Since 2013, NEU Global has partnered with Association Rwandaise pour le Développement Endogène/Kubaho (ARDE/KUBAHO), a highly regarded, nationally registered NGO in Rwanda, to bring clean water initiatives to life in the country’s Musanze and Muhanga districts.

 

ARDE/KUBAHO, whose name draws partly from the Kinyarwandan word for a better life, is a Rwandan NGO founded in 2002 by a coalition of members from Rwanda’s university community, who made it their mission to promote socio-economic development under four strategic directions:

 

• Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) management

• Environmental management

• Community livelihood

• Institutional development and capacity building

 

NEU Global chose to work with ARDE/KUBAHO not only for its strong commitment to the first strategic direction — increasing access to clean water through WASH management — but also for its extensive network and credibility in the region to make the clean water initiatives a success. Collaborating with NEU Global in Kansoro and Gahondo, ARDE/KUBAHO was critical in facilitating: 

 

• Planning: ARDE/KUBAHO’s knowledge of Rwanda, especially the Muhanga district, played an important role in helping NEU Global identify the communities most in need of a water kiosk and, once identified, getting the appropriate parties involved.

 

• Training: In addition to organizing the construction of the water kiosks, ARDE/KUBAHO offered training sessions to teach community members how to maintain and manage them, as well as educational programming to enforce positive hygiene behavior changes.

 

• Community collaboration: An active member of Muhanga’s District Water Board, ARDE/KUBAHO strongly emphasizes communication between communities and local authorities to resolve issues such as water kiosk repairs or service disruption.

 

For more information about ARDE/KUBAHO, visit their website at www.arde-kubahorwanda.org and read their report on the Kansoro and Gahondo initiatives with NEU Global here.