Gaseke
Gaseke is in the Gicumbi region of Northern Rwanda. Gaseke's Bridge to Prosperity will be a suspension bridge, spanning 50m over the Mwange River. Currently all the population have to cross the bridge is a narrow metal beam which frequently gets washed away during the flood season.
We're really excited about the bridge we're going to build, have a look at the infographic and fact file below for more information about it.
Community Served:Gaseke
River: Mwange
Muncipality/Region: Gicumbi, Northern Rwanda
Province Bridge Type: Suspension
Pedestrian Bridge Span: 50m
Population Served: Nkoto Cell (approximately 1600 people) and Gaseke Cell (approximately 2700 people)
Estimated daily traffic: 200 school children and adults on normal days; on Fridays, the Gaseke Marketdrives brings 1300 people across the river, and on Tuesdays, the Rusine Market brings 800 people across
A bridge to cross the River Mwange for the community of Nkoto will provide safe all year round access for:
• Children to attend schools in the the Gaseke Town
• People to attend the Healthcare of Kajevuba Center (located at 5KM downstream from the Bridge Site)
• People to work in the sugar cane field which covers the entire valley between Nkoto and Gasenke
• Farmers will be able to access the local markets of Gaseke and Rusine
• The community will have access to the main road, Kigali-Katuna, (this road forms Border of Rwanda and Uganda) which goes to the city of Gicumbi as well
• The community of Gaseke mostly crosses the river to visit relatives and access farms. Most infrastructure is located in the Gaseke Cell which means that the bridge will change impact the lives of the Nkoto community more.
The bridge will eliminate the risk of crossing the river during the raining season from March through May during flood events. As a result, the Gaseke Suspended Bridge will significantly change the lives of these communities. The main Road, Kigali-Katuna, is the only route of transportation to sell the crops for these communities. A large portion of the agriculture products are sent to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, with the remaining going to the district capital of Gicumbi. People carry their goods on their heads, bicycles or motorcycles to the main road where they can find trucks to transport them to the larger markets of Kigali and Gicumbi. The current river crossing consists of a single steel beam which is not safe. During the rainy season, the water level frequently rises over this existing bridge, and the river cannot be crossed until it returns to a more normal water level. A pedestrian bridge over the Mwange River will safely connect the communities of Nkoto and Gaseke to local Infrastructure and capital resources.
Above: Some images of the existing 'bridge' in across the Mwange in Gaseke.