This is an inspiring story of Emilienne Ahobantegeye, a community member in Kirehe District, Musaza Sector, Rwanda, who made significant investments in improving hygiene and sanitation at the household level.

Through her dedication and hard work, she has not only improved her own life but has also become a leading advocate, driving a positive change in the mindset of other community members to adopt improved sanitation and hygiene practices.

"I used to see multiple cases of diseases and frequently visit the local health center to treat my children. I attribute this to a lack of hygiene. It changed after I constructed an improved latrine, "says Emilienne.

Emilienne, a resident of Musaza Cell, Nyakariba Village adds that she witnessed firsthand the detrimental effects of poor hygiene and sanitation on the health and well-being of her community. She was trained by the USAID-funded project, Isoko y’Ubuzima, on sanitation and hygiene practices, and changed her mindset as a result.

Determined to make a difference, she invested her time, resources, and energy in transforming the living conditions of her household. With limited funds, she started by improving her home’s latrine and ensuring the availability of clean water for her family.

"I made an investment of Rwf 85,000 that I borrowed from my local village saving and loan association, and I was able to improve my latrine. Afterward, I have been going around the community, to ensure more people have improved latrines," says Emilienne.

After seeing the positive impact of this investment on her family’s health and quality of life, she became increasingly motivated to extend her efforts beyond her household.

She actively engaged with her neighbors, sharing her knowledge and experiences, and encouraging them to adopt better sanitation and hygiene practices. From speaking during community gatherings to conducting home visits, Emilienne became a leading advocate for change.

Living in a dignified home is a source of my pride. Building an improved latrine, is among the things that build that feeling… I built an improved latrine after I was sensitized on hygiene practices.

Didas Mugarura

Didas Mugarura is one of the neighbors Emilienne mobilized. Now he has built an improved latrine, and most importantly, installed a homemade handwashing facility as a result of Emilienne’s effort.

"Living in a dignified home is a source of my pride. Building an improved latrine is among the things that build that feeling… I built an improved latrine after I was sensitized on good hygiene practices," confirms Didas.

Now, more households in the community have started implementing improved hygiene and sanitation practices.

Emilienne says she has reached out to 30 members of her community with sanitation and hygiene messages, and among them, eight have already built an improved latrine in their households.