Challenges to Clean Water System

Clean water is critical to survival, and its absence can impact the health, food security, and livelihoods of families across the world. Although our planet has sufficient freshwater to achieve a regular and clean water supply for all, bad economics and poor infrastructure can skew supply unfavorably. If you are searching for a project based on Clean water, you are in right place. This project is designed to improve access to potable water and sanitation facilities, maximize the health benefits of the people and reduce the poverty level in identified project communities. It will enhance the health of the people and promote income and economic activities as a process of reducing poverty, especially in rural areas. The major achievement expected from this project is to create access to good drinking water and sanitation facilities for the population in the district.

Background Information of Project

The Context of Ghana: As one of the 5 thematic areas of xxxxxx, Water and Sanitation Plan forms essential part of the strategy under Human Resource Development and Basic Services.

In Ghana the water and sanitation situation, which is beset with problems was not given the needed attention in the past especially communities in the rural areas. There are varied sources of water supply for domestic and other uses. The main sources of water supply in Ghana are open wells, ponds, rivers, spring water and streams, boreholes and pipe born water systems to a few towns and cities. Most of the communities and settlements do not have access to good drinking water. To reverse this situation, an Act was however passed in December 1998 to mandate the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) to facilitate the provision of portable water and related sanitation services to rural communities and small towns, leaving the big towns, urban areas and cities water and sanitation issues in the hands of Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).

The Community Water and Sanitation Agency has worked hard in the past 12 years with the mandate given them to improve the water and sanitation in rural Ghana. They have done this through the setting up of District Water and Sanitation Teams (DWST) in some of the District Assemblies throughout Ghana. With support from the central Government and some donor agencies like DANIDA, the water and sanitation coverage in the rural Ghana has presently improved to about 46.4% with this programme. The present situation must therefore be improved to the level that would make the Ghanaian population healthier.

The context of Project District: Twifu Hemang Lower Denkyira District, which is located in the central region of Ghana, is our project area. The district had a population of 107,787 comprising of 49,106 males and 58,681 females (2000) census report. The annual growth rate of the district is 1.8% with that of the Regional and National rates are 3.1% and 2.1% respectively, this implies that the population density for the district, which has increased steadily over the years and was projected at 120,750 by the end 2005. The district is typically a rural one with a landmass of 1,199qs. Km. The District is divided into 4 sub-district and 8 Area Councils for the purpose of easy local government administration. There are 1,510 fast growing communities with settlements springing up day-in and day-out. Two of the major towns in the district namely Twifu Praso and Hemang are having population figures of 9,011 and 6,179 (2000 census report) respectively. The existing water coverage in the district is very minimal. 69.2% of the population has no access to potable water. The people therefore have to rely on ponds, streams/rivers, and open wells etc. for their source of water for domestic purposes. The situation is worse in the hinterlands communities where accessibility is a problem. The sanitation problem in the district is even worse as compared to water. The current coverage is 16%. There are inadequate public latrines, improper disposal of night soil, inadequate household latrines, and chocked gutters, indiscriminate disposal of refuse in the communities, dirty surroundings, lack of equipment to convey solid waste and lack of slaughter house facilities in some of the big towns.

With the guidelines provided by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) and Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) to the District Assemblies in Ghana, a five-year (2006 – 2010) District Water and Sanitation Plan (DWSP) was developed by xxxxxx which is the local government authority in our area. The Plan is intended to address the water and sanitation problems in the district by creating access to not less than 70% of the total population by the end of 2010. The essence of the plan is to provide potable water and to ensure environmental sanitation as well as to promote personal hygiene in an integrated manner.

This is to enhance the health of the people and promote the income and economic activities as a process of reducing poverty especially in the rural areas.

The plan of this project is therefore aimed at working towards the achievement of the goals and objectives of the District Water and Sanitation Plan, which has not presently achieved the 70% set target.

Specific Location & Context of Project Communities: The project location is xxxxxxx. The project would take place in 16 deprived communities selected. All the communities selected are farmsteads with a total population of 5000 people, ranging between 250-300 persons per a Community.

The standard population threshold for Hand Dug Well and Borehole given by the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) are 150 and 300 persons respectively. Therefore taking 5000 people being the total population of the identified communities requires over 30 Hand Dug Wells or 16 Boreholes if we are to adopt any of the technology. Considering the problem of accessibility to most of these communities, we have adopted the Hand Dug Wells technology, which is highly recommended by the CWSA for the project communities selected. The sanitation coverage of the selected communities is far below 10%. Most households do not have latrines and therefore have to rely on a few public ones provided by the Assembly or the communities themselves.

In communities where there are no such (KVIP or Vault Chamber) latrines, people usually defecate in the free range. At the same time, 6 primary and 2 junior high schools in the identified project communities do not have access to acceptable type of toilet facilities. This condition has contributed to the spread of excremental diseases like cholera and diarrhea affecting the people especially children. Considering the effect of the problem on the lives of the people especially on women and children, the   target groups of this project are women and children in communities where women spend a lot of time fetching water especially in the dry season for domestic use and communities with high incidence of water born diseases, which turn to affect women and children the more in the absences of water and sanitation facilities in these communities.

• • Result of Baseline Study in Target Communities: The available study on the water and sanitation situation in the district indicates that, the most common potable water facilities are the Bore Holes. The total number is 190 some, which were completed as far, back in 1970 and are mostly concentrated in the larger communities. Out of the number, some of them are broken down and need to be rehabilitated. Data collected from the district also indicates that there are 66 Hand Dug Wells, 6 Pipe System and 2 Pedal Flow System all broken down. The study also shows that only 30.8% of the total population in the district that have access to the existing facilities mentioned above.
    • Data collected on the Public and Institutional latrines in the district also indicates that, there are only 23 public and 23 institutional latrines existing in the district. Most of these latrines are KVIP and a few are Vault Chamber Toilets. The study further revealed that most households who do not have toilets in their homes rely on the public and the institutional ones. Currently 91% of the schools in the district do not have access to acceptable toilets in their schools and only 16% of the total population of the district that have access to the existing toilet facilities.
  • Socio-economic Status of Direct Beneficiaries: The entire population of 5000 people living in the 16 identified project communities and settlements shall directly benefit from the success of this project. The majority of them are women – 1,280 and children – 2,880 who spend most of their productive time in search of water, and being the group of people mostly affected when there is an outbreak of any waterborne diseases.
    • The people in the 16 communities identified for this project including the men – 840, depend mostly on peasant farming for their livelihood. Currently all the 16 identified project communities and settlements do not have access to potable water and sanitation facilities. A minimum of 250 persons per a community was used as criteria for the population threshold to select the communities that would benefit from the 20 Hand Dug Wells to be provided as a first phase instead of 34 Hand Dug Wells. The health status, community’s commitment and willingness to contribute and participate in the project implementation were also part of the selection criteria used.
  • Indirect Beneficiaries & Social Groups: Indirect beneficiaries of this project shall include Local Artisans who shall help to construct the water supply and sanitation facilities according to design specifications. These Local mechanics and Latrine Artisans shall be train to carry out some of the activities and to play one role or the other in the successful implementation of this project. The District Water and Sanitation Team of the Assembly, which is the local authority, the district Environmental Health Department and The District Directorate of Health Services shall all benefit indirectly because our activities would complement their work in the district.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The main problem of the project communities is poor health of the people. In the absence of potable water supply and sanitation facilities in the identified project communities, the rate of death associated with the ten most common diseases, which are preventable has increased steadily in the last 5 years.

Infant mortality rate is presently high. Seven 7 out of every Ten 10 deaths result from diseases such as Malaria, Severe Diarrhea and Upper Respiratory Tract infection. The high rate of deaths associated with these preventable diseases is now a major concern to all stakeholders in the District.

“Poor Health” in this context means; Heaps of refuse seen in project communities, faecal matter of both humans and animals can be seen around, Animals and humans use the same source of water from streams and ponds, there are Malnourished Children seen in all the project communities. Low awareness about these problems, perceptions of the target population about the causes and their effects on the live of the people still remains to be a major problem. Some cultural beliefs in some of the communities have been and continue to be a hindrance to the campaign to provide safe drinking water for the people in these communities. Notable among them is the beliefs that water from streams are “thicker” and tastier than that from pipe and wells with pumps. Some of the communities also have weird contention that water from streams has “carried” their ancestors from creation to the present generation and so they are reluctant to depart from them.

The following causes and effects were identified after the problem tree analysis with the participation of the project communities.

Causes:

• • Low awareness of good hygiene practices
  • Poor Hygiene promotion
  • Inadequate Sanitary inspectors
  • Use of water from steams and pond sheared with animal for domestic use
  • Inadequate Sanitation facilities
  • Limited Mobility for Hygiene Promoters
  • Inadequate planning for Hygiene promotion.
  • Inadequate involvement of Private sector e.g. Partner Organizations.

Effects:

• • Poor Health of community
  • Increased morbidity
  • Increased community medical cost
  • Increased water and sanitation related diseases and deaths. (e) High levels of poverty.

The major achievement expected from this project is to create access to good drinking water and sanitation facilities to 19.2% of the population in the district. And this achievement would go a long way to complement the efforts of the District Assembly and other organizations already working towards the provision of safe water, which is currently accessible to only 30.8% of the district total population.

Project Strategy

ABCD will pursue the following strategies for the successful planning, implementation and management of safe water and improved sanitation facilities and services in the project communities.

• • There will be community animation/ sensitization in all project communities where safe water and improved sanitation services are to be provided prior to and after provision.
  • Ensure effective participation of all segments of community, especially women and minority groups where relevant, in decision-making relating to safe water and improved sanitation.
  • Ensure full participation of all stakeholders in the provision of goods and services. They will be engaged to use their skills and professional expertise to provide extension services at community level by building the community capacity in operation and maintenance of facilities to be provided.
  • Special focus on women, as users as well as planners, operators and managers of community level systems shall be ensured.
  • Ensure mainstream gender issues in safe water and improved sanitation delivery in the entire project communities.
  • Integrate hygiene promotion (personal hygiene and environmental cleanliness) in safe water and improved sanitation provision.
  • Each Community to show their demand for the improved services will make 5% financial contribution of the capital costs for the service to be provided.
  • Each Community will be responsible to own, manage and maintain the facilities provided to ensure sustainability.
  • Ensure the formation of gender balanced Water and Sanitation Committees (WATSAN) at the community level for the planning, implementation, operation and maintenance of facilities provided.

The focus of ABCD is to provide good drinking water for the people in project communities and ensure environmental sanitation in a bid to reduce diseases and promote the local economy, which will enhance standards of living.

Training of pump caretakers and latrine artisans, WATSAN, supply of water and sanitation spare parts and capacity building, which require the active participation of private sector, other NGO’S and DWST of the District assembly shall fully be pursued. It is also hoped that environmental sanitation and good sanitation practices would be put in place.

A strong Monitoring and Evaluation Team would be established to ensure effective Monitoring and Evaluation of the initiated project. With the active participation of the various communities and stakeholders in the project preparation plan, its successful implementation is anticipated.

Project Goals and Objectives

ABCD has the following as the main goals and objectives of this project:

Goal Short-Term: Is to improve access to potable water and sanitation facilities to identified project communities.

Goal Long-Term: Maximize Health benefits of the people and reduce poverty level in the project communities.

Objectives

• • To form and train 16 Xxxxxxx to operate and maintain both water and toilets in their communities within 12 months.
  • To construct 20 Hand Dug Wells for 16 selected communities within 12 months.
  • To Build 4 KVIP Toilet of 4-seater capacity for 4 Primary school selected within 12 months.
  • Increase awareness on personal hygiene and environmental cleanliness including HIV/AIDS to the 5000 people of our project communities within 12 months.

Project Expected Results

Expected Outcomes are:

• • Improved quality life.
  • Morbidity reduced.
  • Less medical expenses of the people in the project communities.
  • Reduced water and sanitation related diseases.
  • Awareness of good hygiene practices increased.
  • Effective and efficient hygiene promotion adopted.
  • Adequate number of trained hygiene promoters available.
  • Appropriate hygiene promotion materials developed.
  • Adequate number of latrines available for schools and communities’ use.
  • Adequate source of portable water available to the communities.
  • Poverty level of the people reduced.

Physical Output Expected

• • 20 Hand Dug Wells constructed for 16 communities.
  • 4 KVIP Toilets of 4-seater capacity constructed for 4 schools selected.

Project Indicators

The following are indicators to be used to measure the results achieved by the activities of the project:

• • Short Term goal indicators are: Presence of safe drinking water sources available in the various communities and Presence of institutional latrines in the schools selected.
  • Long Term goal are: Hospital attendance for water and sanitation related disease reduced, Healthy children seen in all communities, School enrolment increased and adults engaged in various income generating activities.
  • Objective (1) indicators are: 16 trained Xxxxxxx
  • Objective (2) indicators are: Presence of 20 Hand Dug Wells in the communities in use
  • Objective (3) indicators are: Presence of 4 KVIP Toilets for the schools selected.
  • Objective (4) indicators are: Presence of Health & Hygiene Education posters seen in communities and Water fetching points are free from weeds, algae, animal droppings and stagnant water.

The following shall be the sources of verifying the indicators mentioned above; they are visits to verify water points and presence of latrines, verification of health records at health facilities e.g. clinics and hospitals, community visit observations, interviews, spot check counting, surveys and House to House visits.

Description of Proposed Project Activities

The following is a comprehensive description of the main project activities:

• • Give project information to all communities selected
  • Prioritize communities for facilities under the project based service level e.g. Hand dug wells and KVIP
  • Form Xxxxxxx in the project communities
  • Identify partner organizations to train Xxxxxxx as per POs Standardized activities
  • Animation of communities to contribute towards the capital cost of the facilities
  • Identify Local Artisans for construction Hand Dug wells and building toilets
  • Award contracts for facilities to be constructed
  • Monitor the implementation of the activities.
  • Invite all Environmental Health Officers in the District to an orientation workshop
  • Plan health and Hygiene education with the Health officers
  • Resource them to go to the communities for sustained Health education
  • Draw monitoring and evaluation plan.

The successful implementation of the set activities for all the objectives will eventually achieve our short-term and long-term goals as stated above.

Project Management & Implementation

The project implementation shall involve a 7-member project management committee made up of the two principal staff of our organization comprising The Projects Coordinator and the Secretary, who have gain over 20 years experience in community and project development. Two staffs from the District Water and Sanitation Team, one staff from the District Environmental Health Office, one staff from The District Health Management Team (DHMT) and the District Planning Officer of the District Assembly. These officials who have gained much experience in their various field of operation shall work as a team in the project implementation.

They would use their expertise voluntarily as their official duties for the success of this project. They would also serve us Resources Personnel in the training of WATSAN Committees, Local artisans and orientation of Health staff and community volunteers.

Essential Project Materials Required

The essential material resources required for the successful implementation of the project are as follows:

• • Hand Dug Wells: – NIRA AF-85 Hand pumps with tools, Cement, Iron rods, Sand and Stones and Spear Parts.
  • KVIP Toilets: – Cement, Iron rods, Roofing sheets, Wood, Vent pipes, Sand and Stones.
  • Animation and Collaborative Hygiene Education to communities: – Stationery, Posters, Transportation and Stipends for Resource Personnel.
  • Training and Workshops: – Stationery, Use of IEC Materials, Flip charts and paper, Transportation, Feeding and Stipends for Resource Personnel.
  • Records and Bookkeeping: – Computer and Printer, Stationery and Lockable Cabinet.

The project communities would contribute 5% of the total cost of each facility to be provided ether by providing labour or materials like wood, sand and stones. The communities will own all the facilities that would exist after the project. Our organization will contribute administrative support and stationery for the project implementation and will own all the goods and equipment acquired in the project implementation.

The content of training activities would specifically be management of facilities to be provided by xxxxxx on how to keep financial records, maintenance and repairs for sustainability.

Project Sustainability

The following are measures to be taken to ensure sustainability:

• • Xxxxxxx would be formed in all the beneficiary communities to take absolute responsibility for the facilities to be provided. The same Xxxxxxx would be formed in the schools that would benefit from the institutional Latrines that shall be provided.
  • Capacity building training would be provided to the Xxxxxxx for proper management of the facilities with Technical Assistance from the DWST and CWSA.
  • Local caretakers from the communities will as well be trained to do routine maintenance on the water facilities to be provided.
  • User fees will be charged and put in separate account for operation and maintenance. This user fees, which could be paid by any of the following; Cocoa Kilo deductions, Monthly or Annual levy, Community fundraising, Pay-as-you-fetch, Donations to community for water and sanitation and Advance payment will be used for water and sanitation activities alone and to run the facilities.
  • Other sources of funding shall vigorously be pursued by ABCD to source funding to continue with the project activities in project communities and other communities in our project are.

Technical feasibility of the project activities shall be ensured through full participation of the project communities. Community animation would be carried out for the people to accept and own the Hand Dug wells and the KVIP toilets that shall be provided. The people shall be thought that using the water from the hand dug wells fixed with pumps for domestic purposes and maintaining good hygiene will improve their health and standards of living.

Detail Description of Budget & Cost Breakdowns Detail Description of Budget & Cost B

Project Monitoring & Evaluation

Monitoring and Evaluation has been planned to ensure that activities of the project implementation conform to the project plan. Monitoring of project activities shall be carried out once in every three months to obtain relevant information that can be used to assess progress of work for the plan project activities and to enable project management committee and stakeholders involved to take timely decisions to ensure that progress is maintained according to schedule. Evaluation of the project shall take place once in every 6 months to enable all stakeholders and project management committee to determine most especially, whether the expected impacts of implemented activities of the project are being achieved using the indicators developed. The evaluation shall involve the participation of all stakeholders, the project communities, the district assembly and district health directorate. We shall also consider an external evaluation from your organization to come and assess the impact of the funds invested in the project. -Project Financing. The local population’s contributions towards the project shall be as follows:

• • Project communities – shall contribute 5% of the total cost for the facilities to be provided for each of the community. This would be in the form of labour to be provided, sand and stones wood or cash
  • TRYAWCO – shall provide administrative  support,  salary  for  office  clerk,  stationery  and running cost of the project implementation.
  • District Assembly   &   Governmental   Institutions   –   shall   provide   technical   assistance   for training, capacity building and would serve as resource personnel.-Project Budget. Below is our Project Budget tabulated in our local currency showing detail description of activity budget and cost breakdown. The budget is also showing contributions to be made by donors and our local contributions per each project activity.

Detail Description of Budget & Cost Breakdowns

We hope potential donors reading our project proposal would donate accordingly to our project to enable us maintain a permanent place on the Global Giving website so that we can raise the needed funds for our clean water project. Please tell your friends, family members and business associates to donate to our project. We need a minimum of $XXXXX donated by a minimum of 50 or more people. We are therefore looking forward to your donations.

Thank you,