Water Access Rwanda (Warwanda) seeks to eradicate water issues by providing clean and safe water for low-income earners in Rwanda.
Water Access Rwanda started its operations in 2014, when its founder Christelle Kwizera, a Mechanical Engineer by training, saw the need to increase access to clean and safe water for all people living in water-scarce areas in her country.
Safe water is one of the eight-millennium development goal and in 2010, The United Nations General Assembly recognized the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights. The resolution calls upon states and International Organizations to provide financial resources, help capacity-building and technology transfer to help countries, especially in developing countries to provide safe, clean, physically accessible and affordable drinking water for personal and domestic use.
Rwanda, like many African countries experience water shortages leaving women and children with no option but to walk long distances in search of it. At times school-going children miss school in the process of looking for water. Christelle was inspired by these issues and since 2014, she has been working with communities to ensure they access clean and safe water
The company provides a range of services for instance filtration, borehole drilling pump installation, maintenance and repair and geophysical surveys for commercial, households, communities , institutions, industries, and farms
One unique project done by the company is Inuma, a microgrid network of water points created with a capacity to supply a whole village with clean and safe water. The Inuma water comes at an affordable cost and is completely safe to drink at the tap. Their biggest Inuma serves over three thousand people and has connected 20 households. In some places, they have put up solar water kiosks.
Since it’s inception, the company has served over 132 000 individuals and drilled over 90 boreholes and have supplied filters in 8 schools across Rwanda. The company has done projects across the broader for instance in Burundi, DRC, and Uganda and has plans to expand to cover more people and across Africa.
The firm also offers community support and wash training in a bid to eradicate diarrheal disease which is a global killer. Wash training are intended to sensitize members of the community about water, sanitation, and hygiene for a disease-free community. Other than wash training, it also teaches financial stewardship and small scale water point management.
Water Access Rwanda is not the only company providing water access in Rwanda. Other companies like Iriba Water Group,Water and Sanitation Corporation which is a public entity also do similar projects. Warwanda is unique in that it targets the needy and their services are affordable, durable and completely safe.