When you can’t wait for water
Since July 15th, WARwanda started work on the first phase of a 3-site kiosk system. This will be the second kiosk installed this year. It is located in a high need perri – urban area in Nyamirambo Sector, Nyarugenge District.
We knew the lines were long and hopeless at the nearby spring (about 1km from the kiosk and a few more km for those who walk far to access it) and so we expected the lines to be long once we opened. But we were in for a surprise because even before we opened, the cues were terrible, and people waited for us to do even a simple test of the system to gather a few drops of water.
On August 1st, we sold water for the first time. The water system was working and we were finalizing the gutters and waste water channels. We still remained to paint some parts of the kiosk as well as add tiles for a clean and fresh look. On that first day, we provided water to 191 individuals, and had to face an unhappy long line as we unfortunately had to close for the work to continue so that safe water would be guaranteed for longer for everyone.
On August 2nd, today, I decided to share this story, because we faced an even bigger line! From 11am to 4pm, more than 200 had gotten water form our kiosk in an unlikely and unplanned way. See we still need to do the tiles and let them dry. But we also want to give this water to the population that simply can’t wait any longer for it. So we connected a pipe to the outlet and provided the water a small distance away so that the kiosk would be ready tomorrow for actual operations. We need to do the extensions ASAP so that the waiting time can be greatly reduced.
Thankful for the sponsor Water4 and all the donors that made this possible! These individuals want water anyway, in any quality. But we are digging deeper so that they have clean water and don’t have to be on a long line either at the water kiosk or at the hospital waiting for a bed to free up.
