WATER MANAGEMENT
Rift Valley Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation Program
Alleviating poverty for the rural poor of Africa is the primary goal of our program. The rural poor, primarily women and children, are often forgotten with minimal, if any, services provided by local or state governments.
By helping solve one of their primary concerns – water – we provide the opportunity and hope to work their way out of poverty. The time and effort devoted to obtaining adequate water from polluted streams and ponds are a major burden for rural women - significantly reducing the time and energy available for child rearing, education, farming etc.
A direct result of the availability of relatively clean water is a reduction of waterborne diseases and improved hygiene. A durable 10 cu. M. concrete tank which is constructed by the women and which stores roof runoff from each family home is the key element in achieving this goal.
Finished Projects
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LWAK Girls High School Sanitation Project is ALMOST FINISHED
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Partners:
Local Rotary Commitment
Rotarians in the area often are combined of successful people who have a good understanding of the local economic and political situation. Members own businesses that can directly assist a project - generally at cost or less. Rotary International also has a well structured and disciplined approach to project management that ensures accountability.
Local Project Management
The Rift Valley Program has developed a group of managers who organize the community groups that apply for tanks and ensures procedures are in place and are followed. This is critical in the process since the design of the tanks, the requirements for tree planting, sanitation procedures are maintained by this group. A database of all the tanks and their status is maintained to ensure commitments are kept.
3. Local Community Organizations
Groups of applicants for tanks are organized into manageable groups called RCC’s (Rotary Community Corps). These groups are made up mostly of women (at least 90%) who hold almost all the leadership positions. They are given responsibility of managing the process of putting the tanks and programs in place. They are given guidelines and encouragement from the project management team but ultimately it is their responsibility to manage the process. Since they are required to pay a portion of the tank (about $75) they often pool their resources to make this possible. The tanks are owned by the group until the agreed number of tanks for the group are completed.
| How can my Rotary Club become involved with the Rift Valley Program? |
Individually people can donate $365 for one tank (which will probably be matched by Rotary District or Foundation matching grants which is then matched by CRCID). We can have the name of the donor engraved on the Tank (with the Rotary Symbol) and a digital picture of the tank and recipient family.
Rotary Clubs can support the program with donations directly to the Summerland Rotary Club or a club can sponsor one of the 22 Rotary Community Corps (RCC’s) in the program. Matching grants again apply.
If a Rotary member is in Africa and would like to tour the project we can make those arrangements. |
