Overview:
This project builds on previous Entrust-supported projects which have funded new water sources on Idjwi island in Lake Kivu in eastern DRC. Focusing on water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) training together with a clean water source, this project will provide clean water for a further ten communitiesin south Idjwi directly assisting 5,658 people, and indirectly benefitting social structures such as schools, health centres and local churches and communities, including the very disadvantaged pygmy communities. The project is part of a government program designed to reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by unclean water and where there is weak or no knowledge of WASH in villages and schools.
What we like about it:
Our partner has provided clean water to a number of other villages across the island of Idjwi and has an excellent track record. Whilst the need is extremely high across Idjwi, research has identified the ten neediest villages where disease levels are the highest. The local communities contribute resources and labour towards construction, and come together at the completion of the project for a celebration event, giving them a strong sense of ownership.
Budget: $39,500
Funds will be used towards material for the water sources and conducting the training. Each village will contribute towards the cost of the water source by providing stones and sand and helping construct the water source.
The Need:
DRC has one of the highest rates of poverty in the world, with over 70% living on less than $1 a day. Decades of civil unrest has led to limited infrastructure, persistent high levels of internal population displacement and outbreak of epidemics. Idjwi exemplifies this. Most economic activity is in the informal space and subsistence agriculture provides most food. Transport and communications are limited on the island. After malaria, diseases related to drinking unclean water are the biggest health problem on the island.
Life Change:
