SABASENGO, RWANDA

COMPLETED

STATUS

people impacted

dollars funded

FUNDED MAY 4, 2022

The water situation is not good for thie Sabasengo community. Families are dependent on collecting water from the dirty dam and from irrigation channels, which continue to expose them to waterborne illnesses such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid, and parasites, to name a few. Many children are missing school due to illness and have no energy to focus on their schoolwork. Girls are dropping out, as they are the ones who must collect the water.

Often, families spend what little money they have on medications due to waterborne illnesses. Children under 5 are at high risk of death due to these illnesses.

THE CURRENT CONTAMINATED WATER SOURCE

Many families have stories of losing loved ones to share. It’s difficult to hold a job when you are running fevers, have diarrhea or parasites who take more than half of the nutrients from the foods you eat. There are work opportunities now with the new road going through their community, but they cannot stay healthy long enough to stay employed.

Living Water International will provide a deep well and water distribution system, hygiene training, and backstopping support to local water user committees and local government structures. Water users will pay small monthly water user fees by household and these funds will be collected and managed by the water user committee for future repairs and maintenance of the system.

Living Water International coordinates with local churches to help spread the Gospel and develop disciples, in addition to meeting physical needs for clean water in the community.

Technical Plan

Storage Tank Design

Completed October 18, 2022

Background

In recent years, the Sabasengo community in eastern Rwanda had a significant population boom. The rural community is now home to over 2,000 residents, most of whom relied on a nearby dam for all of their water needs. As an agrarian community, the residents used the dam to provide water not only for their families, but also for their livestock. Sharing the water with the animals contaminated it with dangerous bacteria that led to waterborne sicknesses. Sometimes residents avoided the dam by collecting water from irrigation channels, but this source presented a different danger— pesticides that washed in from nearby fields. Residents felt like no matter where they turned, their water was making them sick.

A community member gathers water from the nearby dam

With such limited access to safe water, sicknesses like cholera and dysentery became common. Children were especially susceptible to the waterborne illnesses as their immune systems were not developed enough to stave off infection. When they became ill, they missed out on school, sometimes falling so far behind that they dropped out altogether. The water crisis in Sabasengo was impacting the community’s health, livelihoods, and limiting the potential of their children. Community leaders knew something had to change.

Budayi is a 74-year-old farmer and leader in Sabasengo. He shared his point of view on the community’s water situation, saying, “We used to get our domestic water from the dirty dam and in the irrigation channels. We were exposed to many waterborne diseases that impacted our lives greatly. We had many children drop out of school.”

Budayi Esidori

Residents knew that they needed a safe and reliable water source to keep them from contracting waterborne diseases. Community leaders soon heard about Living Water International’s work in the region and reached out requesting urgent help.

Solution

The Living Water staff visited the community and found that the residents desperately needed a safe water source. They were also ready to care for a water system, so the staff announced the construction of a complex water system. They returned later with a rig and drilled into the earth until reaching a safe water aquifer that was then connected to an elevated water tank. They also installed solar panels to power the submersible pump. Finally, they connected piping to a newly constructed concrete trough for the livestock.

The Living Water staff drills a borehole into the ground

The Living Water staff also helped the residents establish sustainability practices to help ensure a future of safe water access. They guided the community in creating a water committee to oversee the care and maintenance of the well. This committee will collect a voluntary fee for water usage in order to save for future repairs. Living Water will stay in contact with the committee to monitor the well’s functionality.

The community members use the new water system for the first time

The Living Water staff led the Sabasengo residents through several sanitation and hygiene lessons so that they can use their new safe water effectively. During these interactive sessions, the community members learned about the importance of improved pit latrines as a defense against feco-oral disease transmission. The staff also explained the importance of proper handwashing and gave the younger residents time to practice. Finally, they emphasized how poor personal hygiene can impact the health of the community at large through an activity that uses glitter to symbolize germs. Residents left the interactive lessons energized and equipped to better their health.

Bringing Living Water

Throughout the water project, the Living Water team also shared the good news of God’s love and his offer of living water to everyone. They used the story of the Samaritan woman at the well found in John 4 to underline this invitation. At the completion of the well, the team held a well dedication service alongside the local church, where residents thanked the Lord for his provision through you, Ingomar Living Waters!

Budayi is thankful for the convenience and safety of their new water system. He said, “The new water source is going to transform our way of living. Now, we have peace of mind that we will no longer have to drink unsafe water.”

Budayi Esidori

A Living Water staff member shares the gospel with the community

Thank you for giving water, for life, in Jesus’ name!

Construction Details

Pump type:	solar submersible pump
Project type:	complex water system
Depth of well:	125 m (410 ft)
Coliform bacteria:	absent

Community Details

Previous water source:	dam
Location:	rural community
Total users:	2,245
Main water collectors:	women and children

The Ingomar Living Waters donors who funded this project are truly WORLD CHANGERs. They have changed everything by bringing safe water to the Sabasengo community. Thanks to you, they now have safe water in abundance right outside of their homes. They no longer fear water shortages or becoming sick with waterborne diseases. Your gift has provided them with the means to escape reaction-based patterns of living. Sustaining their new well has instilled hope and confidence in the community members and inspired additional community-led development. Your gift also serves as a reminder of God’s great love for each person in the community and as evidence that he cares both for their physical and spiritual needs.

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