Location
Kabatezi cell, Muzo Sector, Gakenke District, Northern Province, Rwanda
Community Description
Rusoro Health Center is a small health center in the rural Northern Province of Rwanda in the District of Gakenke. Thirty-five villages use the health center as their primary source of health care, making a catchment population of 21,919 people. Of the 19 employees of the health center there are 8 nurses and no doctors.
The health center is a 1 1/2 hour drive from the main road that leads to the Rwandan capital. However, cars and even public busses are rare on these roads as the local population is very poor.
The countryside surrounding Rusoro is very hilly and the local population consists primarily of poor farmers who produce small amounts of passion fruit, pineapples, sugar cane, bananas, potatoes and beans.
Rwanda has the highest population density in Africa and in Rusoro many people live together in a small geographic area, increasing the rate of transmission of contagious diseases. The major causes for consultation in the health center are diseases caused by a lack of hygiene, including intestinal parasites, diarrhea and upper respiratory infections.
There are currently no sinks in many parts of the health center. It is of particular interest that there are no handwashing facilities for patients, even for those using the public toilets.
Currently, to wash hands and materials the staff and patients must fill large buckets and jerry-cans with water. This process is time-consuming and the result is that patients and staff are likely to neglect to wash their hands, or to wash with contaminated water.
Improper hygiene is a huge cause of the spread of disease within the health center for patients and the nursing staff.
Project Description
This project will install 8 sinks in the health center. These sinks will be installed in the consultation room, the pediatric ward, the isolation ward (which is mostly used for TB patients), the family planning and prenatal consultation room, the women’s hospitalization ward, outside the toilets, and in the injection and bandaging room.
The materials and fixtures will be procured locally, and the work will be done by trained craftsmen.
The health center has contributed greatly to the development of this project, and will contribute almost half the cost.
Project Impact
The catchment population of 21,919, together with the 19 employees who work at the health center will benefit from the project.
Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Kitty Hall
Comments
These sinks will increase the level of hygiene in the health center by making it easier to wash hands and materials. This will reduce the spread of contagious diseases and infections among staff, patients, and their families.
This is Kitty’s third project with Appropriate Projects. She previously completed the Coko Health Center Water Project – Rwanda and the Gakenke District Health Centers Plumbing Training – Rwanda.
Dollar Amount of Project
$500.00
Donations Collected to Date
$500.00
Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 – This project has now been fully funded through the generosity of The Soneva SLOW LIFE Trust as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.
We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Kitty of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by the PCV and/or other projects in the country of service.
This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.