KIGALI, RWANDA – When the Rwandan government offered Xaveria Mukagashugi the option in 2016 to relocate from her home on Sharita Island – a small, remote island in Lake Rweru within the Bugesera district and along the southern border of Burundi – she agreed.

The move to a government-made model village on the mainland near Lake Rweru meant Mukagashugi and her family would have better access to education, health care, markets and social services — all of which were scarce on Sharita Island because of its isolated nature.

The new homes Sharita Island and Mazane Island residents were given came fully equipped with rainwater harvesting equipment. During the rainy season, from March to May, residents can harvest rainwater and reuse it for washing, bathing, cleaning and, at times, even drinking.

These model homes are part of the government’s Integrated Development Program Model Villages, which aim to relocate the most vulnerable people living in high-risk, disaster-prone areas to more sustainable, livable homes. The program’s overall goal is to enhance socioeconomic development and climate resilience.

Underground storage tanks collect excess rainwater from the rooftops of 140 homes and store it for later use. This practice is sustainable because families can repurpose rainwater that would otherwise go to waste. This method also helps prevent flooding by creating space for excess water to be stored and retained for a long time without damaging the surrounding infrastructure.  

However, despite greater access to usable water, residents still face water scarcity. Due to the lack of rain during the long dry season, which runs from June to September, residents are unable to harvest rainwater. When the harvested rainwater inevitably runs out, they use the aquifer pumps to draw underground water to tend the government-issued cow each family owns. The problem is that the aquifer pump occasionally breaks, leaving the village not only limited in its water usage but also without drinking water. This is exacerbated by the lengthening dry seasons.

The new living situation also brings new challenges. Mukagashugi must often return to the island, not out of desire but necessity. She farms sweet potatoes and beans, something she’s been doing since she was a teen. Mukagashugi farms on her own, working long hours using only her body and a grape hoe. Her commute to the island requires her to leave her family for most of the week, and she works from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. She rents a room on the island to save time and energy by avoiding the commute  from Sharita Island to the Rweru Model Green Village.  

Although the island’s isolated nature played a big role in their relocation to the Rweru Model Green Village, Lake Rweru remains a great asset for farmers like Mukagashugi, who take advantage of the lake to water their crops during the dry season. This can’t be done during the rainy season, when the lake overflows and floods the fields.

While Mukagashugi benefits from the dry season on Sharita Island, these benefits do not transfer to the model village. Back home, her family and the residents of the Rweru Model Green Village struggle to procure water in the dry season.  For the village, the rainy season brings the greatest benefits.    

Throughout the year, Mukagashugi navigates life from island to village, from rainy season to dry season, and from an abundance of water to an extreme lack of it.

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