Nearly half of the year in Rwanda is called the “rainy season,” and yet the need for clean water is pervasive throughout homes and communities. Nationwide, water shortages cause poverty, food insecurity, and disease, and health centers without water find it particularly difficult to provide basic services.
With support from the San Francisco Foundation, in 2010 RW installed a subterrean rainwater collection tank at the new Gashora Health Center. A rainwater harvesting tank is a simple, effective way to collect, save, and utilize water for essential health center activities - including hand washing and sterilizing equipment. Where water shortages were once common at Gashora, today the rainwater harvesting tank utilizes 100,000 tons of natural rainfall so that the staff there can provide consistently high-quality health services to over 22,000 people in a clean facility.