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IGIHE.com CEO Meilleur Murindabigwi has been shortlisted among the top 10 innovators in the world by JCI international.

He and his nine other nominees are expected to receive their awards at JCI’s general assembly at Brussels in Belgium on 2 November.

Reacting to the news, Murindabigwi, “I’m overly happy because we’ve worked hard to perform and deliver better news and I’m happy that our work is recognized.”

He further added,” I never thought that I’ll be given such a ranking. This is an identification that the good things we do are recognised internationally. I also appreciate my colleagues that assisted me to achieve my dream. Such nominations should encourage us to deliver even better services,” he remarked.

Normally, JCI annually awards young innovators that have made major progress in various developmental sectors like health, entrepreneurship, politics, law, culture etc.

Selected people are also identified as Ten Outstanding Young People in the World (TOYP) meaning they have unique ideas and activities.

The IGIHE.com CEO becomes the second TOYP Rwandan after Dr. Joseph Nkurunziza who was acknowledged with fighting for the rights of children under the category of (Contribution to children, world peace and/or human rights) 2010.

On his part Murindabigwi has been acknowledged on his news website which he formed in 2009 together with his friends. It is believed that he formed the website after realizing that there was some online information that misrepresented Rwanda’s progress.

Hence, he came up with a IGIHE.com which strived to report the reality about what was happening in the country especially in areas of economy, politics, entertainment sport among others.

JCI judges who represent exemplary institutions like the UN, showed their appreciation to Murindabigwi’s effort to change the history of how media was used negatively to incite killings in the 1994 genocide.

In a continuous campaign to ‘Keep Kigali Clean’ the problem of lack of public toilets in the city requires immediate attention if the city of Kigali is to retain its position as the cleanest city in Africa.

City places especially around CHK and the route towards Camp Kigali Primary school have become stinky for many pedestrians urinate along this path every day.

Busy places including; Remera, Giporoso, Nyamirambo ,gatsata ,gikondo ,kimironko and kacyiru lack public toilets and this has contributed to emergence of stinking spots that contrast the clean image of the city.

The fast growing city of Kigali requires improved sanitation facilities especially public toilets. However such public toilets are rare to find around the city and the ones available are not known to people and very far from where people have their routine businesses.

The busy city business center Mateus also lacks public toilets. Igihe.com talked to the business people at Quartier Mateus who said they quickly need the problem to be fixed because this is a highly congested center.

Uwase Jane, a wholesaler of home equipment said that it takes them long time to get to public toilets. “I always leave home after I have used the bathroom. It saves me time and money while using the city public toilets located as far as the main roundabout,”explains Uwase.

Mama Jackie adds that she bought a bucket that she uses whenever she wants to ease herself. “I bought the bucket because I knew I couldn’t make it to Rubangura’s house and other public toilets not near,” she laments.

There are several city dwellers that use private buckets to ease themselves.
Although they didn’t reveal where they empty their waste, a respondent who preferred anonymity told this reporter that at the end of the day such contents normally mixed with water and detergents are emptied into the streets drainage system.

Mugabo Jean, a wholesaler of plastic shoes said like many others says he uses restaurant toilets especially during lunch period, “Whenever I go for my lunch I make sure that I come back when I have finished easing so that I don’t take long distance searching where to ease from”.

“The major Public toilets are mostly found at UTC complex, Rubangura house and opposite the roundabout in Kigali city costing 100Frw per user. Toilets are fewer than the high demand from city dwellers,” explains Mukahirwa Chantal a caretaker at UTC public toilets.

Mukahirwa says, “We always receive many people. In most cases some have to wait in a long queue because of lack of enough public toilets”.

The Gasabo district Mayor Ndizeye Willy acknowledged the public toilets problem saying that toilets are few. However, the mayor says building of public toilets is among the district goals they have to achieve.

“We don’t have enough toilets. We have already built public toilets at Gisozi. Construction is also underway at Kicukiro and Kinamba. Plans are also underway to construct public toilets at Nyakyonga and Gatsata such that by next year the city shall have enough public toilets,” says mayor Ndizeye.

Rwanda is the only country in the east African region where road traffic discipline is highly observed. Wearing helmets while riding on motocycles, fastening seat belts and other road user cautions have become part of Rwandan culture.

However, there have been complaints about the un hygienic sharing of a single helmet by many passengers that ride on moto taxis. This has resulted into an innovative gear known as ‘Smart Cover Head’.

The ‘smart cover head’ is made from artificial tissue that can be disposed of without any hazzadous effects to the environment.

The ‘smart cover head’ is fitted onto the head, on top of which the passenger wears a helmet. The ‘smart cover head’ is used by one person.

the Moto taxi operator is responsible for providing the ‘smart cover head’ to every passenger they carry.

The teaching partnership and student internship exchange program between Carleton University located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario and the School of Journalism and Communication of the National University of Rwanda has been suspended.

Professor Allan Thompson, a journalist that helped run the project since its inception in 2006, declared in a statement Thursday that the school has closed down a house where students lived on the exchange.

Thompson in a letter to current and past participants in the initiative noted, “It is with a great deal of sadness that I confirm that the Rwanda Initiative has formally suspended its activities.

“We have closed down our house in Kigali and paid severance to our local staff members.”

He added that the project cost $240,000 a year to run and would not continue until a new source of funds and new housing arrangements are found.

The school had exhausted spare funds after its partnership agreement with the U.S. Government expired in May.

The school will also stop sending visiting lecturers to the National University of Rwanda or Great Lakes Media Centre.

The Rwanda project had served as a chance for journalism students to take a two-month internship with a media organization by both Rwandans and the students from Carleton University.

The professor also outlined in the letter that the University of Rwanda refused to keep paying rent on the project house located in Kimihurura sector, Kigali city, and that “the school therefore had to vacate the house by the end of August and let our staff go”.

Thompson added the initiative continues to seek new funding opportunities.

The Mayor of Gicumbi District Bonane Nyangezi has said that 52% of 300, 071 residents in Gicumbi District, Northern Province have now access to clean and safe water.

The Mayor was speaking in an interview shortly after addressing residents on an occasion to officially open water points in Bwisigye sector, Gicumbi District and neighbouring sectors.

Six water points providing clean and safe water were built on donation of L’APPEL France’s arm in Rwanda in conjunction with Eglise Presbyteriene au Rwanda (EPR).

“Our target to have all residents get access to clean and safe water is within five years,” Nyangezi said.

Nyangezi also said there were a number of upcoming projects to make access to clean and safe water a reality and other approaches of gathering rain water for storage to be used in future.

Despite the hilly terrain there is still luck that there is a natural stream that provides water to the District and some residents still have to walk from 1 to 3 Kilometers to get access to clean and safe water.

Elisée Musemakweli the president of EPR said that the church has been involved with many developmental projects including getting access to clean and safe water across the country.

Musemakweli said that EPR church in Rwanda had previously completed similar water projects in Shyorongi and Karongi among other upcountry areas.

Rwanda is ambitious to reach the Millennium Development Goal target of providing 85% of its population with potable water by 2015.

It is estimated that current water coverage in Rwanda is at 75% up from about 55% in 2005.

Global facts on water

According to The Water Project.org globally 70% of water sources is for agriculture and irrigation, and only 10% on domestic uses.

The Water Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization bringing relief to communities around the world who suffer needlessly from a lack of access to clean water and proper sanitation.

And 84% of the people who don’t have access to improved water, live in rural areas, where they live principally through subsistence agriculture.

Less than one in three people in Sub-Saharan Africa have access to a proper toilet.

Over half of the developing world’s primary schools do not have access to water and sanitation facilities. Without toilets, girls typically drop out of school at puberty.

While 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases. Girls under the age of 15 are twice as likely as boys their age to be the family member responsible for fetching water.

Almost two-thirds, 64% of households rely on women to get the family’s water when there is no water source in the home.

In developing countries, as much of 80% of illnesses are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions.

Nearly 1 out of every 5 deaths under the age of 5 worldwide is due to a water-related disease.

By investing in clean water alone, young children around the world can gain more than 413 million days of health!

Half of the world’s hospital beds are filled with people suffering from a water-related disease.

Nearly a billion, 884 million people do not have access to clean and safe water. 37% of those people live in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The average container for water collection in Africa, the jerry can weighs over 40 lbs when full.

The United Nations estimates that Sub-Saharan Africa alone loses 40 billion hours per year collecting water; that’s the same as a whole year’s worth of labor by the entire workforce in France!

Research has shown that for every 10% increase in women’s literacy, a country’s whole economy can grow by up to 0.3%.

According to the World Health Organization, for every $1 invested in water and sanitation, there is an economic return of between $3 and $34!

1 in 8 people world wide do not have access to safe and clean drinking water