we believe in a world where everyone has safe drinking water, forever
In 2008, Water For People opened its office in Kigali, and has since been working with partners to implement water, sanitation and hygiene programs. By also supporting local institutions, Water For People is promoting sustainable access to these services.
We're working with the districts of Kicukiro, Rulindo, Gicumbi and Karongi to bring clean water and sanitation solutions to their communities for generations to come.
this is everyone forever
Our sustainable approach ensures that reliable and lasting water and sanitation services are brought to every family, school, and health clinic in the districts where we work. We partner with local governments, businesses, and individuals, providing the training, tools, and support they need to bring clean water and sanitation systems to their own communities. Then we ensure they have the resources and knowledge they need to maintain those systems for generations to come.
We call this impact model Everyone Forever, or here in Rwanda, the District Wide Approach.
The Rulindo Challenge Program
In 2010, a partnership between the district of Rulindo, the Ministry of Infrastructure, and Water For People launched the Rulindo Challenge - an ambitious plan to bring full water and sanitation coverage to Rulindo. At that point, only 29% of the district had clean water access.
Today, the district has 100% coverage of water infrastructure. Today's Rulindo demonstrates a journey of deep transformation that concludes access to water, improved sanitation, and better health.
More information about these celebrations coming soon.
the faces of our work
Clean water means a better life
Growing up in the rural Rwamiko Sector, Gicumbi District in the Northern part of Rwanda, Theogene Ndayishimiye always struggled to access clean water. Every day, as a young boy, Theogene got up early morning and walked downhill to fetch water – dirty water from a stream that runs in the valley. He remembers missing classes…
A DROP OF OPPORTUNITY
When she married ten years ago, Alphonsine Mukanoheri moved from her home village in the east of Rwanda to her new home in Rurembo Village, Gicumbi, a district in the north. As happy as she was to have married the love of her life, Alphonsine knew she would face one big challenge – accessing water.…
Clean water means good health
Growing up in a remote, rural part of western Rwanda, Immaculée Mukamutesi, 47, always struggled to access clean water. Every morning, she says, women and girls got up early and walked long distances to fetch water in a valley downhill. "It took us about an hour and a half to get to the water source,"…
No regrets for investing in sanitation
It’s been five months since Valentine Uwamahoro says she first heard about the importance of constructing an improved latrine for her family. The USAID-funded Isoko y’Ubuzima project community mobilizers, together with the volunteers of "Twungurane Ibitekerezo," a village savings and loan association (VSLA), visited her community to facilitate access to basic sanitation and hygiene services. …
Access to basic sanitation: Inclusively overcoming the challenges
Thousands of rural households in Rwanda still lack access to sanitation and hygiene services. and for people living with disabilities, the lack of access to hygiene and sanitation services and products is even more complex. Rwanda aims to reach universal access to basic sanitation and hygiene services by 2024 and safely managed by 2030; presently,…
Kayonza community urged to support people with disabilities
People with disabilities are the most vulnerable to poor hygiene, lack of relevant sanitary equipment, access to clean water, and lack of support by the community to improve their hygiene, Jean Damascene Harerimana, the Kayonza District vice mayor in charge of social affairs said. Harerimana urged the community in Kayonza District to embrace and enhance…
A Better Toilet, a Better Life
Folomina’s face lights up when she talks about her toilet. Two years ago, the state of water and sanitation in Folomina’s village was dire. She and the other 20 families in her community would walk two hours each day for water. The sanitation situation was just as bad. Most latrines didn’t have roofs, so they…
Water Gives Prosperity
Didacienne had five children and no home of her own. Her husband died nearly 25 years ago in the Rwandan genocide, and after that she had few options to provide for her family – they lived with various family members to get by. And without water in their village, life was difficult. For Didacienne and…
Water Gives Education
When communities don’t have access to water, children have to spend hours every day fetching water. In many cases this causes them to miss school and miss out on an education that could enable them to have a better future. This is not the case for the kids in Kisaro Sector in rural Rwanda. Schoolchildren…
A Dream of Safe Water
"It was like a dream to us," says Lilian. She says the people in her community never thought they would have safe water. "We used to wake up very early in the morning to go fetch water," Lilian says. She and others in her community in Gicumbi District, Rwanda would lose hours each day walking…