Conclusion of Bisate Health Center Water Project – Rwanda

This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Jessica McGhie. To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.

The project was to connect to the community water source, and pipe and treat water into health center rooms.

The maternity room now has a fully functional sink and a consistent water source.

Jessica reports:

Although Bisate Health Center had a number of internal running water needs, Titulaire (Director) Jacqueline Nyirabimana decided that the most pressing need was to install running water in the health center’s maternity room since the most common health center services utilized by the surrounding community pertain to maternal health and delivery.

Prior to the project’s implementation, the maternity room, which includes a basic delivery table and a few recovery beds, had a single red bucket perched in a windowsill with which nurses could wash their hands and equipment. This lack of consistent running water or a sink was causing unsanitary delivery conditions and making proper cleaning of equipment and the room nearly impossible.

Upon receiving the project funds, the health center immediately began digging the lengthy trenches where the pipes connecting the health center to the community’s nearby water source would be placed. By the second week, the health center had tiled the wall where the sink would be installed, and by the close of the third week the piping was complete, the sink was installed and nurses were already excitedly growing accustomed to their newfound ability to easily wash their hands and obstetrical equipment.

The success of this project led to the implementation a follow-up project to extend the water supply to other critical services in the health center, the Bisate Health Center Water Project Phase 2 – Rwanda under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Amy Studenic.

We again wish to thank The Soneva SLOW LIFE Trust for providing the funds for the project.