NYARUGURU- Residents of Nyaruguru District are set to benefit from a Rwf 900 million water project that mainly targets rural sectors that was launched on Thursday.The four-year project is set to ease access to clean and safe water while promoting best sanitation practices among the population in seven sectors of the district. According to local officials, the said areas faced a perennial shortage of clean water.Under the new project, about 140 water sources would be developed and 250 ECOSAN toilets constructed in various schools in the district.The project will be implemented by the Health Poverty Action (HPA) under the financial support of the European Union.“We hope to get access to clean water close to our homes,” commented Dativa Nyiramyasiro, a resident and community health volunteer in Nyabimata Sector.“We have been making long distances to reach a clean water point, which pushed residents to use unsafe water resulting in prevalence of water-borne diseases especially among children. We hope this will be solved.”So far, three projects have worked in the area, all with an aim of bringing clean water to Nyaruguru and surrounding districts.According to the district mayor, Francois Habitegeko, there is need to harmonise the activities by the three projects to ensure that the population maximises the benefits arising from the projects.“To avoid duplication, the projects will need to work together. We hope that this new project will help in speeding up the supply of clean water in areas where it is still a serious challenge”, Habitegeko observed.“You cannot promote hygiene and sanitation without people having access to clean and safe water. This project comes to support the already ongoing initiatives to promote better environment for our population.”Habitegeko pointed out that over 78 per cent of the population in the district currently has access to clean water.
