Kirehe residents will be able to access clean and safe water thanks to the Japanese international cooperation Agency (JICA) construction and rehabilitation of water supply facilities launched this Wednesday.
The Japan Ambassador Kunio Hatanaka said the purpose of the project is to increase safe water access targeting 55,000 beneficiaries in 11 sectors of Kirehe and Ngoma by the end of 2011.
The state Minister in charge of Energy and Water, Eng. Collette Ruhamya told citizens to safeguard water which will soon be accessed in their district and remember how essential water is in life.
The Minister expressed gratitude to Japanese government in committing itself to double developmental assistance to Rwanda.
“Most people in rural areas normally have a challenge of fetching water from valleys far away from their homes and the rehabilitation of water supply will improve the standard of living for many vulnerable citizens”, says Ambassador Hatanaka.
He added that water supply will improve from the present 41.6% to 57.4% in 2014 and the project will approximately cost US$18 Million in the construction and rehabilitation facilities.
He further explained that the project will provide support in establishment of administration system of the cooperatives for operation and maintanenance and of the capacity of the districts to supervise the cooperatives.
With pleasure, Berancie Mukarugwiza says “we are grateful for JICA we will no longer drink water from swamps”.
She further says Kirehe residents used to travel about a kilometer to fetch water, but at the present safe water will be near their houses”.
“I used to first go downhill for water and be late at school, now JICA is soon solving the dilemma” says Denise Umutesi a student at Nyakarama Secondary School.
She added, “Safe water will enable me to make general cleaning of my body and clothes more often than I used because I used to wash from swamps”.
At the fourth Tokyo international Conference for African Development(TICAD IV) in 2008, that is when the Japanese government agreed to double its overseas development assistance (ODA) to Africa by 2012,targeting water as one of its key development areas.
JICA’s major goal is providing safe drinking water to 6.5 million people in Africa as stated in a press release.
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