Amakuru

Rwanda: Residents of Mutete Parish celebrate inauguration of drinking water treatment plant sponsored by Belgian partners.

October 29, 2022

Residents of Mutete Parish celebrate inauguration of drinking water treatment plant sponsored by Belgian partners.

This Friday, October 28, 2022, was a good day for the people of the Northern Province, Gicumbi district, at Mutetete Parish, and it was a joyous day for the people of that parish who attended the inauguration of the drinking water purification system.

It is a ceremony that started with the offering of the mass read by His Highest Excellency Bishop Servilien Nzakamwita, the Bishop Emeritus of Byumba, Rwanda who is retired, the mass was attended by students, parents, and guests. Through a unique partnership, between Mutete Parish, BOSAQ, De Watergroep (national drinking water company in Belgium), Umubano (NGO), HOWEST (Belgian university for health promotion), VPWvO (Flemish partnership water for development), and thanks to funding by the Environmental department of Flanders, advanced rainwater capture has been established in the Mutete parish, allowing a sustainable source of drinking water through BOSAQ technology. Now 1,500 schoolchildren in the parish have daily access to clean and safe drinking water at their playground.

In an interview with Father Faustin Mungaruriye, he explained how this project started with the challenges that the children did not have access to clean drinking water but now they are very happy and the water came as a solution. He told us that it is a project that cost more than 170 million in Rwandan currency, and they will continue to protect this infrastructure.

In his speech, Mr. Frederic Deprez, vice president of UMUBANO VZW, said’’ It is an honor and privilege to be here today at the official inauguration of the water purification installation at the Parish of Mutete. Umubano is a Belgian non-profit organization working in close collaboration with local partners in Rwanda, with the aim of the joint realization of projects for the benefit of the local community. Our main focuses are agriculture, education, and healthcare. These three themes are all covered in this ambitious and high-level project in Mutete.

To realize this we needed joint forces, in the first place of the local Parish led by Father Narcisse Rurenga and the local community KOTIMU cooperation, and on the other hand the cooperation of 4 partners in Belgium: Bosaq, the technology company providing the installation; The Watergroup, the commissioning company for water governance and expertise; Howest, the educational organization for sensitization and healthcare education; and Umubano, being the intermediate facilitator organization.

the representative of Watergroep Mr. Ortwin Deroo, the largest drinking water company in Belgium and a member of the friendship and cooperation between Flemish actors and Rwandan friends Mutete Parish is happy that you have completed an important project, which will make all children and residents of Mutete parish healthy.

The representative of Howest University also said about the cooperation of the school he represents and the school that cooperates with the Mutete Parish in taking care of hygiene and drinking clean water to prevent diseases… Through the program of sending interns to the Mutete school. She also appreciated the drinking water purification project.

The ceremony was attended by various honor guests including the Excellency Ambassador of Belgium in Rwanda and his wife, the Vice Mayor in charge of social affairs, civil society representatives, Christian religious representatives working in the Mutete sector, students, teachers, and parents. In all speeches, the cultural troop dance performance was about the importance of drinking clean water and thanking partners.

This project is a 100% off-grid state-of-the-art drinking water purification installation, Q-Drop Iguazu, with an output capacity of 1,000 to 2,000 liters/hour in Mutete Parish, Rwanda.

This remote rural community at the top of a hill faced significant challenges for a sustainable year-round drinking water supply. When available, the piped water had to be boiled or children had to fetch water of dubious quality from the local source, deep in the valley.