1. Water for Rwanda:
Humanitarian Aid Project
October 13, 2013
EWB West Coast Regional Conference
Torin Bowman
Nisha Sheth
Jesse Unger
Katie Riley
2. • University of California, San Diego Student Chapter
• Project Location:
– Bungwe, Rwanda
– 3km from the Ugandan border
• Program Adoption:
– October 2012
• Applied Need:
– Water Supply and Transport • Bungwe
Project
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3. Historical
• Bureaucratic
• Gov’t is relatively progressive
• Holds women and men to
equivalent political
representation
• Does not recognize ethnic groups
Political
• Colonized by Germany (1800s)
and Belgium (1900s)
• Genocide (1994)
• Uncharted population growth
– Growth depends on
infrastructure and sanitation
developments
– Assume +2.7% minimum
– Very young population
Rwanda: Politics and History
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4. Economy
• Small farming community
– Subsistence farming
– No irrigation system during dry
season
• Local commerce
• Average incomes: $22-$65/month
Society
• Primary and secondary public
schools
• Health clinic (run by church)
• Catholic Church influence
• Peace Corps volunteer in village
• Limited domestic usage due to
water shortage
Bungwe: Economy and Society
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5. • Goals:
– Community: To gain ideas and knowledge for infrastructure
development
– EWB-UCSD: To create a system that can be easily maintained with the
community’s fiscal and societal capacities
• Affected Population:
– Direct: 2,000 – 4,000 people
– Indirect: 6,000 – 9,000 people
• Geographic Area: 6 km radius (includes Bungwe, Banda,
Tumba)
Proposed Project Scope
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6. • Understand the Need
– How will the water be used?
• Domestic usage and drinking water
– How much water do they need?
– Why are current solutions insufficient?
– Have they identified potential solutions?
Getting Started
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7. • Clarify the application
– Review application in detail with the NGO and
Community Point of Contact (PoC)
• If application is in English, non-English-speaking PoC has
probably not reviewed the application
Getting Started
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– Suggest involving nearby
universities
– Who will be involved in every
stage of the program?
8. • Go over the application with the PoC before arrival
– What resources are available to them?
– What are their personal skills and weaknesses?
– Do they belong to any non-profits or NGOs?
• If yes, how is that organization structured? USA chapter?
• Does that organization fund projects?
– Will the PoC be involved for the entire project duration?
• How does the community perceive them and how do they
perceive the community?
• Be aware of local customs and events
– Contact may be difficult to communicate with at certain times
Community Points of Contact
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9. • Current Situation:
– 2 hydraulic pumps
– Minimal rainwater collection
– Fees to use water system
– Porters hired to transport water
• Community Suggestions:
– Pulley system
– Hydraulic pump (most viable and
sustainable)
– Resources: labor, local materials,
local engineers, limited finances
Community Proposed Solutions
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10. • Ensure professional mentor is flexible and ready
to travel
– Mentor must be easily accessible and responsive
– Prepared to travel 3-4 weeks
• For student chapters: make sure that your
professional mentor is qualified
– Understand your mentor’s
strengths and weaknesses
– Find qualified mentors at:
ewb-mentors.org/MCD
Professional Mentor Selection
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12. • Fundraising
– Grants
– Water for Rwanda 5K
• Master Cultural Report
– Wide range of cultural,
social, and historical
topics pertinent to
Rwanda
Pre-Assessment Preparations
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13. • Gender-balanced
• Aim for communication in local languages
Even if English is an official language, it may not be widely spoken
• Optimal number of travelers
How many travelers can the community comfortably support?
How many seats are there in a typical car found in the country (Jeeps can
usually fit 5)?
Translator? Driver?
Equipment?
• Travel alternate
Composing the Travel Team
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14. • Learn Ki language phrases
– Greetings and basic vocabulary
• Know EWB-HQ and chapter-specific goals
– EWB as an organization
– Your chapter and project
– Facts about your state and the USA
• Print out EVERYTHING
– Applications, emails, contact information, EWB-HQ
checklists, informational pamphlets, maps…
Be Prepared
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16. • Is the community accessible year-round?
• Is public transportation feasible and safe?
Trip Details
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• Review accommodation
terms and conditions
with NGO and PoC
beforehand
17. • Be aware of cultural norms/taboo topics (ethnicity/genocide)
• Understand how to best interact with locals
• Refer to Master Report pertaining to cultural and social issues
Cultural and Social Awareness
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18. • How major institutions in the area interact
– How do the locals actually perceive the
government?
– How religious is the community?
– How do the major religious institutions interact with
the community?
Sense the Unspoken
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19. • Community may be jaded from
past non-profit interaction
• Speaking a familiar language
helps!
• French
• Swahili
• Kinyarwanda
• How is the community is
structured and who are the key
decision makers?
Gaining Community Trust
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20. • Presentation for the community explaining
EWB's role, focusing on community goals,
listening to their opinions
Avoid weird or unfamiliar practices during
outreach and presentations
• May be invited to religious events or
celebrations – bring appropriate clothes
Presentation and Communication
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21. Technical Assessment
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• Inspected current system
• Investigated local materials
• Interviewed community leaders
– Religious and government officials, school teachers, health
officials, successful locals
• Gathered health and weather data
• Water testing
22. Rainwater Harvesting
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• Addresses original need of community
• Low-cost implementation and maintenance
– Local materials
• Sustainable water source
• Easily reproducible
• Scalable
23. • Be aware of additional/alternate
projects that should be focused on
or take precedent
Boarding school
Recreational areas
Road improvements
Alternate Needs
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24. • Many resources on EWB-USA
website to guide technical
design and evaluation
– http://my.ewb-usa.org/project-
resources/technical-resources
Technical Resources
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25. Next Steps: Design & Implementation
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• Rainwater harvesting design
– Collection tank and gutters
– Filters
– Local materials
• Playgrounds
– Partnership with Lions Clubs in
Rwanda and USA
• School dormitories
– Investigate as possible future
project
Photo from University of Minnesota
EWB – Uganda Rural Fund
26. Thank you!
Young Kim
Anthony Mahinda
Kasha Nzabanterura
Bonaventure Augustine
Headmaster
Peace Corps
EWB-USA
The Community of Bungw
Hinweis der Redaktion
Application Discrepancies:
- not really from government
- Kasha is not really part of government – private water company :O
- even though the application was sent on by Peace Corps, replacement PCV was reluctant to be too involved TT_TT
- Kasha parle français but no English – cuh-learly did not read the application -___________-
Found out Kasha didn’t really know what was in the application
Surprising to see that replacement peace corps volunteer (who wrote whole application) was reluctant to become involved in the project even though their organization was the one that applied for the community.
Was detrimental to the project outcome because once they left, no one knew what the application said. Previous Peace Corps wrote the whole thing in English. Kasha was hella wasted after noon.
Was detrimental to the project outcome because once they left, no one knew what the application said. Previous Peace Corps wrote the whole thing in English.
Kasha was hella wasted after noon.
Cultural report team led by Torin Bowman
Gender-balance: broader outreach to community (women may not be comfortable speaking to male volunteers)
English is official language in Rwanda, but switch from French to English was very recent few adults speak English comfortably
-only educated adults will speak a second language at all
Our trip:
Anthony spoke Swahili
Katie spoke French
Would have been very difficult without Swahili and French speakers
Be prepared to present your organization and project with no preparation (on the fly presentations)
Print out EVERYTHING – we showed up and no one knew who we were!!! :O TT_TT
Project was supposed to be submitted by government but it wasn’t, so we had to rush to get government approval
Dirt roads during rainy season :O :O :O
Even though they knew we were coming and that the “accommodations” were arranged at the Catholic Parish, the parish did not know that we were coming or who we were. We had to arrange our accommodations on site.
Clarify that it’s supposed to be paid for.
Public transportation in Kigali was primarily motorcycles and mutatus – motorcycles very unsafe, mutatus were not a good option for large group with suitcases, important supplies
Ethnic divides still exist in Rwanda, but it is NOT spoken of openly. It is very taboo to mention ethnicities, especially as an outsider. Never ask someone if they are Hutu or Tutsi, or about their experience in the genocide (although they may bring this up as they get to know you)
Although Rwanda is nominally a democracy, there were pictures of Paul Kagame and flags for his political party everywhere (schools, churches, private homes, public spaces, etc.)
Greetings were very important (constant handshakes/arm rubs it was kind of weird), half hugs
Catholic Church widespread, very powerful in Bungwe
Parish very connected with community, has outreach programs (goats), more in touch than government
Look at how big that church is omg (oops don’t say that)
Bungwe has had various projects from NGOs but were generally short-term (e.g. water tanks at schools) – not necessarily jaded but may not be used to long-term projects (not immediate results)
NGOs may come and not follow through or could have done a better job (e.g. water tank foundations cracking)
Headmaster’s sign in book showed many NGOs visiting, but it was not evident that they were all actually implementing projects
Relationship with parish and Bona – both very influential
Having Swahili and French speakers helped bridge cultural gap (?)
Presentations at school and church, impromptu presentations at parish for visiting officials and leaders
Did not know Rwandans dress very formally, were unprepared for formal events (e.g. mass)
Community leaders: religious (fathers, nuns), government officials (executive secretary, district secretary), school teachers and headmasters (know about students, families), health officials (nun in charge of health center – diseases, water treatment practices) successful locals/community-identified leaders (Bona and Kasha)
Interviewed them about technical community needs (water usage, how they get and sanitize water)