Water Crisis in Kiramuruzi, Eastern Province, Rwanda

Kiramuruzi is a sector in the District of Gatsibo, in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. It has a population of 6000 people. The R4W team worked in this region for almost three months last summer, and was able to complete one well in that area. As we were building this well in Kiramuruzi, we were able to see with our own eyes the severity of clean water shortage in this area. Though its population gets water from three main sources including water taps, water wells, and water ponds, these water sources do not provide enough water to satisfy the population.

The water taps in Kiramuruzi were built by the Rwandan national water and energy supplier currently known as Energy, Water, and Sanitation Authority (EWASA). The number of this water taps is small compared to the number of people who use them. They are also separated by a large distance (approximately 3 miles), and the water flow is small because this water is shared among several sectors. According to Aloys Zunguzungu, the President of R4W and one of the R4W members who got to stay in Kiramuruzi last summer, a person can go to fetch water at one of those water taps at 8am and get the water at 12pm because of the long line of people waiting, and the small flow of water.

The other source of clean water for the population of Kiramuruzi is water wells. Around 32 water wells were built in this sector by different organization including Living Water International. When we got there, only three of those water wells were still functional. Vedaste Niyonsaba, the R4W Vice-President of Technology and also one of the people who spent a lot of time in Kiramuruzi last summer, says that this is due to the lack of maintenance and the misuse of these wells. Some of the wells’ materials were stolen by the local population, and when a well is broken there is usually no one to fix it. Aloys Zunguzungu also says this is due to the fact that no one takes charge of these wells, and that the population does not take ownership of these wells. By not taking ownership of these wells, the local population does not take good care of them.

When there is no hope of getting clean water from the water taps or water wells, the Kiramuruzi population turns to water ponds. These water ponds are collections of rain water in large holes. The water from these ponds is extremely unclean since it is not covered and does not go through any kind of filtration system. This water gets mixed with dust and waist. Aloys Zunguzungu said that he saw once a person fetching water to cook from one of those ponds, while another person was cleaning his bike in the same pond. Some pictures shown below show young kids fetching water while cows are also drinking water from there. To put it quite simply, the water used is very unsafe for any domestic use.

Thus, the water shortage condition in the sector of Kiramuruzi is grave. The people in Kiramuruzi can get water from water taps, water wells or water ponds. The water taps give clean water but they are so few that they cannot provide enough water for the 6000 people living in Kiramuruzi. While many water wells were built in this region, only three of them can still provide water, and this is due to the misuse and the lack of maintenance of those water wells. The population of Kiramuruzi also gets water from water ponds even though they are a source of unclean water. This water does not go through any sort of filtration, and thus is so dangerous to the population. This same water causes all kinds of preventable diseases to the local population. The infant mortality rate is high and many kids suffer from preventable diseases

Juliette Ugirumurera, R4W Vice President, Secretariat.