GLOWS program to bring sustainable water to Rwanda


The confluence of the Kagera and Ruvubu rivers near Rusumo Falls, along the Rwanda/Tanzania border.

FIU’s Global Water for Sustainability Program (GLOWS) will be helping to improve water quality in Rwanda.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded GLOWS a five-year, $21.9 million grant for a project dubbed Rwanda Integrated Water Security Program. The program is designed to positively impact human health, food security, and resiliency to climate change for vulnerable populations in the African nation by improving the sustainable management of water quantity and quality.

“The implementation of the Rwanda Integrated Water Security Program provides a unique opportunity for FIU to be a key player among the institutions engaged in supporting the development of the Rwandan water sector at all levels,” said Maria S. Donoso, director of GLOWS. “This project will have economic benefits, improve nutrition for families, decrease health problems and increase productive time which currently is being spent looking for water, largely from unprotected sources.”

GLOWS will select two to four watersheds to implement and integrate a wide range of low-cost and innovative technologies for water supply, sanitation and agriculture in Rwanda. The program will focus on multiple-use water services, sanitation marketing and product/supply chain development, as well as on-farm water-use efficiency schemes. The program also will implement initiatives related to community climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, together with climate resilient water management. In the health sector, importance will be given to scaling up community hygiene behavior change. Lessons learned during these ground-level interventions, coupled with the results of national policy and institutional assessments, will be the basis for cooperation with national authorities to influence existing policy and create opportunities to replicate ground-level interventions in other parts of the country.

GLOWS is a consortium of international organizations led by FIU, working to increase social, economic and environmental benefits to people of the developing world. Other members include CARE, WaterAid America, Winrock International, World Vision and the World Wildlife Fund.  The consortium provides expertise across the policy, governance, educational and technical dimensions of integrated water resources management. GLOWS is an integral component of FIU’s School of Environment, Arts and Society in the College of Arts & Sciences, furthering a mission of tackling the world’s environmental challenges while effecting long-term, positive social impacts. In addition to the Rwanda Integrated Water Security Program, GLOWS has conducted projects in Peru, Ecuador, India, and Morocco, and is presently working in Tanzania, Kenya, and Georgia in the Caucasus.