People of Love

ISSUE:
This team of 33 members works in the rural area of Kamonyi, where a severe scarcity of water causes and triggers violence, domestic conflict, and other societal challenges. The burden of fetching water – trekking hours down to the nearest source and slowly lugging jerry cans back up the mountainside – falls almost exclusively to women and girls. As a result, Kamonyi's women are brutally overworked, and community members tell stories of miscarriages and injury. Domestic abuse is prevalent in Kamonyi, and the community identifies water scarcity as the trigger in most instances. Men arrive home to an exhausted wife, a meager or uncooked meal, and unwashed dishes, clothes, and rooms and feel that a beating is in order.

Women are discouraged from using their time to participate in local government or attend societal meetings. The community's inability to irrigate their lands or to eat foods that require water-intensive preparation causes malnutrition, particularly among children. Children who must fetch water in the mornings do not make it to school on time, and others are sent home because their unwashed clothes do not pass the regular cleanliness checks. The local primary school requires students to bring water to school for cleaning day, often on Fridays, and if children are sent home if they show up empty handed.

SOLUTION:
People of Love will reduce problems related to lack of water by installing a clean water point in Kamonyi. The team will visit couples in their homes and educate those who come to use the water point about domestic violence laws and consequences, gender equality, and the use of kitchen gardens to fight malnutrition. They will provide men with training about women's rights and the importance of sharing domestic responsibilities.

IMPACT:
People of Love will begin operations this month, yet the two years that the venture has been in development with Global Grassroots support has already impacted the community. One team member, Nyirandegeya Christine, a 34 year old mother of three, is now seen as a trusted community leader who is able to make things happen. Respect for her knowledge has led to more gender equity in her home. Further, since becoming a founder of this organization, she has built solid relationships with other women in her community. Inspired by Christine’s self-empowerment, they no longer think that just because they are women it is better to stay home.

Once operational, People of Love will reach between 1600-2000 people.