The World Plumbing Council (WPC) has facilitated a partnership between The International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Foundation (IWSH) and the Rwanda Plumbers Organization (RPO) to support community hand washing and public health awareness activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The RPO was founded by Jean Claude Twagirimana, who is also a plumbing instructor. In 2018, Brother Twagirimana was the recipient of the inaugural Instructor Training Program Scholarship for Trainers from Developing Countries, presented by the WPC and United Association (UA). Taking what he learned from his overseas research visits and further studies, he helped establish the RPO on his return to Rwanda.

In recognition of World Plumbing Day—a date established by the WPC and celebrated across the globe every March 11—an RPO team led by Jean Claude recently designed and donated a mobile hand-washing station via a plumbing workshop hosted at the Integrated Polytechnic Regional College (IPRC) in the Huye district, an activity also intended to remind plumbers-in-training of their essential responsibility in protecting public health.      

“As a newly created plumbing organization in our country — the first plumbing organization of this kind — this project will demonstrate the role that plumbers must play to protect the health of the Rwandan community, increase awareness of professionalism for RPO members and bring in mind of all Rwandans that the RPO is there for them,” said Jean Claude.

“I had the honor of showing Jean Claude around when he came to the United States as part of the Instructor Training Program and quickly learned how passionate he is about using his skills as a plumber to help back home,” said WPC Chair/UA Director of Plumbing Services Thomas Bigley.