Amazi Meza Rwanda
Water Treatment Program

Conducted by East Africa Programs Manager to determine the next set of priority districts based on criteria such as number of public schools in district, geographic and climatic variables influencing water availability and access, and logistics for accessing schools in the district.

Secured by Rwanda Climate Finance Director to ensure that District Government leadership is familiar with the program, understands school eligibility criteria and the commitments of schools and Virridy Rwanda, and agrees to implementation in schools in their district. This process also includes obtaining an up-to-date list of all schools in the district.

Conducted by Survey Team through phone calls to school headmasters to determine whether schools are eligible for baseline survey based on the following criteria:

1. School is not on utility distribution network
2. School has not treated water for students with advanced treatment in the last 3 months
3. School is publicly funded (not exclusively private)
4. School has at least 400 students
5. School has access to water year round

The mWater screening survey tool can be viewed here. Once all schools in a district have been screened, the data is reviewed to identify the list of schools eligible for in-person baseline surveying.

Conducted by Survey Team through in-person school visits by enumerator pairs to verify data initially collected through Screening Survey, gather more in-depth data on the school and its water collection and treatment practices, and map and test the quality of its drinking water sources.

Once all baseline-eligible schools have been visited and surveyed, the data is reviewed to identify schools eligible for implementation based on:

1. Water from drinking water source(s) is always or mostly available (unavailable for 30 days or less per school year)
2. No advanced treatment for student drinking water in the last 3 months
3. Drinking water is not supplied by utility connection
4. At least one drinking water source tested positive for E. coli contamination

Completed by the Field Technician team, working in pairs.

Carried out for two purposes using the same monitoring survey tool, with logic built in to determine questions asked depending on purpose.

Informed by monitoring activities and calls from schools to report filter issues. Needs are determined through the Issue Report Form and the mWater Issue Tracking System.

Conducted within two years of initiation of a given VPA for all filters in all schools, following this protocol. Schools are responsible for daily and weekly cleaning but are told not to disassemble the filter. When visited for cleaning, a monitoring survey and water quality testing are also conducted.

A Recycling and Disposal Plan is in place for end of filter lifespan. To date, this process has not been necessary for any filters.