GWWI Partner Brings Clean Water to a Clinic in Kakamega

By GWWI Regional Coordinator, Rose Wamalwa

Rose Wamalwa is GWWI Kenya/Tanzania Regional Coordinator. She was selected as 1 of 4 East African women for the inaugural GWWI Fellowship class in 2011. Because of her stellar work, she was hired as by GWWI to manage and support 5 women's teams in Kenya and Tanzania. She also opened her own organization called Women in Water and Natural Resources Conservation to become one of the first GWWI Women and Water Training chapters in East Africa. This is one of her stories.

A story is told of a village by the name Kharanda.  The residents of this village were privileged to have a community health dispensary that was constructed in 1996, exactly 17 years ago. It was a sigh of relief for men, women and children since they could access healthy facilities easily.  However there has been a major problem of lack of safe water to run the health facility.

Kharanda Community dispensary serves 20 villages spread over a radius of 5 km, for 17 years this facility has never had any source of water supply.  Nurse Catherine who is currently in charge of the facility has faced a lot of challenges running the dispensary without water.  They had to introduce a system where patients had to bring with them water for use in the facility.  Alternatively the patients are required to pay a small fee that is used to hire people to supply water to the dispensary for cleaning the facility.

Nurse Catherine admits that it has been a big challenge administering health services in the dispensary without water. This has led to re-infections especially water related illnesses such as cholera, diarrhea and typhoid. Patients have therefore not been able to access safe water for drinking and even washing hands after visiting the toilets and after changing the baby nappies.
Many instances have also been reported of patients who have complications and require admission and continuous observation by health practitioners, but since the dispensary does not have access to safe water, they cannot run an in-patient unit. This has led to a number of patients succumb to related complications.

Keeping the facility clean has always been a challenge since there is no water at the dispensary.
In February 2013, Nurse Catherine’s story has changed, WWNRC in partnership with GWWI, constructed a 15,000 liter rain water harvesting tank that now provide quality water for the patients and the staff.  Women and children no longer have to bring water to the facility nor pay a fee to carter for water supply. The dispensary’s hygiene status has improved and Nurse Catherine has alluded to staring a maternity wing to carter for expectant mothers.

WWNRC is grateful for our partnership with GWWI. We are proud of what we are learning and the impact it is having in our community.

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2012 : A STORY OF TRANSFORMATION

Today we’d like to tell you a story about Global Women’s Water Initiative (GWWI) graduates Florence Acharit and Eunice Aliamo of Orphans and Widows Association for Development in Uganda. Because of their leadership, 200 girls at Amuria High School no longer miss classes or face violence because they have to fetch water. Remarkable transformation was possible in 2012 because YOU got involved. Because you share our posts, introduce us to your friends, host house parties, attend our Weaving the Worlds Events, join our Giving Circle and contribute financially to our work – the world is changing.

If WEA raises $75,000 by this year’s end, we will launch into 2013 ready to support and unite more grassroots women leaders working tirelessly on issues of clean water, sustainable agriculture, and climate resilience. Please join us by making a donation today. We will be awarded a challenge grant of $10,000 if over 100 of you give to WEA by December 31st!

Florence and Eunice were one of 16 teams to attend the 2012 GWWI Grassroots Women and Water Training in Uganda. GWWI, our partnership with Crabgrass, has been hosting trainings since 2008. This year participants learned water and sanitation technologies, entrepreneurial tools and leadership skills. And for an entire year, GWWI provided follow-up financial, technical and peer support to the teams.

So, what was it like before Florence and Eunice participated in a GWWI training? Girls had to fetch water during school, which could take 3-4 hours and put them at risk of being attacked. Girls would sometimes faint from dehydration while waiting for water or meals that were prepared late because there was no water. The school spent around $150 every week to buy clean water and cover medical expenses for students who fell ill from water-related diseases.

Florence and Eunice applied their skills to build two 15,000 gallon tanks to catch rainwater in a primary school and high school in Amuria, Uganda. Now, the girls have safe water to drink. Money that their school once spent on water and medicine will go towards a well that will that serve the entire community for years to come.

2012 is full of stories of bold women leaders like Florence and Eunice protecting the earth and redefining our future. The grassroots women and groups WEA partnered with this year brought 15,000 people access to clean water and trained 2,400 women farmers in sustainable agriculture and native seed saving practices, along with climate change awareness programs. From East Africa to India to California, we supported women leaders to share water and sanitation practices, develop strategies to adapt to a changing climate, and build relationships critical for creating change. Read more about our 2012 Impact.

With your help, we can respond more fully to our partners’ call. In 2013:

• The India Program will expand its support to South Asia with the launch of a small grants initiative for indigenous and rural women’s groups working to promote human rights, traditional knowledge, sustainable agriculture, and environmental justice.
• GWWI will launch the WASH Service Center Training Program for graduates of Women and Water Trainings to deepen their knowledge of sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene strategies, and become professional implementers, trainers and social entrepreneurs.
• The North America Program will continue to coordinate legal advocacy support in partnership with North American Indigenous women leading environmental justice campaigns.

We are reminded by the collective efforts of grassroots women that resilience – the ability to rise up stronger from a difficult situation – is possible when we stand together.  The more we unite, the greater strength we have to persevere against all odds. When you donate to WEA, you stand with a global network of women leaders moving together towards resilience in the New Year and beyond. Please give today and be 1 of the 100 donors who make our challenge grant and $75,00 goal possible.

In partnership,

Amira, Caitlin, Gemma, Kahea, Melinda, Rucha and Tejeswi

P.S.  If you are still shopping for Holiday gifts, you can make a donation to WEA’s work in honor of your loved ones and we’ll send them a beautiful, personalized card!

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GWWI Report From the Field: Girls No Longer Miss School Thanks to a Newly Installed Rainwater Harvesting System

The Global Women’s Water Initiative Team has been traveling through East Africa to visit the women teams that were trained in our 2011-2012 year long training program. Meet the people whose lives they are changing.

GWWI Team - Gemma Bulos, Director; Rose Wamalwa, Kenya/Tanzania Field Coordinator; Comfort Mukasa, Uganda Field Coordinator

“You cannot even study when you are thirsty. Even the work of the school administration becomes difficult.”  Administrator at Amuria High School

The 200 female boarders at Amuria High School in Amuria, Uganda no longer have to leave their classes to fetch water or miss school entirely when they were menstruating thanks to GWWI graduates Florence and Eunice of Orphans and Widows Association for Development. Florence and Eunice received funding from a local WaterAid partner who not only sponsored them to build a rainwater harvesting system with a 15,000 liter tank (approx. 4000 gallons) on their dormitory but also to a cleaning bay where the girls can bathe between classes when they have their period.

Eunice

Florence

The 200 girls who live in the school dormitory would be required to fetch water during school hours, which could sometimes take up to 3-4 hours increasing their risk of getting attacked and defiled. When they got their periods, they would miss school entirely or even drop out because there was not enough water for them to clean themselves.

Student fetches water at the new tank behind her dorm

According to the school health officer, having the rainwater harvesting tank and access to water has created so many opportunities not only for the girls but also for the school. The school kitchen would have to wait for water to cook, and now the meals can be served on time so the girls have the energy for their studies. Sometimes up to 5 girls a day would faint from dehydration, but now have clean water to drink. The project even united families in the community who came together to donate time and materials for the construction of the tank. And the most exciting, according to the head teacher, the money they saved from spending 8000UGX per day on clean water (approx. $3.25US) and medical expenses when students fell ill from water-related disease (upwards of 300,000UGX approx. $120US/week) as well as donations from the community, the high school has been able to accumulate over 11million UGX (approx. $4,400) of the 18million they need to complete construction of a borehole that will serve the community at large.

Water is changing the game in Amuria. And everyone WINS!

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GWWI Report from the Field: Typhoid Eliminated in School Thanks to Biosand Filter!

The Global Women’s Water Initiative Team has been traveling through East Africa to visit the women teams that were trained in our 2011-2012 year long training program. Meet the people whose lives they are changing.

GWWI Team - Gemma Bulos, Director; Rose Wamalwa, Kenya/Tanzania Field Coordinator; Comfort Mukasa, Uganda Field Coordinator

“Before we got the Biosand Filters, seven students per week would get sick from typhoid. The school paid at least per student 450KSH (approx. $6US) just to take them to the doctor. Now we no longer have cases of typhoid and the school is saving money to buy educational materials.” Teacher at Angel Academy

At the Angel Academy Primary School typhoid was a daily occurrence with both students and teachers falling ill to disease caused by contaminated water.  With over 500 students and at least 7 incidences of typhoid per week costing a minimum of 450KSH per patient - not to mention the 200KSH/day the school laid out to have someone fetch the ‘safer’ water from the river, the school was spending thousands of dollars a year in water related costs. When they learned about the Biosand filter from GWWI Graduates Jane and Linda from Kilili Self Help Program (KSHP), they knew this was an opportunity for them to address this recurring health issue and minimize their financial burden once and for all.

 KSHP is a respected organization in this region having already trained over 25,000 people in organic bio-dynamic farming. They integrated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) into their program after being sponsored by American Jewish World Service to attend the GWWI Women and Water Training Program in 2011.

The Director at Angel Academy called upon KSHP to engage their students and teachers to build seven Biosand Filters – 6 for the school (1 filter per 100 people) and because he was completely convinced that this technology was the best solution for contaminated water, he even bought one for himself to place in his private home which he shares with his neighbors.  KSHP brought the mold to the school and conducted a BSF training for some of the teachers, local community members and one 15 year-old stellar student.  Some of the younger students helped with some of the simpler tasks like washing the gravel and sand, and everyone benefitted from the KSHPs WASH Education Training which covered proper hygiene, operations and care for the Biosand filter and other water and sanitation related practices.

The students are so happy with the filter and after noticing their own improved health, they are even recommending that KSHP help them to go door to door to promote the BSF to their families so they can have clean water at home!

SAVE THE DATE: Women Making Waves: Report Back from Africa, Oct 25 at the David Brower Center!



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GWWI Report From the Field: Neighborhood Group Builds 30 Filters for Their Community

The Global Women’s Water Initiative Team has been traveling through East Africa to visit the women teams that were trained in our 2011-2012 year long training program. Meet the people whose lives they are changing.

GWWI Team - Gemma Bulos, Director; Rose Wamalwa, Kenya/Tanzania Field Coordinator; Comfort Mukasa, Uganda Field Coordinator

 “I never had hope of becoming rich because I would spend 2000KSH ($25US) per month because my children would get sick of typhoid. The money would come and go. Because of the Biosand Filter, now I dream of being rich!” CISO Member

The Community Initiative Self-Help Organization (CISO) of Birunda loves the Biosand Filter! So much so, that after a few of them learned how to build it, they convinced the other members to adopt it and started planning a campaign to bring clean water to their group.

BSF's

CISO learned about the BSF from GWWI Graduates Jane and Lindah Kilili Self-Help Program (KSHP).  KSHP promotes food security having trained over 25,000 people in organic bio-dynamic farming to increase their crop yield so they can provide food for their family and sell the excess.  After attending the GWWI Women and Water Training Program, KSHP has since integrated a new Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program, adding water security to their mission. KSHP hosted a WASH Education training inviting people from five of their local communities to learn to build the Biosand Filter. Those attendees returned home to promote the BSF and encourage their community members to consider it as a viable option for clean water.

Linda

Jane

CISO took the information and ran with it! It didn’t take much convincing for some of the members. After testing the water from her existing water treatment, one woman member found out that her current clay water filter was not working and she broke it and wanted a Biosand Filter.  Another family who had not been able to boil their water during the rainy season because there was no available firewood and chlorine was too expensive wanted a BSF too!

BSF Owner

They collected money from their members and rented the BSF mold from KSHP so they could provide filters for their group as well as sell them. They came up with a “Buy One Sell One” promotion scheme that required all the members to buy one filter and sell one to guarantee that they make their investment back and more. They also contributed the funds for materials, tools and labor to build 30 filters to start their business!

CISO is well on their way to building a sustainable enterprise to provide clean water for their community and beyond!

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