Water2All Rwanda

Hello friends,

This year I made it a goal of mine to ensure that EVERYONE in my home district, Kamonyi-Rwanda, and hopefully in the surrounding areas, can have access to clean and running water in their households!There remain several parts in rural districts where water access to many is a huge challenge. People in my district still have to walk on average 20 minutes to a public well and wait even longer times in line to get the water! This year during Covid, it became even more important to have potable water especially to WASH HANDS with clean water. With the dry season coming up in the eastern parts of Africa, water will become even more challenging for many, making the fight against the spread of the pandemic nearly impossible!

A picture of the landscape in Kamonyi I took last time I visited family's farm. Most people on those hills do not have access to running water!

So in the beginning of June, I reached out to WaterAccessRwanda (https://www.warwanda.com), a startup in Rwanda that builds water wells, and I initiated a water drilling project to hopefully improve the water access in Kamonyi area. The team conducts geophysical surveys around the areas and finds sources from which water can be pumped and distributed to many.

This was an inspiration from initiatives like The NFLWaterboys, Hoops2O, Conquering Kili (https://waterboys.org) mostly by Malcolm Brogdon (NBA) and Kyle Long (NFL) who use boreholes designs in areas like Tanzania where water is a lot more scarce during dry seasons.

I was very excited when the team from WaterAccessRwanda told me that they discovered one water supply point with a huge amount of water (2000 liters/hour) which can supply to more people far more than we had initially anticipated! I have personally covered one borehole and tank which will cover 2 public water access points (Inuma) along with hand washing stations. However, any further cost would overwhelm my personal budget. 

Some of the equipment used during the drilling process.

WaterAccessRwanda team members with the help of locals drilling the borehole at access point #1 in Nyarubaka (p.c.warwanda.com).

At this point, I have decided to initiate this campaign with the hope to provide running water to more people and set up more public access points. With large storage tanks,  more piping equipment, and labor we can supply running water directly into more homes and set up washing stations especially along especially along school routes as the children will soon be returning to schools. 

Because I believe transparency is extremely important, I am listing the current costs as well as what I hope this campaign can cover to help me impact more people:
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                           Covered:
 
Geophysical survey.............................................$576
Hydro-geological study of the area
Fracture trace analysis
Comparison with nearby boreholes

Borehole drilling and casing........................$4,336
Manually drilled borehole
Rotary jetting

Storage tank (5k L).........................................$1,000     

Inuma water access point............................$1,000

                 Needed (estimates):

Large storage tanks (x2 10k L)....................$4,000

Inuma water access points (x2)..................$2,000

Manual labor....................................................$2,000

Pipes and equipment.....................................$1,000        

Hand-washing stations.................................$1,000
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So, any contribution towards this cause will be greatly appreciated!! I strongly believe it could make a difference to help both combat the spread of the pandemic in this area and provide potable water to more families!

If you would like any further information on the borehole design, on how to reach the engineering team may you want a similar set up in a different area, or would like to make a contribution in a different form, feel free to contact me via email:  [email redacted].


I am beyond excited about this project in Kamonyi District and hopefully more others to come!!


Thank you very much for being part of this :)


Aristide Gumyusenge, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Stanford University
Department of Materials Science & Engineering
​Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials (GLAM)
496 Lomita Mall
Stanford, CA 94305
Website: Google Scholar