Project Launch: 5-6-15

Banda is a remote community on the edge of Nyungwe Rainforest in Southwest Rwanda. The community suffers from extreme poverty, very limited economic opportunities, no electricity, and poor sanitation infrastructure. This project aims to improve household and public sanitation in Banda by providing twenty families with latrines and building two public latrines in the town center. The project will also implement a two-day training for beneficiaries on hygiene and sanitation, which will cover the prevention of parasites, hand-washing, latrine care and maintenance, and the spread of hygiene-related diseases. In addition, two public access water taps will be installed in the town center, allowing community members to wash their hands more frequently. This project builds upon the successes of a previous World Connect project, which connected two of Banda’s villages to a water pipeline, improving water access and cleanliness for 179 families.

Project Update

The community is very involved and the project is moving along nicely. Instead of building two small public latrines, the community will build one large latrine with additional stalls, and install a water tank and another tap to provide water access for community members living high on the mountain. Due to communal works days and motivation from the village leaders, construction will be completed by the end of July, 2015.

Testimonials

"I never dreamed that one day I would have a modern latrine." - Jeremiah, Project Leader