Empowering Lives: Transforming Water Access and Safety in Eastern DR Congo

In the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), women and children used to walk several kilometers to fetch drinking water. On their way, they were sometimes subjected to sexual and physical violence by armed and ill-intentioned individuals. This is the case in the village of Iyobora in Rutshuru territory, which used to record an average of 4 cases of sexual violence a week.

Thanks to the support of the I-Life project, funded by USAID - Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, World Vision has built water sources in the village. Since then, the number of cases of violence and water-borne diseases has fallen. World Vision plans to build 112 water sources over the course of the project, 30 of which have already been built. This project will end in 2024.