Community
Service avenues one of the four main avenues of service in Rotary, the Rotaract
Club of KIE, in that understanding served a group of less fortunate women in the village of Nyange,
Ngororero district, in the Western Province of Rwanda on 5th of
September 2015.
The group is originally supported
by one Rotarian Britta Konitzer through her private means.
The group consisting of 20 women
that are predominantly HIV-infected and widowed due to the genocide of 1994 is among
the poorest of the poor. The women do not have the possibility to ensure the livelihood
for their families as they cannot afford school fees and materials depending on
their kid’s income themselves. In addition, the women are not able to cover
health insurances as well as they do not have the chance for minor investments
that could generate an income for them. The children are often underweight and
malnourished. Basic sanitation needs such as toilets, showers or soaps cannot
be met by these women.
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| Rotaractors constructing latrine |
In line with the Rotary pillars
“Disease prevention and treatment”, “Water and Sanitation” and “Economic and
Community development” the Rotaract Club of KIE took the initiative of ensuring
basic living standards, especially in the area of hygiene and health, for the families
of Nyange.
Funded by German donations the
Rotaract Club of KIE constructed latrines for five selected families in special
need, supported by the Rotary family, especially the other Rotaract Clubs of
Kigali city, SFB Kigali and Butare. Prior the project, those selected families
did not have usable latrines, leading to high health risks.
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| PP Keza doing the handwashing session |
In order to increase the impact
on the entire community, the Clubs carried out a hand-washing session for the
village, supported by local leaders. By strengthening the importance of hand
washing and analyzing the effects of inadequate conduction, the awareness level
for the importance of hand hygiene among the village inhabitants increased and
will prevent diseases and other negative effects in the future. By equipping each of the five
latrines with a hand-washing bucket and all villagers with soaps, the Clubs
insured an implementation of the lesson learned.
Additionally fabrics donated by
the Immediate past district governor for Rotary International district 9150,
Rtn Jean Runuya were handed over to the group of women. The women will
distribute the fabrics according to need and availability.
The project lays a sustainable
foundation for meeting basic hygiene standards among the inhabitants of Nyange
Village. Five families received latrines with the necessary size for
accommodating a hand-washing bucket and serving as a shower. Additionally,
awareness on the importance of hand-hygiene was raised and supplements
distributed. Donated district cloths will also support the women to improve
hygiene and prevent from various diseases.
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| Rtr Jana pauses with one of the beneficiaries after latrine construction |
The Rotaract Club of KIE highly
appreciates the help of all supporters that made it possible to
have a
long-term impact on the community.
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| President Bash and CP Norryn giving away hygiene items |
