Karera, a tourist beauty… and the only tap for Shanga’s forgotten people

In Shanga, in Rutana district (Burunga province, southern Burundi), residents survive thanks to the Karera Falls, the only available water source for decades. Between health risks, snakes, and silence from the authorities, drinking water remains an inaccessible luxury.

SOS Médias Burundi

Rutana, September 2, 2025 – In the town of Shanga, located in Rutana district, Burunga province, southern Burundi, drinking water is non-existent. For several decades, residents have had only one option for water : the famous Karera Falls, known for their tourist potential rather than for their vital role in the daily survival of a forgotten population.

Raw water as the only option

Early every morning, men, women, and children descend to the foot of the falls with containers. The collected water is used for drinking, cooking, washing, or even watering livestock.
Céline, a resident of Shanga for over 40 years, has known nothing but this reality.

“Ever since I was little, we’ve been drawing water here. There’s no tap in our village. It’s our only source of water,” she explains, a yellow container in hand.

Karera’s water is used without treatment or filtration, for lack of an alternative. When asked if she thinks it’s drinkable, Céline replies without hesitation :

“We don’t know. But we can’t do otherwise. It’s that or nothing.”

Snakes as our only guardians

Besides the quality of the water, the dangers associated with nature itself are a concern for the residents. From late morning onwards, snakes come to drink at the same watering hole. A reality that might shock visitors, but has become routine for the inhabitants of Shanga.

“From 11 a.m. onwards, the snakes come down. We see them often. For foreigners, it’s frightening, but we’ve learned to live with it,” confides another woman.

A cruel paradox

Ironically, the Karera Falls, located just a few kilometers away, are among the country’s most iconic natural tourist sites. Visitors come to admire the beauty of the cascades, while neighboring communities struggle to survive on this untreated water.

Meanwhile, no drinking water supply project appears to be underway in Shanga. Neither local authorities nor national rural water programs have yet responded to the population’s appeals.

The right to water still ignored

While Burundi, like other countries, has committed to guaranteeing the fundamental right to drinking water as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the reality of Shanga illustrates the gap between promises and realities on the ground.

In this southern region of the country, the natural beauty of the Karera Falls barely masks the silent injustice suffered by the inhabitants. An injustice that is repeated every day, bucket after bucket, amidst general indifference.