Rwanda Borehole

The Borehole project is a micro project in Rwanda, providing a source of clean drinking water to a local community.

The project is based around the supply of clean water to local communities in Rwanda through the rehabilitation of community boreholes. As well as the natural health benefits, it means that families no longer have to boil the water, saving firewood and thereby preventing carbon emissions from being released.

There are over 50,000 defective water supply installations in Africa (IIED 2009). The main reasons are lack of public involvement & consultation; and importantly lack of funding to support ongoing maintenance of the pumps. This project not only fixes these boreholes to bring them back into use for the community, but also creates a funding mechanism for the community that ensures their long term maintenance, providing long term stability from water security.

It also brings a dramatic improvement in the health outcomes for the poorest families and an instant reduction in fuel needs for the community, saving time, money as well as helping to reduce local deforestation.