Village Water Hygiene and Sanitation Programme

The process of assisting a community consists of the following steps:

Village Selection: According to the project, Village Water’s two field offices are well established and are regularly approached by villages in need. Following an approach, with the help of rural health clinics and the local council, villages most in need and where most benefit will occur are selected. Evidence of self-help already in action within the community will also support a community’s application for support.

Forming a Committee: Once the field workers have got to know the villagers, they encourage them to organise themselves by forming a Village Water & Sanitation Committee. They take responsibility for managing the collection of local materials such as sand and stones for construction. The Committee collects and holds onto monthly maintenance subscriptions (normally 14p per working adult), which is used to fund any future maintenance work. To support gender equality, and recognising the role of women in collecting water, the Committee will always contain at least 50% women.

Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS): CLTS is a method of encouraging good hygiene and sanitation practice. It emphasises community action and behaviour change. Field workers work with the local community to analyse their sanitation problems, and work together with the community to find locally appropriate solutions. Field workers, through education, fuel a desire in the people to actively do something to improve their current situation. From this, residents draw on local resources and knowledge to construct sanitary facilities that fit their particular needs. The focus is on empowering the community to take action themselves, to construct their own toilets, hand washing facilities, bath shelters, pestle and mortar stands, and pot and plate racks, from locally available material.

Well Digging and Pump Installation: Once sufficient sanitation in the village has been achieved (by insisting on a high standard of sanitation from the start, villages know exactly what is required to feel the full benefit of their well, and are in a better position when Village Water leaves to maintain those standards), the installation of a well and pump begins. Because of the high water table in the Western Province of Zambia, Village Water installs hand dug shallow wells. All the wells are hand pump operated and sealed. This style ensures there is no risk of contamination.

Pump Mender Training: To ensure sustainability after installation, Village Water provides one week of training to two villagers from each community to safely and effectively carry out all basic maintenance on the well. The monthly subscription fee, set up by the villagers when the well is installed, pays for any repairs.

Monitoring: To monitor the progress of villages, Village Water uses data collection forms. Monitoring progress household by household, the forms are used by Village Water Committees at village level (so the community assess their own progress) and by staff during monitoring visits (usually annual). This information is put onto a database and assessed. If the village is performing well they receive a highly prized hand-stitched leather football, purchased by Village Water from the local Zambian charity ‘Alive and Kicking’, and in 2011 those with the greatest success in Kaoma will be able to take part in phase two of Village Water’s pilot football tournament. Monitoring of communities continues annually until there is certainty that the sanitation behaviour change and a system for maintenance of the well is integrated into community life.

Hygiene and Sanitation, Health

In November 2010, Village Water received the Runner Up prize for Public Service from the AMCOW AfricaSan Awards in recognition of their impact on the ground.

Diarrhoea is one of the leading causes of infant mortality in Zambia and a major contributor to malnutrition. The safe disposal of human excreta, coupled with basic hygiene practices such as hand washing with soap are key to breaking the cycle of disease transmission for diarrhoea, particularly amongst children under five.

According to Village Water, their programmes have a long-lasting impact on communities for a number of reasons. Children can wash regularly and good hygiene practices are maintained, avoiding diseases caused by insufficient water and poor hygiene practices. Families are able to grow more food, and a local water source gives village women time to create their own local enterprise and children the time to attend school. A reliable water source allows farmers to harvest crops throughout the year instead of relying on the rainy season, and surplus food can be sold. Money made through their enterprise enables families to pay for medicines and education for their children.