In the Mugombwa sector, Gisagara district, water is expensive for the population. A jerry can cost 210 frws. It is necessary to travel a long distance to get water.
In the Mugombwa sector, Mugombwa cell, four villages have a serious problem with drinking water. The populations of Migina, Impinga, Akarambo and Bishya often have to go to the marshes to draw water.
Alexis Hategekimana lives in the village of Bishya. He is quick to point out the lack of water in their administrative entity.
“In Bishya we don’t have drinking water,” he says. “To get water, you have to go to the swamps. A jerry can costs 10 Rwf, but for transport you have to pay 200 Rwf. In total, you pay 210 Rwf for a jerry can,” says the man who provides security at the Mugombwa sector office.
On the road leading to the Mugombwa refugee camp there is a tap where people can get water. “One tap is really not enough,” says Hategekimana.
According to Gad Ndayishimiye, a young man who came to collect water from the tap in Bishya, the water is not always there. You have to wait until 4pm to see the first drops. At 6pm, the benefactor turns off the tap.
At that point, the only alternative is to go to the marshes. For Marie Jeanne Uwineza, this journey takes 30 minutes.
A young girl named Pacifique Mutimutuje from Ibazankuru village is in Bishya looking for water. It is around 4.30 pm. She is patiently waiting for her turn. She would not want to go to the swamps in the morning. “Sometimes, when I have to fetch water in the morning, I arrive late at school.
The other villages in Mugombwa have no alternative. The only source of water is the swamps.
Out of five cells in the Mugombwa sector, three do not have water facilities, according to Mugombwa’s executive secretary, Damien Sibomana,
The entire population of the Mugombwa sector will have to wait until 2024 to be supplied with drinking water. For the time being, the inhabitants close to the refugee camp are the best served. They can enter the camp when they need water.
Gérard Rugambwa
