AWF photo auction
I've got three U2 photos up for auction on eBay. Proceeds benefit a community water and sanitation project in the Buhera District of Zimbabwe, thanks to the partnership of the African Well Fund and Africare.
Unfortunately, in today's soundbite world, the details of things like these often get left out. I want to make sure people understand exactly what these funds will do, so I'm posting the three specific objectives here, and I've also copied and re-posted the entire project proposal behind an LJ cut. It's long, but it very clearly spells out what this is all about.SO 1: Improved access by 2,200 beneficiaries to safe, clean and adequate water for domestic use through rehabilitation of 3 boreholes, and sinking 6 new deep wells.
SO 2: Reduced water point breakdowns by at least 50% through formation and capacity building of water point committees and provision of maintenance kits
SO 3: Improved households’ knowledge, attitudes and practices on sanitation, health and hygiene.
This is the third time that I've contributed prints to this particular fundraiser. If you want to donate but can't beat some of the bids, you can donate here.
You can see all 36 U2 photos up for auction here. Two of my three are instantly recognizable. The other one, well, it's from the 360 Tour, so it's not. Heh.
Anyway, I have no idea how well we're going to do this year. Honestly, I think not nearly as well as in previous years. In 2006 we raised something like $11,000.00, and in 2007 we raised something like $7,000.00. But we'll see what happens. I always end up pleasantly surprised.
Read, think, donate.
I. Background
Africare/Zimbabwe is requesting U$50,000.00 from African Wells Fund (AWF) for leveraging the Buhera Integrated Community Water and Sanitation Project into the organization’s current interventions in Buhera District. The water and sanitation project will contribute immensely to Africare’s broad aim of improving access to clean water through the rehabilitation of bore-holes to the rural community, where children frequently bring their own water to school and health services are being compromised by the wide-spread shortage of clean water. The spate of cholera cases is re-surfacing in the district since February 2010and this is largely attributed to the underlying challenge of poor access to clean water, which results in unhygienic living conditions for the majority of the community.
The Buhera Integrated Water and Sanitation Project will be implemented over a period of 9 months targeting 2,200 beneficiaries in 1 ward where Africare is already implementing the Expanded Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme. This is a cholera response project funded by UNICEF, reaching out to 230 890 beneficiaries in the district’s 33 administrative wards. The water and sanitation project is expected to consolidate the achievements attained by the UNICEF funded project through the provision of clean water and health education. The identified ward is Nerutanga in Buhera North. It was selected based on its poor water points’ infrastructure that is either broken down or in urgent need of repairs, and the people are experiencing untold suffering in their daily quest to access clean water.
The cholera epidemiological figures show that Buhera is one of the districts worst hit by the cholera outbreak which ravaged the country since 2008. The crisis was compounded by the deteriorating socio-economic situation that resulted in the inability to repair existing water infrastructure and development of new ones by both local authorities and the government departments mandated with water and sanitation. A recent study carried out with the participation of the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MoHCW) revealed that an estimated 50% of boreholes and wells in rural areas are non-functional, while access to adequate sanitation in the targeted geographical area is below 30%. Apparently, the rate of borehole breakdown is exacerbated by the degree of pressure at the few existing water points being used for both domestic purposes and livestock. This scenario has exposed the beneficiaries to the serious risk of contracting water-borne diseases that include cholera.
While Africare has made rapid strides in improving communities’ access to safe portable water elsewhere in the district in the last few months alone, the funding from UNICEF will unfortunately not be adequate to rehabilitate water points in the identified ward. With the award of the AWF grant, the organisation looks forward to extending this critical service to Nerutanga ward to complement the non-food items currently being distributed.
2. Problem Statement
Buhera is an entirely rural district with an estimated population of 228 995 situated in the eastern part of the country, in Manicaland Province. Buhera district lies in natural agro-ecological regions IV and V it receives very little rainfall annually. The inhabitants always endure numerous hardships as they are forced to travel long distances in order to access clean and safe water. The consecutive droughts experienced from 2005 to 2007 resulted in pronounced lowering of groundwater tables and therefore resulted in some sources of water drying up. The deteriorating socio-economic situation exerted more pressure on the existing facilities thereby increasing the frequency of breakdowns. Limited attention was consequently paid and the non-availability of essential resources that include pump-minders repair kits as well as spare parts for the boreholes directly affected the servicing of the water points. This situation was further exacerbated by the loss of local skills within local communities since the trained people migrated to centres of economic activity in search of better livelihoods, leaving behind elderly people and children without both the physical capability and the skills to carry out repair work.
Against the background of limited water and sanitation coverage, Buhera district experienced the worst cholera impact in Zimbabwe that resulted in a startling epidemiology. Cholera cases totalling 3,890 and 90 deaths were recorded over a period of only nine months (August 2008 to April 2009) . This high communal case fatality rate is clear testimony to the low knowledge, practices and attitudes (KPAs) with respect to water and sanitation obtaining in the targeted location.
While government, in partnership with humanitarian agencies, has carried out significant work on development of rural water and sanitation since the 1980s, the momentum has been lost. Nevertheless, as the economy shows signs of early recovery and communities’ sedentary way of life resumes, there is scope for strengthening local systems to ensure sustainability in water and sanitation provision. The budget allocations for the water and sanitation sector have dwindled
3. Project Goal, Specific Objectives, Activities and Indicators
The overall goal of the project is to enhance the quality of life for 2,200 community members in the Nerutanga ward of Buhera district through improved access to clean portable water and improved sanitation and hygiene knowledge, practices and attitudes. The above goal will be realised through three complementary objectives as highlighted below.
3.1
Specific Objective (SO) 1: Improved access by 2,200 beneficiaries to safe, clean and adequate water for domestic use through rehabilitation of 3 boreholes, and sinking 6 new deep wells.
The project will increase the number of people with access to clean, safe and adequate water by deepening and equipping 6 deep wells and rehabilitating 3 boreholes in the needy ward of Nerutanga in Buhera District. This will be done through community participation in collaboration with the District Development Fund and the local authority. Statistics provided by the District Development Fund show that Nerutanga has more than 20 broken down water points. An assessment will be conducted to identify water points that can be rehabilitated and possible sites for new deep wells. Training will be extended to the local volunteer well sinkers. The well sinkers will be compensated with USD$10 per meter sunk. In addition, the capacity of existing water point committees will be enhanced, while new ones will be established where the old ones had become redundant, to ensure on time maintenance and governance of the water points.
An assessment will be conducted to identify non-functional and malfunctioning water points with good quality water. The District Development Fund will assist with water quality testing. Training will be carried out for the maintenance teams which will comprise of pump minders (6) who will undergo training in pump and well maintenance and repair before assuming their duties.
3.1.2 Indicators
• Number of sensitization meetings held
• Number of wells sunk and commissioned
• Number of water point minders trained
• Number of households with access to safe and clean water
3.1.3 Expected Results
• 1 sensitization meetings held with RDC, government departments, ward leadership and benefiting communities
• 6 deep well deepened and fitted with water lifting devices and 3 boreholes rehabilitated
• 2,200 households with access to clean, safe and permanent water source
• One baseline survey conducted
3.2
SO 2: Reduced water point breakdowns by at least 50% through formation and capacity building of water point committees and provision of maintenance kits
To ensure continued functioning of both new and existing water points, a water committee for each water point will be set-up or revitalized in cases where a committee is already in place. These water committees will be responsible for mobilization of local resources, usage of water, and mobilization of funds for repairs and maintenance of water points among others. The communities will be responsible for electing members of the committee. Women and PLWHA will be encouraged to be members of these committees. The committees will be capacitated through training on ownership and organizational skills such as leadership, decision-making and budgeting. Africare, Ministry of Water and District Development Fund will facilitate these trainings.
3.2.1 Indicators
• Number of water point committees established and trained
• % reduction in water point break down
• Number of maintenance kits replenished
3.2.2 Expected Results
- 2, 200 Nerutanga households have access to safe drinking water throughout the year.
For these proposed strategies to succeed, consultative and awareness meetings will be held with all relevant stakeholders and the beneficiaries before the project is implemented. These meetings will be aimed at establishing the current situation, the resources available from other partners, the roles and responsibilities of these partners in project implementation, community preferences and development of participatory impact indicators.
3.3.1
Objective 3: Improved households’ knowledge, attitudes and practices on sanitation, health and hygiene.
The project will train 10 Participatory Health and Hygiene volunteers from the local community, based on the UNICEF/Institute of Water and Sanitation volunteer toolkit. Volunteers will in turn cascade the training to the rest of their constituents. They will engage in house-to-house sanitation, health and hygiene awareness activities. Where appropriate, they will engage the public at community gatherings and help propagate information. School children will specifically be reached through sanitation, health and hygiene clubs at Nerutanga primary and secondary schools. Volunteers will take turns raising awareness at Nerutanga clinic, complementing the lean medical staff.
3.3.2 Indicators
- % increase in knowledge on sanitation, health and hygiene.
- % increase in practices on sanitation, health and hygiene.
3.3.3 Expected Result
- Enhanced knowledge and practice in sanitation, health and hygiene amongst the community members in Gokwe South and Buhera districts.
4. Implementation Methodology
Africare will hire 1 Project Officer who will implement the project and provide monthly progress reports and activity completion reports. This Project Officer will report to the Health Programs Manager who will in turn report to the Officer in Charge. Weekly and monthly reports will be compiled detailing implementation progress. The community, other stakeholders and project implementers will carry out regular monitoring and the logical framework approach will be used to monitor project progress. Monitoring tools that are specific to each objective will be developed and used to collect information. Process indicators as outlined in the proposal will be used to monitor the project. All the monitoring and assessments will use the participatory approach based on key informants, community discussions and feedback from community members, council and water committees.
Before implementation of the project, an assessment will be carried out to ascertain communities/villages that are most needy. In addition the baseline will also investigate if the identified communities perceive the interventions as necessary. Previous experience in the district of Gokwe shows that if a borehole is allocated in a village where the beneficiaries do not perceive it as a requirement, the water point would be neglected. It is also necessary to assess the religious and traditional beliefs of the people in the target communities in order to devise the most responsive implementation strategy.
To ensure sustainability of the activities beyond the project, Africare would ensure formation of water point committees and strengthening of the existing ones. The water point committees would be trained and commissioned to coordinate activities on maintaining water points. The water point committee will raise funds through subscriptions from beneficiaries. The funds will be used in purchasing and replenishing maintenance kits for the pumps. Africare did this during the previous African Well Fund project and beneficiaries already have funds for maintenance of borehole and deep well pumps. Where it is possible beneficiaries will be encouraged to set up water related projects such as nutrition gardens and brick moulding. Such projects would help in raising funds required for maintenance of boreholes and thereby complementing subscriptions.
V. Africare Experience in the water sector and geographic area
Africare/Zimbabwe has been a major player in the water and sanitation sector in Zimbabwe since 1980. Recently, Africare/Zimbabwe has successfully implemented water and sanitation projects funded a host of partners that include UNICEF, the African Wells Fund, USAID/OFDA and from individuals targeting communities in Manicaland and Matabeleland provinces. In the last three years Africare successfully implemented a water and sanitation project in four of thirty wards of Gokwe South District. The project went a long way to alleviate the shortage of safe water and sanitary facilities within the communities. The project increased the number of reliable water points bringing a lot of relief who would sometimes queue for unsafe water during night. Instead of the intended 2,000 beneficiaries the water points are benefiting 6,500 people. The project has made a difference and has been applauded by stakeholders for improving the communities’ quality of life in such a short pace of time.
Africare/Zimbabwe is currently implementing a water and sanitation project in 16 wards of Buhera where the organization is scaling up prevention of cholera through through participatory health and hygiene promotion (PHHP) and the rehabilitation of 40 boreholes.
Unfortunately, in today's soundbite world, the details of things like these often get left out. I want to make sure people understand exactly what these funds will do, so I'm posting the three specific objectives here, and I've also copied and re-posted the entire project proposal behind an LJ cut. It's long, but it very clearly spells out what this is all about.SO 1: Improved access by 2,200 beneficiaries to safe, clean and adequate water for domestic use through rehabilitation of 3 boreholes, and sinking 6 new deep wells.
SO 2: Reduced water point breakdowns by at least 50% through formation and capacity building of water point committees and provision of maintenance kits
SO 3: Improved households’ knowledge, attitudes and practices on sanitation, health and hygiene.
This is the third time that I've contributed prints to this particular fundraiser. If you want to donate but can't beat some of the bids, you can donate here.
You can see all 36 U2 photos up for auction here. Two of my three are instantly recognizable. The other one, well, it's from the 360 Tour, so it's not. Heh.
Anyway, I have no idea how well we're going to do this year. Honestly, I think not nearly as well as in previous years. In 2006 we raised something like $11,000.00, and in 2007 we raised something like $7,000.00. But we'll see what happens. I always end up pleasantly surprised.
Read, think, donate.
I. Background
Africare/Zimbabwe is requesting U$50,000.00 from African Wells Fund (AWF) for leveraging the Buhera Integrated Community Water and Sanitation Project into the organization’s current interventions in Buhera District. The water and sanitation project will contribute immensely to Africare’s broad aim of improving access to clean water through the rehabilitation of bore-holes to the rural community, where children frequently bring their own water to school and health services are being compromised by the wide-spread shortage of clean water. The spate of cholera cases is re-surfacing in the district since February 2010and this is largely attributed to the underlying challenge of poor access to clean water, which results in unhygienic living conditions for the majority of the community.
The Buhera Integrated Water and Sanitation Project will be implemented over a period of 9 months targeting 2,200 beneficiaries in 1 ward where Africare is already implementing the Expanded Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme. This is a cholera response project funded by UNICEF, reaching out to 230 890 beneficiaries in the district’s 33 administrative wards. The water and sanitation project is expected to consolidate the achievements attained by the UNICEF funded project through the provision of clean water and health education. The identified ward is Nerutanga in Buhera North. It was selected based on its poor water points’ infrastructure that is either broken down or in urgent need of repairs, and the people are experiencing untold suffering in their daily quest to access clean water.
The cholera epidemiological figures show that Buhera is one of the districts worst hit by the cholera outbreak which ravaged the country since 2008. The crisis was compounded by the deteriorating socio-economic situation that resulted in the inability to repair existing water infrastructure and development of new ones by both local authorities and the government departments mandated with water and sanitation. A recent study carried out with the participation of the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MoHCW) revealed that an estimated 50% of boreholes and wells in rural areas are non-functional, while access to adequate sanitation in the targeted geographical area is below 30%. Apparently, the rate of borehole breakdown is exacerbated by the degree of pressure at the few existing water points being used for both domestic purposes and livestock. This scenario has exposed the beneficiaries to the serious risk of contracting water-borne diseases that include cholera.
While Africare has made rapid strides in improving communities’ access to safe portable water elsewhere in the district in the last few months alone, the funding from UNICEF will unfortunately not be adequate to rehabilitate water points in the identified ward. With the award of the AWF grant, the organisation looks forward to extending this critical service to Nerutanga ward to complement the non-food items currently being distributed.
2. Problem Statement
Buhera is an entirely rural district with an estimated population of 228 995 situated in the eastern part of the country, in Manicaland Province. Buhera district lies in natural agro-ecological regions IV and V it receives very little rainfall annually. The inhabitants always endure numerous hardships as they are forced to travel long distances in order to access clean and safe water. The consecutive droughts experienced from 2005 to 2007 resulted in pronounced lowering of groundwater tables and therefore resulted in some sources of water drying up. The deteriorating socio-economic situation exerted more pressure on the existing facilities thereby increasing the frequency of breakdowns. Limited attention was consequently paid and the non-availability of essential resources that include pump-minders repair kits as well as spare parts for the boreholes directly affected the servicing of the water points. This situation was further exacerbated by the loss of local skills within local communities since the trained people migrated to centres of economic activity in search of better livelihoods, leaving behind elderly people and children without both the physical capability and the skills to carry out repair work.
Against the background of limited water and sanitation coverage, Buhera district experienced the worst cholera impact in Zimbabwe that resulted in a startling epidemiology. Cholera cases totalling 3,890 and 90 deaths were recorded over a period of only nine months (August 2008 to April 2009) . This high communal case fatality rate is clear testimony to the low knowledge, practices and attitudes (KPAs) with respect to water and sanitation obtaining in the targeted location.
While government, in partnership with humanitarian agencies, has carried out significant work on development of rural water and sanitation since the 1980s, the momentum has been lost. Nevertheless, as the economy shows signs of early recovery and communities’ sedentary way of life resumes, there is scope for strengthening local systems to ensure sustainability in water and sanitation provision. The budget allocations for the water and sanitation sector have dwindled
3. Project Goal, Specific Objectives, Activities and Indicators
The overall goal of the project is to enhance the quality of life for 2,200 community members in the Nerutanga ward of Buhera district through improved access to clean portable water and improved sanitation and hygiene knowledge, practices and attitudes. The above goal will be realised through three complementary objectives as highlighted below.
3.1
Specific Objective (SO) 1: Improved access by 2,200 beneficiaries to safe, clean and adequate water for domestic use through rehabilitation of 3 boreholes, and sinking 6 new deep wells.
The project will increase the number of people with access to clean, safe and adequate water by deepening and equipping 6 deep wells and rehabilitating 3 boreholes in the needy ward of Nerutanga in Buhera District. This will be done through community participation in collaboration with the District Development Fund and the local authority. Statistics provided by the District Development Fund show that Nerutanga has more than 20 broken down water points. An assessment will be conducted to identify water points that can be rehabilitated and possible sites for new deep wells. Training will be extended to the local volunteer well sinkers. The well sinkers will be compensated with USD$10 per meter sunk. In addition, the capacity of existing water point committees will be enhanced, while new ones will be established where the old ones had become redundant, to ensure on time maintenance and governance of the water points.
An assessment will be conducted to identify non-functional and malfunctioning water points with good quality water. The District Development Fund will assist with water quality testing. Training will be carried out for the maintenance teams which will comprise of pump minders (6) who will undergo training in pump and well maintenance and repair before assuming their duties.
3.1.2 Indicators
• Number of sensitization meetings held
• Number of wells sunk and commissioned
• Number of water point minders trained
• Number of households with access to safe and clean water
3.1.3 Expected Results
• 1 sensitization meetings held with RDC, government departments, ward leadership and benefiting communities
• 6 deep well deepened and fitted with water lifting devices and 3 boreholes rehabilitated
• 2,200 households with access to clean, safe and permanent water source
• One baseline survey conducted
3.2
SO 2: Reduced water point breakdowns by at least 50% through formation and capacity building of water point committees and provision of maintenance kits
To ensure continued functioning of both new and existing water points, a water committee for each water point will be set-up or revitalized in cases where a committee is already in place. These water committees will be responsible for mobilization of local resources, usage of water, and mobilization of funds for repairs and maintenance of water points among others. The communities will be responsible for electing members of the committee. Women and PLWHA will be encouraged to be members of these committees. The committees will be capacitated through training on ownership and organizational skills such as leadership, decision-making and budgeting. Africare, Ministry of Water and District Development Fund will facilitate these trainings.
3.2.1 Indicators
• Number of water point committees established and trained
• % reduction in water point break down
• Number of maintenance kits replenished
3.2.2 Expected Results
- 2, 200 Nerutanga households have access to safe drinking water throughout the year.
For these proposed strategies to succeed, consultative and awareness meetings will be held with all relevant stakeholders and the beneficiaries before the project is implemented. These meetings will be aimed at establishing the current situation, the resources available from other partners, the roles and responsibilities of these partners in project implementation, community preferences and development of participatory impact indicators.
3.3.1
Objective 3: Improved households’ knowledge, attitudes and practices on sanitation, health and hygiene.
The project will train 10 Participatory Health and Hygiene volunteers from the local community, based on the UNICEF/Institute of Water and Sanitation volunteer toolkit. Volunteers will in turn cascade the training to the rest of their constituents. They will engage in house-to-house sanitation, health and hygiene awareness activities. Where appropriate, they will engage the public at community gatherings and help propagate information. School children will specifically be reached through sanitation, health and hygiene clubs at Nerutanga primary and secondary schools. Volunteers will take turns raising awareness at Nerutanga clinic, complementing the lean medical staff.
3.3.2 Indicators
- % increase in knowledge on sanitation, health and hygiene.
- % increase in practices on sanitation, health and hygiene.
3.3.3 Expected Result
- Enhanced knowledge and practice in sanitation, health and hygiene amongst the community members in Gokwe South and Buhera districts.
4. Implementation Methodology
Africare will hire 1 Project Officer who will implement the project and provide monthly progress reports and activity completion reports. This Project Officer will report to the Health Programs Manager who will in turn report to the Officer in Charge. Weekly and monthly reports will be compiled detailing implementation progress. The community, other stakeholders and project implementers will carry out regular monitoring and the logical framework approach will be used to monitor project progress. Monitoring tools that are specific to each objective will be developed and used to collect information. Process indicators as outlined in the proposal will be used to monitor the project. All the monitoring and assessments will use the participatory approach based on key informants, community discussions and feedback from community members, council and water committees.
Before implementation of the project, an assessment will be carried out to ascertain communities/villages that are most needy. In addition the baseline will also investigate if the identified communities perceive the interventions as necessary. Previous experience in the district of Gokwe shows that if a borehole is allocated in a village where the beneficiaries do not perceive it as a requirement, the water point would be neglected. It is also necessary to assess the religious and traditional beliefs of the people in the target communities in order to devise the most responsive implementation strategy.
To ensure sustainability of the activities beyond the project, Africare would ensure formation of water point committees and strengthening of the existing ones. The water point committees would be trained and commissioned to coordinate activities on maintaining water points. The water point committee will raise funds through subscriptions from beneficiaries. The funds will be used in purchasing and replenishing maintenance kits for the pumps. Africare did this during the previous African Well Fund project and beneficiaries already have funds for maintenance of borehole and deep well pumps. Where it is possible beneficiaries will be encouraged to set up water related projects such as nutrition gardens and brick moulding. Such projects would help in raising funds required for maintenance of boreholes and thereby complementing subscriptions.
V. Africare Experience in the water sector and geographic area
Africare/Zimbabwe has been a major player in the water and sanitation sector in Zimbabwe since 1980. Recently, Africare/Zimbabwe has successfully implemented water and sanitation projects funded a host of partners that include UNICEF, the African Wells Fund, USAID/OFDA and from individuals targeting communities in Manicaland and Matabeleland provinces. In the last three years Africare successfully implemented a water and sanitation project in four of thirty wards of Gokwe South District. The project went a long way to alleviate the shortage of safe water and sanitary facilities within the communities. The project increased the number of reliable water points bringing a lot of relief who would sometimes queue for unsafe water during night. Instead of the intended 2,000 beneficiaries the water points are benefiting 6,500 people. The project has made a difference and has been applauded by stakeholders for improving the communities’ quality of life in such a short pace of time.
Africare/Zimbabwe is currently implementing a water and sanitation project in 16 wards of Buhera where the organization is scaling up prevention of cholera through through participatory health and hygiene promotion (PHHP) and the rehabilitation of 40 boreholes.