CED Directors Angus Armstrong and Alan Michell visited the small community of Kavumu in the Rwandan town of Mayange in September.
Conditions were very different from those Alan encountered during his first visit in 2016. Travelling then with Rwandan Pastor Charles Semwaga, they found a group of returning refugees who were facing great hardship. They had no access to water, their homes were in very poor condition and few families were able to support themselves satisfactorily.
Kavumu Village in 2016
Alan worked closely with Charles to develop a wide-ranging project that has transformed Kavumu since it started in 2018. Each of the 50 homes has been provided with a 4,000 litre rainwater harvesting jar. A new 40,000 litre tank has been constructed to ensure water is always available despite the very erratic mains supply. Each home has been helped to set up their own pocket-sized market garden that allows them to grow fruit or vegetables.
Angus Armstrong joined Alan on his final project visit to Kavumu to make a formal assessment of the completed project. Their visit has been extremely valuable as CED continually seeks to improve the design of the rainwater harvesting tanks. At the end of their inspection Angus concluded:
“The project seems to have been highly successful. The people we have met look healthy, clean and happy. The community appears to be thriving and growing. The local community leaders met us and told us how much they appreciated CED’s support and their partnership with Charles and his church Faith Centred Ministries. It has also been really encouraging to see how the project has been a catalyst for further development such as biogas digesters, solar power and house extensions.”
Thank you to everyone who supported this project so generously. In particular, our thanks go to Wilmslow Wells for Africa and St Mary’s Olveston whose significant donations were vitally important factors in the success of the project. Our former director Mike Beresford prepared this video last year to say thank you to Wilmslow Wells for Africa – you may find it interesting.
