Rwanda is making great strides in several areas including improving access to water and sanitation for its citizens as demonstrated in Rulindo district
Water remains a precious and sometimes scarce commodity the world over.
This was the case a few years ago with Rulindo district, (one of the
districts of Rwanda, North of Kigali) which was ranked at the bottom in
terms of access to water and sanitation services, but this is slowly becoming a
distant memory as hope for all residents to enjoy the precious commodity slowly
becomes reality.
Rulindo is one of the two districts (alongside Kicukiro) assigned to Water For People when it started its work in Rwanda in 2008. Rulindo occupies an area of 567 km2 and has a total population of approximately 285,000 people. The district is composed of steep hills and valleys, and is divided into 17 sectors, which are further divided into 71 cells and 494 villages (known locally as imidugudu).
According to Water For People Project Manager D Eugene, three
sectors out of the 17 sectors of Rulindo have made great progress towards
finalizing water supply systems under the project. One of these, the Kisaro sector water supply
system, has water flowing to 28 communities and over 17,000 people. Water systems in Ntarabana and Burega sectors
are now reaching 25 communities with safe drinking water. In Shyorongi and
Ngoma, feasibility studies for water supply have been completed and tender
processes are being finalized. Feasibility and design studies for the 14 other
sectors are underway.
Access to drinking water in Rulindo has so far surpassed the national average at 78 percent compared to the Rwanda national figure of 71 per cent (MIS July 2012) while the national sanitation coverage is 55 per cent according JMPUNICEF/WHO).
Access to drinking water in Rulindo has so far surpassed the national average at 78 percent compared to the Rwanda national figure of 71 per cent (MIS July 2012) while the national sanitation coverage is 55 per cent according JMPUNICEF/WHO).
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The district’s Mayor is pleased by what has been achieved so far: "What
has been achieved in just a few years after emerging from war is
great," says Rulindo Mayor Justus Kangwage whose district was recently
ranked 11th in terms of water and sanitation coverage amongst Rwanda’s districts.
Kangwage called for greater leadership at the local district
level urging the Executive Secretaries of sectors to hold meetings at
decentralized levels to ensure that every person in the district understood the
Rulindo challenge as well as the concept of Everyone Forever - including those
sectors where the programme had yet to be implemented. The Rulindo Challenge
and the Everyone Forever program are the operational concepts being used to
promote water and sanitation by Water For People in collaboration with its
partners in Rwanda.
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| Different types of water systems that have been put up in different parts of Rulindo to improve the water supply |
The efforts to improve the districts’ water and sanitation services
received a major boost when stakeholders in a meeting in Rulindo district came
up with key resolutions, aimed at ensuring 100 percent coverage of water and
sanitation by 2016. “The Government of Rwanda has committed itself
to an ambitious and elaborate goal to have 100 percent access to drinking water
and sanitation services by the year 2020,” according to Ms. Jose Mukanyamwasa, at
the National Policy & Strategy for Water Supply and Sanitation Services. Access to water ranges within the sectors
with Buyoga enjoying 95.2 per cent coverage while Rukizo has 47.5 per cent
access.
Several approaches being used by Water For People in collaboration with
key stakeholders to promote access to water and sanitation under the Everyone
Forever Initiative, in Rulindo, Rwanda were also unanimously adopted by key
stakeholders from the sector at a meeting at Shyorongi in Rulindo. The meeting was called to discuss progress
of the Rulindo Challenge, a project on water services and business
opportunities, utilizing Akvo FLOW as a monitoring tool to track progress over
time. It was recommended that the current MIS (Management
Information System) and Akvo FLOW be harmonized and that the district will buy
android phones to facilitate monitoring and evaluation using Akvo FLOW.
The Rulindo Challenge Program Partners’ Workshop Achievements, Challenges and Way Forward that took place between 28-29 November 2012, at Shyorongi, Rulindo, brought together the Rulindo district Mayor, Rulindo vice Mayors, Ministries of infrastructure, education, health, natural resources, relevant units in Rulindo district, sector executive secretaries Rwanda Utility and Regulatory Agency as well as Water for People staff. Several challenges were identified as major hindrances to the water and sanitation projects including the issue of the management of rural water supply infrastructure; lack of operation and maintenance funds; and high water tariff in rural areas.
James Sano, Deputy Director General of Energy Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA), noted that the government had put in place a budget line for the Rulindo challenge urging participants to come up with concrete actions rather than dwell on what had been achieved. Sano said the timing of the meeting was good as it provided an opportunity to leverage for funding for the next fiscal year.
The Rulindo Challenge Program Partners’ Workshop Achievements, Challenges and Way Forward that took place between 28-29 November 2012, at Shyorongi, Rulindo, brought together the Rulindo district Mayor, Rulindo vice Mayors, Ministries of infrastructure, education, health, natural resources, relevant units in Rulindo district, sector executive secretaries Rwanda Utility and Regulatory Agency as well as Water for People staff. Several challenges were identified as major hindrances to the water and sanitation projects including the issue of the management of rural water supply infrastructure; lack of operation and maintenance funds; and high water tariff in rural areas.
James Sano, Deputy Director General of Energy Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA), noted that the government had put in place a budget line for the Rulindo challenge urging participants to come up with concrete actions rather than dwell on what had been achieved. Sano said the timing of the meeting was good as it provided an opportunity to leverage for funding for the next fiscal year.
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James Sano, Deputy Director
General of Energy Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA), noted that the
government had put in place a budget line for the Rulindo challenge urging
participants to come up with concrete actions rather than dwell on what had
been achieved. Sano said the timing of the meeting was good as it provided an
opportunity to leverage for funding for the next fiscal year.
A market-based approach (called Sanitation as a Business (SAAB)) to sustainable sanitation was recommended to all administrative sectors. An inventory of all unimproved latrines will be done by the end of December 2012 after which a meeting putting together representatives of SACCOs, Executive Secretaries of Sectors, representatives of relevant department at district level, EWSA, Water For People and Boundless (Business Development Services Provider) will discuss in detail quick actions that need to be undertaken so as to improve sanitation conditions at household level through SAAB.
A market-based approach (called Sanitation as a Business (SAAB)) to sustainable sanitation was recommended to all administrative sectors. An inventory of all unimproved latrines will be done by the end of December 2012 after which a meeting putting together representatives of SACCOs, Executive Secretaries of Sectors, representatives of relevant department at district level, EWSA, Water For People and Boundless (Business Development Services Provider) will discuss in detail quick actions that need to be undertaken so as to improve sanitation conditions at household level through SAAB.
It was recommended to facilitate the formation of water private operators cooperatives which will take care of social considerations and have the required skills set. A water tariff structure was also called for so that the district has a basis by which to negotiate the tariff with the service providers. Current water management systems through private operators wer found to be a good management model, but some improvements are still needed to ensure everyone is happy with the services delivered by the service providers. To improve the situation of hygiene and sanitation, community-based environmental Health Promotion Programme (CBEHPP), consisting of hygiene and environmental clubs, will operate in Kicukiro and Rulindo.
The Rwanda Natural Resources department in collaboration with Rulindo District will carry out a rapid assessment on the water resource available in the district to address the unknown quantity and quality of water in Rulindo which had been identified as a major challenge in the district.
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According to Perpetue Kamuyumba, County Director for Water For People – Rwanda, Everyone Forever is Water For People’s initiative whereby the organisation works with other WASH sector players to create a world where women and children are relieved of the burden of walking kilometers to the nearest water source and girls are no longer forced to abandon education to collect water or due to inadequate sanitation. Kamuyumba, added that by ”Everyone” the organization “seeks to see that every family, every school, and every clinic in the areas we work, has access to improved water and sanitation before we rest, or move to a new place."
The participants
hailed the Eco san toilets and expressed that they were cost effective as well
as sustainable and would be widely adopted by the sectors of Rulindo
district. Eco San, which is an
ecological toilet, is a urine-diverting system toilet where feaces are
separated from urine and reused as fertilizers.
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| An Eco San toilet |
In promoting sanitation as a business, Musoni Vincent Patrick, Managing
Director of Boundless Consultancy Group (BCG), said, “We have managed to
recruit and train seven interested local entrepreneurs working in construction
of pit latrines (ECOSAN) and 2 sludge emptiers on different latrine types and
pit emptying technologies.” Musoni added that they had developed bankable business
plans for local entrepreneurs working in latrine construction and emptying and were able to link entrepreneurs to banks for loan facilities.
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hus it seems that very soon if everything remains constant, all residents of Rulindo will have access to a nearby water system, sanitation facilities, and there will be money in the pockets of more people through the sanitation businesses as well as cash or savings from agriculture from the manure from the sanitation facilities.
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