Project Information

The Purdue Chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World has been collaborating with students and professionals in Rwanda on sustainability initiatives since late 2008. The irrigation system at the Gashora Girls Academy is the first system to be deployed as a result of this effort. This initiative was guided by the following mission statement:

Design and implement an environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable irrigation system for the Gashora Girls Academy that will aid in its agricultural production and education and will be a living laboratory for development for the region.

The design, a gated-pipe irrigation system that uses furrows to apply water to the crops, fulfilled the following objectives:

• To serve as an educational tool for the girls attending the school
• To serve as an educational tool for local Rwandans
• To provide food for sustenance for the girls attending the school
• To provide crops as an income source for the school

Further details on the system are available at Irrigation System Overview.
Below: Purdue students Tyler Williams and Mark Krenzke installing 160mm irrigation pipe (upper), and the first day of system operation 17 January 2011 (lower).

Project Background

The irrigation system project is an integral part of the sustainable campus envisioned for the Gashora Girls Academy, a project of the Rwanda Girls Initiative. The team believes education is a right and not a privilege and is dedicated to the education and success of girls. There is irrefutable evidence supporting the positive impact educating girls has on alleviating poverty, accelerating a community’s development, decreasing infant mortality, decreasing HIV/AIDS transmission, population reduction and increasing the level of education of her children.

Although Rwanda is making great strides towards meeting the Millenium Development Goals for gender equity in primary education, only 13% of girls go on to secondary education. There are many challenges impeding their path. Crushing amounts of chores, lack of money for school fees, lack of sanitary napkins and separate bathrooms, teenage pregnancy and marriage, fear of sexual assault en route to school… these are some of the many reasons that girls in Rwanda drop out of school during adolescence at a much higher rate than boys or if they remain in school, perform poorly.

Rwanda, a small country in central eastern Africa, is uniquely positioned to become a model for the rest of the continent. With their focus on gender equality at the top levels of government (highest percentage of women in Parliament of any country in the world) and programs like the Girls Education Initiatives at the Ministry of Education level, Rwanda sits poised to be a continent-wide example of the power of educating girls and empowering women. Through support of infrastructure and a focus on increasing the number of girls receiving a secondary education, there will be a measurable improvement in women’s potential opportunities and self determination, in turn significantly raising the annual per capita income.

Information Source: Rwanda Girls Initiative