SOS Eau Giteranyi’s Project

In the village of Giteranyi in Burundi, there is a lack of infrastructure for supplying potable water, which has large negative impacts on the health of its inhabitants. Moreover, this forces women and particularly children to go search for water from a faraway stream in the morning before going to school. Often arriving late to school, the children are tired, which diminishes the quality of their education.

In order to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of Giteranyi, SOS Eau Giteranyi’s project aims to ensure the supply of clean drinking water to the village of Giteranyi.

More concretely, the project objective is to drill a well and build a potable water distribution system in Giteranyi with a budget of 200,000 CHF. The local population will benefit considerably from the project and the project will have a direct impact on the sanitary and social conditions.

Positive sanitary impacts:

  • The prevention and decrease in prevalence of a certain number of diseases, such as diarrhea (which threatens above all children under five years old), dysentery, hepatitis, etc.;
  • A decrease in the rate of infant mortality;
  • Improved health because the distance the population has to carry water will be reduced. This could decrease back and neck aches due to the weight of the water on the head;
  • A better quality of animal products (e.g., milk, butter, meat, etc.) thanks to a larger quantity of water available.

Positive social impacts:

  • An improved quality of learning at school: the presence of a well in the village will considerably reduce the time dedicated to collecting water, thereby decreasing students’ fatigue at school;
  • A decrease in gender inequality: local advocates can raise awareness for the importance of girls pursuing their studies and for the prevention of abandoning their studies due to early pregnancy;
  • A decrease in risk of sexual agression for girls en route to collecting water, thanks to the proximity of the well to the village.

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