Civil Society: Shauna Curry, 16th January UN Water Zaragoza Conference 2015

Civil Society & The Human Right to

Safe Drinking Water & Sanitation

2

Format of the Session

• Introduction of the Panel

• Overview: Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation

• Lead Case Study– Presentation

– Reaction & Analysis by Panel

• Graffiti Wall: Thematic Areas (Technology, Capacity, Finance, Governance)

• Panel Discussion

• Closing

3

Panel Introductions

Convener: Shauna Curry, CEO, Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST), Canada

Lead Case: Eliza Mngale, Advisor, Tegemeo Women Group, Mweteni Village, Tanzania

Panelists:• Mary Rusimbi, Co-founder and Executive Director, Women Fund, Tanzania

(Financing)

• Emma Anakhasyan, Head of the Environmental Health Department, AWHHE, Armenia (Capacity Development)

• Antonia Lorenzo, BioAzul, Spain (Technology)

• Jerry Van Den Berge, Policy Officer for Energy, Water, and Waste Industries and for European Works Councils, EPSU – European federation of Public Service Unions, Belgium (Governance)

Civil Society & The Human Right to

Safe Drinking Water & Sanitation

Overview

The Human Right to Safe Drinking Water & Sanitation

The UN Resolution on the Human Right to Water and SanitationJuly 2010  “The human right to water and sanitation entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, accessible, culturally acceptable and affordable water and sanitation services for personal and domestic uses, and which are delivered in a participatory, accountable and non-discriminatory manner….”

The Human Right to Safe Drinking Water & Sanitation

 “...Governments are obliged to ensure that everybody gains access to these services over a considered timeframe, through creating an enabling environment, namely by adopting appropriate legislation, policies, programmes and ensuring that these are adequately resourced and monitored.”

The Pressing Global Need =

A Compelling Case for Civil Society

8

The Pressing Global Need = The Case for Civil Society

Scale:

• 2.5 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water and/or basic sanitation.

Impact:

• 18,000 children under 5 die each week

• Impact on health, economy, livelihood

Complexity:

• Water is very localized

• Impact of climate change and disasters

• Cultural contexts

What will it take for people to execute on their human right to water?

Sufficient to meet targets & allocated to address inequities and sustainability of services.

Financing

Specifically, for basic systems, capacity development, small local projects

Constructing a Biosand FilterHaiti

TechnologyLow-cost, simple technologies that can be implemented,

operated and maintained locally.

11

Rainwater Harvesting, Haiti

Biosand filters, Peru

12

WASH Researchers

WASH Project Managers

WASH Specialists

Gap in knowledge transferand learning exchange

Field Workers

Capacity DevelopmentTraining and support that catalyzes and empowers local action.

Governance that is local to the furthest extent possible.

Governance

Specifically:• democratic processes and systems• clearly defined roles and responsibilities• financial stewardship and controls• clear measurement indicators of success

14

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

- Margaret Mead

Water- and sanitationproject Mweteni-village

Tanzania

Tegemeo Women Group

Presentation Zaragoza Conference

Eliza Mngale

16 January 2015

Mweteni-village is a village in the Pare-

mountains, nearby the Kilimanjaro and consists of four

subvillages: Kwamshitu,

Mturo, Mtambe,

Kwanatema.

Tegemeo-women: originally 7 women, nowadays 25 women

2005: Tegemeo starts a water- and sanitationproject. The project helps women and children to reduce the heavy work of fetching water. Roundabout 10.000 benificiaries will use the water. The project helps women to participate in decisionmaking in the community Tegemeo becomes member of the Women for Water Partnership.

Triggers

With the project Tegemeo women gave attention to the problem with water in the MweteniCommunity:- Women and children have to spend a lot of time with fetching water- The heavy work of fetching water - Children missing school - Water which is not clean and causes diseases - The lack of water- Acuteness of water access because HIV/Aids entered the community

What did the Tegemeo women do since 2005?

• Building up a network; WfWP added social approach• Plans for outsite technology came and go without having good solutions• The technical method of the District Water Engineer was followed• Arranging waterrights and ownership of the watersources• Introducing and implementing watertariffs• Having patience and handle disappointments • Built up a community-based project, working together with several village-

governments and districtgovernment and hoping that water will come

• 2010: with the help of WfWP, A4A, District- and Village Government start of phase 1 of the project.

Participation of the community and building up the sense of ownershipof the project

(phase I) Sponsor: Aqua for All

SUCCESS! 2011: 2 subvillages of Mweteni (Kwamshitu and Mturo) get water!

The Water Users Association is set up, responsible for the maintenance of the

watersupply

Seminars about: • Rights and empowerment of women • Leadership by women• Government

Trainings for Tegemeo women, village-government and the community of Mweteni

Members of the community follows the Program Hygiene And Sanitation Training (PHAST) and are now registrated as community trainers.

Getting the certificates

Demonstration

Celebrating the success

•TWG builts a communication- and training centre with computer-, printer- en copy facilities and internet and

• Asked the District-government for the supply of electricity for Mweteni

Empowerment of women

At the same time Tegemeo women developes themselves as a group, with own ideas, a group which want to think about wishes and development of women and the whole community

Economising for economic activities (Vikoba system)

Computer, internet

Empowerment of women

Active role in meetings and negotiations

Challenges

The Tegemeo Women faced many challenges

– Tegemeo women met obstruction, doubts if women were able to start and realise own projects

– Outside technology didn’t work, was not applicable – The stay out of funding– Funding just for a part of the project, so the project had to be split into

phases– Resistance of a part of the villagers, afraid that their village will never get

water; in phase I two subvillages get water out of the Hemvera-source– Schools and hospital cannot afford to pay for the water they need;

RainWaterHarvesting was provided and became a subproject; Soroptimisten made survey and realisation possible

– Empowerment: the Tegemeo-women and the community had to solve their own problems; it’s possible when convinction is there and when it really comes from the heart

Another challenge

Everyone has to pay for the use of water!

2012-2013: RainWaterHarvesting for hospital, three primary schools and a secondary schoolSponsors: Soroptimist en Retourschip.

February 2014: start of phase II with participation of the community

In phase 2 is made use of experiences in phase 1. In phase 2 is TWG not only project-owner, but also budgetholders and taking

care of the financial administration. The projectmanagement was carried by all the stakeholders. This prevented corruption.

November 2013: PHAST-training in Ntambwe about hygiene, sanitation and environment

Schoolsanitation for children of Primary School

Februari /March/ April 2014: phase II during heavy rains

February/March/ April 2014: rain causing delayInvolving local contractors and following the technical method of DWE it was possible

to cope the situation.

February / March 2014: damage caused by storm

May 2014: Constructions, tanks and domestic points

WATER IN NTAMBWE!

May 2014: Fieldvisit Women for Water Partnership during internal handover

What makes this project to be succesfull?

1. Full local ownership: building local ownership and community involvement has been pursued from day one. 2. International cooperation between all stakeholders in Tanzania, WfWP, supporting organisations in Tanzania (TGNP) and Soroptimist in the Netherlands, committed sponsors and liaisons. Clearly defined roles and agreed responsibilities. It prevents corruption.

3. Technical and financial sustainability: arrangements are made about maintenance and payment

4. The spin-off resulting from women’s empowerment and leadership development in Mweteni. The Tegemeo network has increased and engaged in new social and income generating activities, which lead to continued economic development of the community.

Relationships with donors

1. Community-based projects needs flexibility from donors with deadlines and reporting-frames.

2. The interest of donors has not to be only short-term support of projects, but long term commitment: from baby-case to up-scaling. The input of expertise concerning information and communication (technology), monitoring and coaching is costefficient and contributes to sustainable development.

3. Commercial partners were new for the Tegemeo women and for WfWP; they gave Tegemeo women the opportunity to realise the project, making arrangements about publicity with accordance of Tegemeo, and the community, more attention for pictures, film and quotes which made the Tegemeo women and their project and the Mweteni-community more visible

“I haile the Tegemeo Women Group who sacrificed much to see the project all the way through. I call up every member of the community to take care of the project as lack of water not only magnify poverty, but also leads to loss of life.” Mr. Mwalimu Herman Kapufi, Same District Officer

How water change life"It's wonderful that water is passing the pipelines, in three subvillages we can fetch water nearby the houses. We can see now how water change life. Women and children are less loaded and have more time for other daily things. Children play with water for the first time. Now everyone can fetch water, because it is nearby. Our clothes and houses are more proper, because we use more water. When there are festivities or burials people have the possibiliy now to focus on that in stead of searching for water. Water is like an eye-opener: other villages realise better what they miss and what they would like to have. To keep the unity of the Mweteni-village we have to fight for other funds, in that way last subvillage will get water too."

Resti Gerald, chair TWG

• Happy Zawadi:• “This program empowered women,

during meetings they are no longer silent, but we speak freely. There is no longer the problem of fetching water far away. Less female students drop out, they have time to do their homework.”

Futureplans Tegemeo Women Group

1. Finding donors for the two last watersources (Kidingidingi en Kwakibulu) to bring water to the last subvillage of Mweteni: Kwanatema

2. Good toilets for households and schoolchildren

3. Taking care of a watersysteem, to make it sustainable

4. To realise watersupply, road and electricity for the whole village.

5. Finding means to support other women in and out of Tanzania and bring over and sharing experiences.

6. Finding a way together with the District government to upscale.

7. Start of other developmentprojects in the community of Mweteni: hygienic use of toilets, help of AIDS-orphans

8. Going on to reduce poverty by activities, like sowing, vikoba, selling vitenges and grinding maize

53

Graffiti Wall ~ Key Question

What will it take for people to execute on the human right to water?- What are the tools (solutions and

opportunities) - What are the challenges

Be specific!

54

55

WASH Researchers

WASH Project Managers

WASH Specialists

Gap in knowledge transferand learning exchange

Field Workers

Limited Human Capacity at Field Level

56

CHALLENGE 2Current definitions do not tell the full story

• Improved water source

– Quality, quantity, reliability, sustainability

• Sanitation– Safe handling and disposal of waste

• Hygiene – Environmental and personal hygiene

884 million people don’t have access to an improved water source

59

Water Pump

“improved”… but is it safe to drink?

“improved”… but will it be safe to drink when it gets home?

2.8 billion people don’t have access to basic sanitation

Over 80% of used water worldwide is not collected or treated.

80% untreated

Water use has been growing at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century