Bigogwe, Rwanda - Community Revitalization Project

Video Log 1: Assessment	Video Log 2: Action Taken

First assessment stats:

Homeless - 1,976
Families - 351
Children - 1,356
Dead - 25
Missing - over 100

The village is now in a state of emergency with villagers on the brink of a possible health epidemic. Over ten people in less than a week have contracted dysentery and the numbers are rapidly rising. There are 25 confirmed dead and over one hundred missing, according to Peace Byukusenge, Project Manager/ Educational Coordinator of the Bigogwe Trinity School. As the flood waters subsides, the body count will continue to rise.

This disaster, the first  of this magnitude, has taken the local community by surprise. They are simply not equipped to set up of a proper camp.

Sadly, this is only the  beginning of the regional rainy season(September-December). Floods can be expected to return to this refugee camp  of over 1900 people for the next several months. To date, the three hundred and fifty one families here have been provided with only150 small tarps which were constructed into makeshift tents. Currently,  8 to 10 people  squeeze in to each tent, only 6 feet long by 4 feet. The 151 families without tarps have constructed their homes out of sticks and leaves or may be sharing space with other families. The make - shift tents have been set up less four feet from one another ; a  contributing factor to the dangerous  health risks. In addition, t he toilets have also not been built properly. In fact, the toilets are set up on a hill 20 feet above the camp and just 10 feet from one of their crop fields. If this is not corrected immediately, the health risks are unimaginable.

The Solution

In the beginning of November, CAN-DO will be returning to the Bigogwe community.

Our first priority will be to reestablish a refugee camp that is not a health risk and can serve the people who have lost everything for up to 18 months. There are 351 families still in need of shelter and supplies. Tents have been Provided at cost by our friends at The North Face and we will have a cost sheet outlining material cost for a new home and survival kit for an individual family, which may be purchased through can-do and shipped out with our team. Each donor with purchase (ie tents, building supplies or survival packs) will have their name attached to their gift. You will see first hand that your contribution went directly to the family for which it was intended.

In addition to shelter, we will rebuild the toilet facilities in a manner that is safe and reliable. In addition,we will provide enough food for all of the refugees to eat and feed their family for up to 6months. Our initiative will utilize the local community and the local merchants to provide material and services to help 351 families earn back their lives. CAN-DO has already established a relationship with the local government and will be working with officials from the local school, the local government and the local church to accomplish our goals.

Our goal is that every dollar gets to those who need it most. We will be accountable for all donations and we will document all of our work, both with video coverage and accounting.

CAN-DO will soon be launching a new State of the Art virtual volunteer site called virtualvolunteer.tv . This free service will allow donors, along with the public, to watch how their contributions are directly affecting the very peoples lives they are supporting. Using satellite unlink technology, CAN-DO will start broadcasting live from the field. Donors can now watch live streaming video via our web site or iPhone and see their dollars actually reach the public without question.   

See what you can-do...

Thank you for your time and support,

The CAN-DO Team

The Cost

The Goal