Promises kept: "Finishing the Job" Rwanda commitment

Five years ago, World Vision committed to reach everyone, everywhere we work in Rwanda with access to clean water — a total of 1 million people. Today, with your help, we've exceeded that goal, and are nearing the finish line of providing clean water access in 39 sectors of Rwanda.

You can see in our updated maps the progress year by year. Using the stoplight colors of red to represent great need for water access, yellow to indicate some progress but still work to do, and green to represent finishing the job, we project that we’ll complete the work prior to the end of this fiscal year. 

I recently visited Rwanda to help celebrate our success in reaching the 1 millionth person milestone. We wanted to visit a family representative of this massive undertaking and so went north from Kigali to the district of Gicumbi. There we met Aloys and Seraphina and their four children.   

Seraphina was excited to be the representative 1 millionth person reached. It really touched me to hear her story of how the nearby water source that World Vision provided to her family changed her life. Her new water source is only a few minutes from their home and it’s not an exaggeration that it’s pretty much changed everything.

Life before clean water for Seraphina

We walked with Seraphina and her 12-year-old daughter, Vanessa, to experience a little bit of what they daily experienced when they had to gather water for their family. Their home is on a ridge at an elevation of 6,800 feet. Before the water source that World Vision provided, they walked down a steep and narrow path to the valley below to gather water from a spring — descending more than 1,000 feet of elevation. We had to walk carefully to avoid slipping, and we were thankful that it hadn’t been raining and that the path was dry. Seraphina told me that they would often fall and injure themselves, particularly during the rainy season.

She explained that it took them about two hours to descend, gather their water, and walk back up the steep path. She would carry about 40 pounds of water, her 18-year-old daughter would carry 30 pounds, her 14-year-old son would carry 20 pounds, and Vanessa would carry 14 pounds of water up the steep hill.  I was amazed that they not only did this, but that they did it twice every day.  

When I asked if they really had to gather water daily, she replied that they did, and elaborated that on Saturday they’d also carry all the clothes that needed washing and that it would take them about three hours to wash and let the clothes dry a little before they’d walk back up the steep hill. They’d return Saturday evening to gather water again. On Sunday, they’d go to church and then have to gather water twice before the end of the day. 

I was a bit confused about how there were enough hours in the day to haul water and also for the kids to go to school. We had visited Vanessa’s school and knew that it started at 8:30 a.m. and finished around 5:00 p.m. Seraphina explained that they woke at 4:00 a.m. in order to have enough time to fetch the water, and return, and have breakfast before Vanessa walked a couple of additional miles to school. As soon as the kids returned from school, they’d walk to get water again before the day ended.

We walked some of the way to Vanessa’s school and were quickly winded from the steep incline. I looked at Vanessa in amazement at how this young child could do this difficult journey every day. I knew that it was taking a physical and emotional toll on her. I know that I wouldn’t be able to do it. Seraphina explained that Vanessa was falling behind in school and many days would cry to her mother that she just couldn’t go to school that day because she was so tired.

The mental trauma

Then Seraphina told me something that really shocked me. She said the mental toll of carrying water was worse than the physical burden. Every day, she’d worry about getting up at 4:00 a.m., feared slipping and getting hurt on the steep path, and worried that the children wouldn’t get to school on time.  

Life after water

No more long walks for water. We met Seraphina’s youngest child, Jean, who is about to turn 4-years old. Jean is different than her sister Vanessa. She’s full of life and will never have to make the long walk for water since the new water point is only minutes from their home. And Vanessa is recovering from the trauma of her years of carrying water. She’s determined to succeed and indeed has become one of the best students in her class.

World Vision also provided clean water and handwashing stations for Vanessa’s school and the nearby health clinic. The nurses at the clinic told us about the dramatic improvements in health in the community and the reduction of infections because of the clean water access and handwashing stations. Now that the school has water Vanessa no longer has to bring water with her to school. 

Seraphina now has time to garden and is helping generate income for the household. She explained that previously their two cows would require about 30% of the water that they carried up the hill and that amount of water was only providing about one-third of the optimal amount of water for the cows. With the new water source, the cows can drink as much as they want, and their milk production has increased dramatically. This has not only improved nutrition for the family but has also led to additional income. 

One of the most touching moments of my visit was seeing how the relationship between Seraphina and her husband, Aloys, has improved. As they sat holding hands, Aloys admitted that he would talk harshly to Seraphina in the past but now that has changed. He feels differently about their relationship now that he has attended training provided by World Vision. They are now equal partners in providing for their family and supporting each other.   

Celebration time

We had a wonderful celebration with more than 3,000 people in Gicumbi District where we have now finished the job. Traditional dances, speeches, and a performance by a Rwandan pop star were held against a backdrop of the beautiful Rwandan green hills. Back in Kigali, we met with Prime Minister Édouard Ngirente. He recalled the meeting with World Vision from five years ago when we shared our ambitious plans. Following that meeting, we became strong partners — with the Rwandan government committing to fund 40% of each water supply system we would construct together. The Prime Minister told us, “We congratulate World Vision on setting a big goal five years ago to reach 1 million people and then exceeding the goal. Many groups set goals but not many beat their targets.”   

Finishing the job

We are so grateful for all of our donor partners who have supported our work to "finish the job". Just imagine Seraphina multiplied by 1 million to have an idea of the impact that we are having together. As we complete this essential work in Rwanda, we turn our focus to Zambia and Honduras, where with your support, we hope to "finish the job" of providing clean water in all our project areas by 2025 (Zambia) and 2027 (Honduras). 

World Vision partners for a malaria-free Zambia

World Vision is partnering with Malaria Partners International and other partners in a $6 million effort to train and equip 2,500 community health workers so they can diagnose and treat malaria. Shockingly, malaria is still responsible for half of infant deaths in Zambia. This video explains the partnership and how World Vision is using their expertise in training and equipping community health workers to save lives.