Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Latrine construction and hygiene improvement



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.
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.
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.
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.
President Bash and CP Norryn giving away hygiene items