Building a Bridge to a Brighter Future

Imagine not being able to get to work because there’s no way to safely cross a river. Or your children missing out on their education because there’s no way to safely cross a river. Or even not being able to access basic necessities – healthcare, food markets – because there’s no way to safely cross a river.

Until recently, this was the reality for the people of the Tigano community in Rwanda.

The Kamiranzomvu River has long been synonymous with missed opportunities. During the rainy season, the river is prone to flooding and becomes dangerous – often deadly – to those attempting to cross. As a result, children don't attend school and the community is cut off from a variety of essential facilities.

Earlier this year, we partnered with the non-profit Bridges to Prosperity to build a suspended footbridge across the river to provide safe, year-round access for the surrounding communities, empowering them to end poverty due to rural isolation.

Building the bridge

Over the course of ten days, the Jacobs team along with Bridges to Prosperity representatives and members of the local community worked together to complete the 65-meter bridge.

With expert guidance from Bridges to Prosperity and helpful insight from repeat member Tim Duncan who also participated in last year’s build, the team worked on every aspect of construction like filling the abutments with rocks and concrete to form the approach ramps, hoisting the cables, setting the sag, assembling and launching swings across the cables, installing the decking, hand-installing the fencing and painting the towers.

Each member of  the Jacobs team brought a unique set of skills and they immediately immersed themselves with the local team, enabling everyone to continually learn from others and help each other out. During one of the team meetings, Safety Lead Sandrine Kirk shared that each person contributes something unique to the team with their individual personalities and are “de vrais rayons de soleil” (real rays of sunshine). The Jacobs teammates also helped train several community members to maintain the bridge in the years to come and participate in other builds to help connect other communities.

The work was physically demanding with early starts and late finishes, and the weather was hot, but our Culture of Caring was present throughout the build. Everyone was looking out for each other and prioritizing their safety in the heat, encouraging regular breaks. There were no shortcuts and few technological aids, so the team learned how to be resourceful. From using old buckets to carry tools or mix paint to forming an assembly line and passing several hundred pounds of rocks to fill both ends of the bridge, everyone learned the true value of teamwork.

The team knew they were going to build a bridge – but they ended up doing so much more than that.

Building community

For the duration of the build, the Jacobs crew was fully immersed within the community, living in a local village as well as working alongside the community members. It’s going to be a long time before anyone forgets the sound of the early morning rooster call or the bucket showers!

Each day, the local children eagerly waited for the end of the day to walk a mile up the hill, singing and dancing along the way. As the project went on, the group grew to more than 40 with many of the adults joining in on the fun too. Even though everyone was exhausted by the end of the day, they found a new sense of energy to do the Macarena and the Chicken Dance all the way uphill with the kids.

On the last day of the project, the entire team celebrated over a large barbeque with plenty of goat kabobs, potatoes and salad to go around. While everyone did morning warm-ups together and worked together on various tasks in small groups, this was the first time they all came together to eat and bond as a group. At the end of the meal, special shirts were passed out and the whole team got up to sing and dance together.

Inauguration Day began with a visit to a local school where the Jacobs team was greeted by more than 300 children singing and warmly welcoming them. Executive Sponsor Shannon Miller and Project Lead Jessie Gerwien shared inspirational speeches, encouraging the children to chase their dreams and letting them know that anything is possible.Afterward, the team shared soccer balls, coloring books, dolls and other fun gifts with the children and spent a couple of hours playing with them. It was hard saying goodbye, but the team had to leave to go back to the bridge site one final time for the inauguration.

More than 200 people excitedly waited for the government officials and Bridges to Prosperity representatives to begin the ceremony. Local officials and residents took turns giving speeches about the positive impact the bridge will have on the community for years to come. Several local team members were also awarded certificates to recognize their contributions to the bridge and acknowledge their roles as part of the bridge maintenance committee.

Finally, the long-awaited moment of cutting the ribbon happened and the bridge was officially open to the public. The sense of joy and gratitude was palpable as everyone gathered at the beginning of the bridge and walked across together singing a special song to celebrate the momentous occasion!