New water taps mean displaced families no longer have to choose between drinking, cooking or washing
UNICEF and partners stepped up their response by building latrines and showers and increasing the availability of drinking water at the Don Bosco site.
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Back in her village in Rutshuru in North Kivu, Bernadette ran a bustling grocery store selling flour, water and other items.
But in March 2022, her life was turned upside down when fighting spread towards her home. She fled with her family of four children aged between 3 and 10 years old to the Don Bosco displacement site in Goma. For the past 16 months, Bernadette has been living an entirely different life to the one she left behind. A difficult life, with one of the most pressing problems being a lack of clean water.
"When we arrived, we were greeted by the priest, who told us to build shelters with wood,” Bernadette recalls. “To get water, we had to ask the local residents, but even their generosity had its limits."
The situation became increasingly unbearable for Bernadette and her family.
"The water we received from our neighbours was insufficient," she explains. "How do you make a choice between washing, cooking or drinking? The women suffered from infections, and our children had scabies."
The situation became still worse in February 2024 when in the space of two weeks an additional 250,000 people arrived in Goma fleeing violence in Sake and Bweremana.
“We already had a cholera outbreak, but the increasing number of people packed together in atrocious conditions without proper sanitation or enough drinking water threatened to propel the number of cases to worrying new level,” says Germaine Bashige, a United Nations Volunteer working in UNICEF’s WASH team in Goma.
With financial support from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), UNICEF and partners were able step up their response by building latrines and showers and increasing the availability of drinking water at the Don Bosco site.
This comes as a stark relief for Bernadette and other displaced families.
"We used to struggle to get water but with these new taps we now have a reliable supply,” she says.
As well as providing clean water, UNICEF is also supporting an information campaign that encourages families to follow proper hygiene rules.
"There are signs about hygiene at every tap,” says Bernadette. “Following these rules will hopefully help protect us against cholera and other diseases."
