of Kayonza and Gatsibo with aim to address water shortage and improve access to clean water.
This project was financed by the African Development Bank under Rwanda Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation Program, a program that is aiming at improving the quality of life and socio-economic development of the people and country by ensuring equitable provision of adequate, reliable and sustainable water and sanitation services for targeted cities with a view to promote economic growth and transformation.
The implementation of Nyagatare project resulted in the construction of 131.2Km Pipeline, construction of four (4) chlorination units, rehabilitation of 38 water reservoirs of 1834m3 total capacity, construction of 20 new reservoirs of 2675m3 total capacity, the rehabilitation of 73 kiosks and water taps, construction of 42 new water Kiosks, rehabilitation of 10 water sources and 1100 pro-poor were connected free of charge. Altogether the project will cover approximately 132,000 beneficiaries.
Nyagatare Residents have a story to tell…
Residents of Tabagwe sector in Nyagatare District located in Eastern province are among the beneficiaries of this project. These residents have been facing challenges of water scarcity especially in dry seasons. They were also subjected to not only using dirty water from marshalands and unprotected sources, but also drinking and using it for cooking, which was affecting their health and working conditions.
We met Mukabalisa Jeannette and Innocent Bizimana, residenst of Nyabitekeri Cell fetching water at one of the water Kiosks constructed in Tabagwe Sector. They said they have been spending a lot of time to find water and sometimes infected with different water borne diseases.
“I have been suffering from cough and flu due to drinking dirty water, and children used to suffer from intestinal worms. Besides this, using dirty water for wash couldn’t make our clothes clean. We are thankful to have clean water near our homes. It’s important to have it as we no longer use dirty water from marshlands”, Mukabalisa Said.
“We have been happy for this project which helped us get clean water last year. As you know, dirty water causes diseases like Cholera. When we needed clean water, we used to walk for kilometers and spend like two hours”, Said Innocent.
Through the project, WASAC connected 1100 pro-poor families to water for free. Mukunzi Philomene aged 74 and Mugabarigira Jean Nepo aged 57 are amongst those families. They said that they did not expect getting water in their homes as they were unable to pay water connections. “It’s through the President Kagame’s visionary leadership that left none behind”, they said.
Different institutions connected to water through the project
12 Schools, seven (7) Health Centers and Hospitals, one university and One Industrial Park have been connected to clean water. Groupe Scolaire Tabagwe and Tabagwe Health Center are amongst them.
Mugisha Dan is the Head of Tabagwe Health Center, He said that they have been using rain water, but during dry season, it was difficult to get water and while these health facilities use a lot of water to deliver quality services, it was not easy for them.
“Having water connections helped us improve hygiene and speed service delivery to our patients. We now have enough clean water in all our services, and we no longer suffer from water scarcity. Before, we used to get water from far and was expensive. We have been paying between 100- 200 Rwfs per Jerrecan to vendors”, Mugisha said.
Habumuremyi Wellars, the Head Teacher in charge of studies at Groupe Scolaire Tabagwe, cites that before the project implementation, students have been missing classes and eat late as getting water was a big challenge.
“Now we have water connections all over the school at 100%. We are grateful to WASAC for the great job done and continue efforts to solve water scarcity in different parts of the country”, He mentioned.
BYAMUGISHA Bernard, the Head of Nyagatare Branch said that the project on the Rehabilitation, Upgrading and Extension of Water Supply in Nyagatare District and Peri-Urban areas resulted in increasing the rate of safe water access at around 60% in Nyagatare District for there were no pipes, reservoirs or even water kiosks in those areas, but after the construction of these infrastructures, people have clean water now.
Xavier Rwabasira, the SPIU Coordinator at WASAC requested residents to take care of the water infrastructures provided to them as they first serve them and if damaged, they will be the first to suffer from water outage.
He added that this is a phase one of the project, there are other projects coming up which will support in connecting the rest parts of Eastern Province for everyone to have access to clean water.
This project has had a huge impact on the people of Nyagatare where it has come as solution to the various water problems that were affecting the area of Nyagatare. Having completed this phase, WASAC in partnership with African Development Bank plan to extend the project in Ngoma District also located in Eastern province.
