Water & Sanitation Hygiene
Clean water, basic toilets and good hygiene practices are essential for survival. Failing to meet these basic needs puts the lives of Rwandans at risk. In the remote communities of Rwanda, vulnerable populations suffer because of poor sanitation. Dysentery, diarrhea, and other water-borne diseases spread because of unclean drinking water and unsanitary toilet facilities.
The local public water system is woefully insufficient. Residents walk up to five miles with 20-liter bottles to purchase water at a clean water station. An alternative is to get unclean water from nearby swamps. The water is not safe creating a cycle of illness and hospitalization. Some children have actually been lost in the swamps looking for water.
AFJHAR helped fund the drilling of solar powered, clean water well in August 2021. The well pumps 10,000 liters of water per hour. Four 10,000-liter storage tanks are located at the Journey House Actions (JHA) Early Childhood Development Center. JHA also makes the clean water available to 5,000 community residents at no charge.
AFJHAR funded another solar powered clean water well and ten 10,000-liter storage tanks, in 2023. This well will serve another 6,000 local residents.
To hear Rogers Kimuli, JHA Executive Director, describe the transformational impact of this well please watch the video below.
JHA also offers Water & Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) programs. These programs:
- Promote better hygiene and sanitation practices through school education sessions and public health lectures on:
- Hand washing after visiting toilets,
- Covering food in clean containers to avoid food contamination,
- Boiling drinking water to protect students and others from the effects of drinking dirty water,
- Effective personal hygiene practices,
- Safer cooking practices,
- Consumption of clean food and food-related products, and
- Using safe products in day-to-day activities both at home and at the refugee communities in Rwanda.
- Construct pit latrines for vulnerable families to prevent hygiene-related diseases like diarrhea, dysentery, cholera and typhoid and water-borne diseases like bilharzia and whooping cough.
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