Olivier Nihimbazwe is from Cibitoke province. He studied Environmental Health at the National Institute of Public Health (INSP-Institut National Publique). He did masters in the department of Food Security and Nutrition in Uganda at Gulu University. Together with his friends, he launched the organization Water for Development-Water4Dev in acronym in 2020. That organization produces chlorine which purifies water. The lab is located in #Cibitoke province. And apart from that, they protect the environment.
The representative of Water4Dev, Nihimbazwe says, “the approach collected by scientists proved that many families in Imbo plains use stream water which are endangered by microbial illnesses. Chlorine, which purifies water, is bought abroad and it’s expensive. Then we did experiments of producing chlorine. After we succeeded to make it and it has been accepted by scientists.”
Olivier adds that they have taken part in many competitions and they were given awards like D-prize Award, Innovation Week Award, Swiss Water Partnership… they even got partners and it helped them distribute that chlorine in different areas of Cibitoke province which are hit by microbial diseases.
The problems they faced was the delaying of the authorization to work as a company. “The subject was important and directly related to human health, so scientists spent a long time experimenting with their innovative chlorine”, he regrets.
The Water4Dev has now brought the solution. Olivier is now proud of his company’s achievements so far. “The utility of our chlorine is of a paramount impact today because it has helped more than 120,000 people”, he rejoices.
Hitherto, they’re doing their best so that their chlorine be accessible in the whole country and abroad to help to protect people against diseases caused by dirty water.
