table of contents preamble 1. summary - ACT - Advanced ...

When after four to five years functioning more important technical problems with the hand
pumps will occur, it is to be feared that no committee will have saved enough to finance the
repairs themselves. Moreover they will probably not be sufficiently structured to use
alternative forms of financing (on credit, in association with other financing partners).
7.3. TECHNICAL VIABILITY
For the first pumps installed (7 Tara and 3 Afridev pumps) there is a major problem as these
pumps are not being promoted by the official projects which makes it difficult to find spare
parts or proper technical competence to solve important problems. After the introduction of
the U3-pumps it is fair to say that the technical viability of the project is reasonably assured.
Spare parts and technically skilled persons for these pumps are to be found in Soroti. Also the
technique of the hand augured wells is not too complicated and in each village two persons are
trained to have some understanding of the functioning so they can repair themselves simple
failures and confer with a more specialised technician if necessary.
According to the users and according to Water Aid the training of these people is of a good
quality.
Also for the spring protections two caretakers per village are trained.
To have these local technicians gain more experience, they started this year to associate them
to several yards (instead of only the yard in their own village).
In relation to the hygiene and sanitation component a watershed model for training and the
spreading of information was opted for. This way each village has two hygiene and sanitation
promoters who received a minimal training concerning the linkage between water, hygiene,
sanitation and health. Their presence in the villages is a lasting stimulus and technical support
for those who want to work on this theme.
7.4. SOCIO-CULTURAL INTEGRATION
Owing to the demand driven approach and the responsibilisation of the users and their
committee during the instalment of the water point, there is a strong sense of ownership
among the users. Especially for the pumps this assisted responsibilisation needs to be
continued once the installation is working in order to have the committee familiarised with all
the management aspects of the facility. A failing transparency, bad management of the
contributions, a flawed passing on of information in case of problems, etc very quickly result
in demotivated users. Member of the management committee who do not sufficiently grasp
the management and organisational techniques, are also easily disappointed because they feel
they are not up to it.
Regarding the position of the woman the project has clearly a positive impact. In several
committees she plays a role on the decision-making level. Many seem very motivated too. As
they are the first beneficiaries of the water and sanitation project, their enthusiasm and the fact
that this is also understood and accepted by the whole community, are an important factor
which can contribute to the viability of the water points in the villages.
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