Work with local partners to build evidence and case studies in order to eradicate poverty, increase the general well being of the people, access to health care facility, access to clean water and sanitation to ensure good hygiene in rural areas.

Before implementation of projects, efforts will be made to create real demand on proposed projects from the community side. Community contribution and sense of ownership will be enhanced for the sustainability of projects during execution of projects at various stages. The capacitated Community Base Organization/Water Sanitation Commitee, village hygiene communicators and care takers groups will have full authority in order to operate, manage and promote water supply, hygiene and sanitation facilities. After completion of all planned projects; such as construction of standard water points (68 HDW, 52 SPD) and sanitation facilities (8 two seats VIPLs in health post and 9 double block VIPLs in schools), all executed projects will be formally handed over to the beneficiary community through district water, health, and education offices. Moreover, at district level, water resource development, health and education offices are the main responsible government institution to ensuring the long term sustainability of water supply and hygiene-sanitation projects.

The established Community Base Organisation in the project location will be trained to manage the water supply schemes properly and arrange a scheduled time for fetching water which is likely to be 6-10 am in the morning and 4-7 pm in the evening, considering the time factor in which the children leave for school in the morning and parent leave for work or farm and also the time they return back home respectively. Prior to construction of the water supply schemes, the water and sanitation committee will mobilise the start-up capital for future operation and maintenance. The committee also decides the water fee by discussing with water beneficiaries. Currently in the last water project of EF in Katse, the monthly collected water fee per household ranges from N200 to N500 and exception was giving to people living with disability. The same system should be adopted just like the katse community depending on the mutual agreement of the people in the community. The water Committee will ensure a house to house taxation on monthly bases of the agreed monthly charge for collection in order to ensure future operation and maintenance of the water supply. To capacitate CBOs like water and sanitation committees, scheme care takers and village hygiene communicators, training will be given to discharge their responsibility in managing their water supply and promoting hygiene and sanitation practices in their village. VHCs are the main agents of the action to bring attitudinal change among community members. They conduct house to house, market, bus stop, parks and schools visits to teach the community on latrine use, appropriate solid and liquid waste management, hand washing after defecation, food hygiene promotion and the safe drinking water from “source-to-mouth” Refreshment trainings will be organized for the water and sanitation committees, care takers and village hygiene communicators by identifying the critical gaps in operations, management, and hygiene and sanitation promotion. And joint monitoring of water schemes at the spot level including the beneficiaries, and other stakeholder will be conducted. Through these women, men, boys and girls will be empowered for long lasting utilization of water points through ensuring environmental sustainability.

Extensive environmental laws should be made by the local government, Committee among the natives should be organized in order to ensure that the laws are not violated. A community based approach will be adopted in order to educate the natives on the consequence of violating the laws. The impact of inadequate access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation and hygiene is well known. In 90% of targeted community, men, women and children will participate in hygiene education activities that reduce exposure to public health risk and disease transmission. The baseline surveys provide evidence of the situation at baseline for water, sanitation and hygiene in these LGAs and will be valuable for advocacy, institutional capacity building monitoring progress in WASH delivery and evaluating WASH impact. The survey also provide critical data for the state and local government to plan for water and sanitation delivery.

Elizabeth Foundation