Kwekwe Water Project, Sarah Allen, Programme Funding Officer, PLAN International ______

Outline PLAN International began work in , in the in the centre of Zimbabwe, in 1989. The Community Water Supply Project started in 1994 with the aim of assisting local communities in the upgrading of existing potable water facilities and in the provision of new sources. It was implemented in two communal areas, and . Silobela is divided into 11 wards and Zhombe into nine wards, each containing six villages. The total population is 121,600. The aim was to ensure that 75% of the population has access to a permanent source of potable water within one kilometre of their homes by end of 1998 and that each source of potable water serves no more than 250 people.

Activities

Rehabilitation of water points by repairing or replacing handpumps and cleaning, deepening and properly protecting wide wells Communities undertook an inventory to identify the water points requiring rehabilitation in their respective villages. This list was then verified by a hydrologist who determined the work needed for each water point. A total of 91 malfunctioning boreholes were successfully rehabilitated. A further 10 boreholes were beyond repair, largely due to problems of borehole design which made the extraction of the castings impossible.

Provision of financial and material support for the development of new boreholes, deepwells and shallow wells A total of 161 boreholes were drilled, of which 15 were dry. The successful boreholes were fitted with handpumps. A total of 84 deep wells were sunk, of which 26 were dry. A total of 99 shallow wells were sunk. 120 women builders were trained for the digging of shallow wells. For the deep wells, community members were recruited and trained. A total of five well sinking teams were set up. In addition, 10 women builders were identified and trained in shallow well upgrading skills.

Training of community Water Point Committees in management, organisational planning and monitoring skills to ensure that once repaired or installed, the water points can be maintained by the community themselves A Water and Sanitation workshop was held for PLAN and government extension workers in nine wards to enable them to facilitate community training. A Water Point Committee (WPC), made up of four community representatives, one man and three women, was recruited for every water point. Training was subsequently provided to these committees to equip them with the skills to efficiently manage the water points. In addition, workshops were held on Community Based Maintenance for the District Water and Sanitation Ministry (DWS), councillors in the programme area and ward- level extension staff. Awareness campaigns on water-related health issues were conducted for village leaders and Water Point Committees. Twenty-four community-identified, village-based bush pump mechanics were trained in repair and maintenance and equipped with repair tool kits.

97 The communities participated in the pre-siting of water points and dug the first three metres of the proposed wells. They contributed the locally available materials for the project. Steps were taken to ensure that women could participate fully, for example, training sessions were scheduled at times and venues suitable for women.

Successes • The maximum of 250 people per water point was not exceeded. • The training of women builders for shallow well upgrading was a boost to the skill's resource base of the programme area communities and it increased the status of women. Overall participation of women was high. • The training, which has taken place, has had a significant impact on the capacity of the communities to manage their own development. The training also had a positive impact on the commitment of the community members to the project. • There have been 11 community-initiated vegetable gardens developed at selected water points and these have improved the participants' nutritional intake.

Constraints • Health and Hygiene Education was not sufficiently emphasised in the first phase of the project. • When the National Water Supply Programme of which the project is an integral part started, the main focus was on coverage with the emphasis on installation of facilities. Thus, sustainability occupied a rather peripheral position in the initial project design. • The target number of water points rehabilitated and new ones sunk was not achieved. This was in part because of initial over-estimation, and also because: • an outdated database hampered the rehabilitation programme. The government was reluctant to invest time and personnel to update the information • a long material procurement process resulted in delays in implementation of deep well sinking, shallow well upgrading and headwork construction • failure to acknowledge the community calendar resulted in communities diverting efforts from the project to agriculture • drilling operations and well sinking slowed down due to heavy rains.

Lessons learned • Consultative meetings should be given more emphasis during the preparatory phase, so that all the information necessary for the implementation of the planned activities is consolidated. • There is a need to develop realistic and achievable targets. The indicators of success should focus more on the use of water points and the capacity of the structures put in place, as opposed to the number of completed structures. • Without complementary components, the project will not be sustainable. For example, improving water facilities will make no difference to health if community members are not educated on the benefits of using clean water and maintaining the water systems.

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