Introduction

This blog is designed to promote Caritas Switzerland’s work by informing donors, partners and other interested parties of its activities and key achievements in Eastern Equatoria (see map), in Southern Sudan (see map). Although Caritas Switzerland has been active in Sudan for over 20 years and is running different projects in Sudan (see Consortium Partner Information), this blog solely describes and illustrates its main project in South Sudan: ‘Bridging the Gap; Provision of Basic Services in Eastern Equatoria’, which will henceforth be referred to as 'the Bridge Project’. It offers a comprehensive account of all aspects relevant to the Bridge Project and is illustrated with the help of numerous pictures taken in the field.

The main focus of the Bridge Project, carried out in partnership with the Catholic Diocese of Torit (CDoT), is on rehabilitation and reconstruction work in water and sanitation, education and health as well as on strengthening local structures. This blog therefore pays attention and devotes pages to each of these sectors. In addition, it provides general and background project information, includes descriptions of the South Sudanese context, highlights the main constraints facing the Bridge Project and paints a picture of the project base in Torit. Moreover, it includes a brief summary of the consortium partners, donor and partner information and contact details. It also offers a number of technical details concerning the hardware side of project implementation. Finally, summary project information has been added for a quick overview of the Bridge Project.

The contents of the blog are as follows:

The Bridge Project

The South Sudanese Context

Project Background

Risks, Assumptions & Constraints

Torit Base Camp

Water & Sanitation

Education

Health

Strengthening Local Structures

Consortium Partner Information

Donor & Partner Information

Contact Details

Summary Project Information

Technical Details

This page can be used as a homepage to navigate easily through the blog. To return to this page, simply click on the ‘Home’ link at the bottom of each page. Alternatively, clicking ‘Older Posts’ at the bottom of each page will successively take you through all the pages of this blog, in the above order. The contents can also be found in the sidebar at any time.

Please note that this blog was not made with the intention to place new posts and updates on a regular basis. Instead, it was deliberately designed to resemble a website. As such, this blog reflects the state of the Bridge Project as per September 2007, though it will in fact end in April 2008. As a result, not all planned activities have yet been carried out. Rather, the blog presents the achievements of the Bridge Project up to September 2007 and the pictures used to illustrate the posts cover the period from May 2006 to September 2007.

The Bridge Project

The aim of the Bridge Project is to increase access to quality education and health care services as well as improving access to, and use of, clean water by the beneficiaries. In addition to providing much needed basic services to the citizens in the project impact areas, the Bridge Project also places great emphasis on strengthening local structures through building the capacities of national partners as well as mobilising and empowering communities in the project catchment area.

According to the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) policy framework, expanding access to water and sanitation, education and health will be a critical component of the peace dividend because it redresses a key dimension of the historical neglect of the people of the South. The Bridge Project aims to provide services in line with this framework. In doing so, Caritas Switzerland is adopting a 3-Sector Wide Approach (SWA). The three sectors are greatly interwoven and reinforce each other. Using a 3-SWA is therefore cost effective, enhances a holistic approach to service delivery and improves coordination between sectors.

The Bridge Project has proposed to do the following:

Water and Sanitation

Drill and rehabilitate boreholes, build water and roof catchments, construct latrines, mobilise communities, develop hygiene and sanitation materials and raise hygiene and awareness

Education

Construct primary schools, purchase basic equipment and scholastic materials, train teachers, provide Interagency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) minimum standards training and provide management training

Health

Construct one health clinic, purchase equipment, raise awareness on HIV/AIDS and train health workers

Capacity building

Train Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Local Authorities (LA), train builders and purchase various equipment for GoSS

Services provided thus include hardware (building of two schools, a health care centre and water infrastructure) and software (training, skills transfer, apprenticeship for local artisans, change of knowledge, attitudes and practices and social education) components. Furthermore, it mobilises and empowers communities by setting up and training committees and parent-teacher associations for the maintenance and running of services and strengthens local structures by providing leadership training, know-how in community development and monitoring, awareness on peace, gender and civic responsibilities.

The basic service package for communities therefore comprises water and complementing hygiene and sanitation services, a primary school and health centre, which have been highlighted as the areas requiring most attention. Through the Bridge Project, a total of 155,000 men, women, boys and girls are expected to benefit from improved access to primary health care and education, new boreholes and hygiene promotion in Eastern Equatoria. In addition, benefits of the project include increased capacity for local CSOs. It is expected that livelihoods in the region will also improve.

The Bridge Project targets all counties in Eastern Equatoria (see map). That being said, comparatively more agencies provide services in the eastern part of the state, the western part remaining relatively uncovered. The east is easier to access and relatively more secure. For these reasons, the Bridge Project explicitly focuses on the western region in an attempt to balance the distribution of services. The Bridge Project consolidates existing interventions, rehabilitates and provides income generating activities for communities in the east; while it focuses on construction and start-up activities in the west.

Moreover, the Bridge Project pays attention to peace building, HIV/AIDS and promoting gender equality. These are overall cross-cutting issues in Caritas Switzerland’s international cooperation policy and have been interwoven into the project. Whereas the former is mainly tackled through the use of a conflict sensitive approach to service delivery, the latter is principally tackled through awareness-raising. Issue specific training is also taking place.

Social inclusion is another leading principle of the Bridge Project. Although the project advocates for equality between the sexes and establishes mechanisms to redress imbalances, social inclusion in the Bridge Project goes beyond Caritas Switzerland’s gender mainstreaming policy alone. Caritas Switzerland targets the neediest communities and places an added emphasis on reaching marginalised and vulnerable groups within these communities. More specifically, a special focus is put on children who will become the leaders of tomorrow, the future workforce and heads of households in the region (e.g. through formal education and hygiene training). In addition, the Bridge Project uses a flexible and responsive approach in order to integrate Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees on their return.

Finally, the sustainability of the Bridge Project is ensured through a number of mechanisms. Moving away from top-down, supply-led programmes which proved unsustainable, the approach of the Bridge Project has been towards demand-driven approaches based on principles of stakeholder participation and local management. LA and community-felt needs and consortium members’ experience and expertise are the primary criteria and starting point for the selection of interventions. Beneficiaries are involved in each steps of the project management cycle and monitoring is done jointly with LAs and the targeted communities. Sustainability is further enhanced by creating committees selected by the communities and trained by the Bridge Project. This, combined with the requirement that communities contribute to project costs, increases the value of projects to beneficiaries and boosts local ownership for them. Cost recovery elements, to be managed by the committees, are also discussed and introduced where possible and the maintenance and repair of assets are left to communities. In addition, the project focuses on the quality of outputs and the durability of erected structures, making use of appropriate technology. All these measures are designed to ensure long-term sustainability. What is more, lobby strategies are applied to access financial and other support from the LAs; this includes support for training and teachers’ salaries and supplies for schools. An advantage is provided by the church, being on the ground at all times, giving the project a degree of permanency. This is further strengthened through close collaboration with the LAs in the respective areas of intervention. In the end, Caritas Switzerland will phase out and the responsibilities will be gradually handed over to the LAs and targeted communities. All in all, the Bridge Project has an inbuilt capacity building component to ensure that local institutions are strengthened to carry on or take over the project activities in the longer term. The strategy is to work with the community at all levels so as to entrench ownership of the project with the community. The community empowerment programme of the Catholic Diocese of Torit (CDoT), Caritas Switzerland’s consortium partner, will form the basis for empowering communities to take over responsibility for the project in the long term. In sum, as a strategy, sustainability is tackled through the strengthening of LAs and CSOs and building management structures.

The South Sudanese Context

Historical Overview of South Sudan

After 21 years of civil war, between the Sudanese government and the rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), the long awaited Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed on January 9, 2005 in Naivasha, Kenya. The agreement promised peace, security and development in the country through the disarmament of the militias and granted autonomy to Southern Sudan. The leader of the SPLA/M, John Garang, was sworn in as the first vice-president of Sudan in the beginning of July 2005, marking a power sharing deal between the north and the south. Three weeks later, however, John Garang was killed in a helicopter crash. Salva Kiir Mayardit, who had been a long term ally of John Garang, was then appointed as vice-president of Sudan. He has continually reiterated the need to maintain the CPA. In September 2005, a parliament for Southern Sudan was sworn-in in Juba, bringing about a new constitution. The Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan was finalised and ratified in December 2005 by Salva Kiir, leading to the creation of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS). This marked the first step of instigating democracy within the region.

In Eastern Equatoria State, the GoSS has had to cope with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency in the Western Equatoria State, which was coupled with widespread human displacement, the militarisation of the population and a general breakdown of law and order. For more information on the LRA in South Sudan, please refer to the links mentioned in the last paragraph of this post. As a result of the civil war and the LRA activities in the region, however, large numbers of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) reside in Eastern Equatoria and an estimated 450,000 refugees are expected to return from Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.

South Sudan Profile

Southern Sudan (see map) covers an area of 640,000 square kilometres and has been divided into ten states. Geographically the area is comprised of tropical forests, wetlands and the Sudd swamps, savannah and mountains and is well endowed with natural resources such as oil, forest, wildlife and minerals. Southern Sudan has an estimated population ranging between 7.5 and 9.7 million.

Eastern Equatoria State (see map), the Bridge Project’s catchment area, covers 68,139 square kilometres and, according to the United Nations Sudan Information Gateway has an estimated total population of 730,000. It is strategically situated on the East Bank of the river Nile and extends from Nimule in the south-west to Naita in the east, Baher El Gazhal to the north, and by three international borders; with Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia. The region has a complex ethnic diversity with seven main ethno-linguistic groups, which are Lopit, Pari, Lotuko, Lango, Toposa, Acholi and Madi.

Eastern Equatoria has an equatorial climate and has two food economy zones. Acholi land and the Imotong ranges are fertile, with loam and black soil and enough rain in normal years. The more eastern areas often experience irregular, erratic and insufficient rainfall. This area is semi-arid and is characterised by unfavourable climatic conditions with unsatisfactory rainfall, leading to poor crop production. Both agriculture and pastoralism are practiced in the area; livestock keeping is central to household survival for both groups. Nearly half of the total population is considered poor or very poor. Members of a typical poor or very poor household own up to five cows and 15 goats. On average one feddan (half a hectare) is cultivated, yielding between two and four sacks of grain. Grains make up 45-60 percent of annual food requirements. Remaining needs are met through providing labour, bartering and collecting wild food. Kinship and relief food, trade, bartering and milk products from cattle make up the remaining shortfall.

Sector-Specific Background Information

According to the Joint Assessment Mission (JAM) post-war development framework for Sudan, ‘expanding access to education, health, and water and sanitation will be a critical component of the peace dividend because it redresses one key dimension of the historical neglect of the people of the South’.

Water and Sanitation

The overall water and sanitation situation is unsatisfactory. Issues include the scarcity or limited availability of water, contamination and poor hygiene practices. Women walk long distances with heavy jerry-cans, in search of clean water. Traditionally, people use rain pool water, water from rivers and other seasonal sources of water. Unhygienic practices like bathing, washing clothes and defecating near water sources contribute to the increase of waterborne diseases. People use the same utensils for cooking and bathing and fetch water without cleaning them properly. The JAM framework highlights the critical link between the improvement of health outcomes in South Sudan and an increase in access to safe water and sanitation. It proposes to double rural safe water and sanitation access in the next ten years. Overall policy objectives in the sector include the integrated management of water services and delivery of services by all stakeholders including government, donors, Non-Governmental Orgnisations (NGOs) and the private sector.

Education

The education system is managed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) and through Regional Education Offices (REOs), County Education Offices (CEOs) and Payams (sub-county). However, due to the lack of resources, most administrative positions are not filled and schools are often funded and operated by parents and NGOs. The capacity for school management and administration is severely limited. There are few and not many teachers, the majority of whom are untrained. Existing physical and social facilities, including sanitation and water facilities at schools are inadequate and there is a lack of scholastic materials. The gross enrolment rate is low and there is a substantial gender gap for girls, which widens with age. The Education Master Plan, October 2002 – September 2007, outlines the following four goals in basic education:

• Increased access;
• Quality and relevant education;
• Equity in provision of education services; and
• Enhanced local capacity for ownership and sustainability.

Health

Health facilities in Eastern Equatoria are composed of three hospitals, eight public health care centres, 22 public health care units and four mobile clinics. Overall health service coverage is estimated at only 25 percent of the population. These health facilities are in poor physical condition and are unequally distributed; the more remote areas are particularly poorly served. Further challenges include: a fragmented health system; limited capacity, absorptive and resource constraints; scattered populations and the breakdown of social networks; limited skilled work force; the changing epidemiological base and the heavy communicable disease burden, particularly of malaria; high prevalence of classical tropical diseases like sleeping sickness, guinea worm and visceral leishmaniasis; the spread of HIV/AIDS; and reproductive health issues like female genital mutilation. According to the JAM framework, the priorities that need to be addressed simultaneously in health during the interim period are:

• Rapidly scaling up primary services, starting in the least served areas, while rehabilitating and strengthening existing first-referral hospitals throughout the regions of South Sudan;
• Strengthening the capacity of the health secretariat and local health authorities in key areas such as policy formulation, planning and management;
• Supporting policy and regulation development, and information systems; and
• Urgently adopting measures to raise awareness and protect the rights of South Sudanese people living with HIV/AIDS.

More background information, statistics and demographic data may be accessed through the United Nations Sudan Information Gateway. Furthermore, the Rift Valley Institute offers an excellent starting point for obtaining information on Sudan; a list of links can be found on their website and a more extensive list is available in a PDF document.

Project Background

The ‘Bridging the Gap; Provision of Basic Services in Eastern Equatoria’ project is funded through the Department for International Development’s (DFID) Basic Services Fund (BSF) for South Sudan.

The DFID launched the BSF for Southern Sudan in January 2006. It is part of the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Southern-Sudan (MDTF-S) and is managed by the Joint Donor Team office, based in Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan. Contributors to the MDTF-S are the governments of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The purpose of the programme is:

‘To assist the Government of Southern Sudan with the provision of basic services, via non government actors, to the most under-served populations in Southern Sudan. Basic services are defined as primary education, primary health care and basic water, sanitation, and hygiene education’ (DFID).

In the first round, over 113 project proposals were submitted to the DFID, only six of which were selected for funding. Caritas Switzerland, along with Oxfam, Medair, AMREF and Save the Children – US, were among the successful bidders.

Stressing the complementary nature of water and sanitation, education and health, the Bridge Project employs a 3-Sector Wide Approach (SWA), thus addressing each of the BSF’s priorities. The linkages between the three sectors are such that they are difficult to handle in isolation; the project is therefore using a holistic approach to link all three components of the project. The 3-SWA is further complemented by increasing the capacities of local authorities and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) throughout the sectors in a targeted manner.

Caritas Switzerland was informed about their successful bid for the BSF for South Sudan towards the end of January 2006. The Bridge Project was to start in February 2006. However, preparing and signing the grant agreement had taken longer than anticipated, thus delaying the transfer from DFID to mid-July 2006. The Bridge Project was nevertheless initiated before the agreement was signed. The Caritas head office advanced funds and preparation works started; equipment was ordered and purchased, the preparation of the base construction in Torit started as well as recruitment of staff (see Torit Base Camp). The main focus during the first six months was to put the project team in place, to contact various stakeholders and to become fully operational.

Risks, Assumptions & Constraints

Risks

In implementing the Bridge Project and operating in South Sudan, Caritas Switzerland is facing a number of risks. The most important threats include:

• The possibility of resurgence of civil war;
• The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and other armed groups may cause instability in the catchment area;
• Tribal and/or cattle raids;
• Large numbers of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and returnees could overstretch the available resources and services or cause conflict with the local communities; and
• Lack of community participation may have an adverse impact on the project by reducing its community ownership, thereby reduced sustainability.

Assumptions

By and large, the Bridge Project assumes that the above-mentioned risks will not materialise during the implementation of the project. It is therefore assumed that there will be a functioning government, that there will be relative peace in Eastern Equatoria and that development activities will accelerate. It had also rightly anticipated that there would be a stronger political will to drive the LRA out of the region and that the area along the border between Uganda and Sudan would become safer. Furthermore, it is assumed that transport and communications as well as the overall infrastructure in the region will improve, substantially reducing project cost. Finally, it is expected that cooperation with other agencies will continue. So far, all assumptions have proved to be valid and it is hoped that the situation will gradually continue to improve.

Constraints

Development processes in a context such as South Sudan are slow and benchmarks cannot be as high as those in relatively more developed contexts. The Bridge Project is facing a number of constraints, which have hampered effective and efficient implementation of the proposed activities. This section highlights the greatest constraints faced by the Bridge Project.

Availability of Local Materials

There is a chronic lack of construction such as bricks, sand, cement, aggregate and ballast in South Sudan. This has delayed the progress in the construction of the base camp and has similarly affected the school and health centre construction. The above-mentioned materials are scarce and correspondingly expensive. Transport has been difficult to arrange and it was necessary at times to hire Kenyan lorries from Lokichoggio to keep the work going. This has made the progress of the construction slow and very costly.

Insecurity in the Catchment Area

In the initial phases of the Bridge Project, insecurity in the catchment areas has hampered the provision of and access to basic services in that it has hindered movements of the project team to the project areas and delayed direct contact between project staff and beneficiaries. Insecurity has resulted from three sources: the LRA, tribal clashes that result from cattle raiding across counties and conflicts over resource utilisation, especially between farmers and pastoralists in the western part of the state. As a result of the negative effects on the overall progress of the project, changes in the operational areas were considered. However, since the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement was signed between the LRA and government of Uganda in August 2006 and a further addendum was signed in November, the situation in Eastern Equatoria started to change; the situation significantly improved in terms of security. To date, however, the situation in Magwi County remains relatively more precarious and warrants extra caution.

Coordination Among International NGOs

Poor coordination of activities among International Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the state has been another constraint faced by the project; particularly in the initial stages, coordination was lacking. In an effort to redress this situation, the Bridge Project assisted the Ministries of Education Science and Technology (MoEST), Public Works and Health in planning and funding state-wide stakeholder and partner workshops. This helped the ministries to map all NGO activities taking place in Eastern Equatoria and paved the way for the State Strategic Planning Meeting. To date, the Bridge Project continues to play a vocal role in improving coordination between actors in the state.

Community Mobilisation and Ownership

Although the Bridge Project prides itself on its achievements pertaining to community mobilisation and ownership, the process is challenging and, at times, rather slow. As was mentioned earlier, communities are required to contribute, in-kind, to project costs in order to increase the value of projects to beneficiaries and boost ownership for them. In many cases, this demand is met with reluctance. This difficulty has a cultural component but has been exacerbated by the approaches employed by other NGOs, some of whom, for instance, have paid community members for their contributions. This is really a matter of shifting from dependence on humanitarian efforts to playing a more assertive role required of communities for development work. The Bridge Project thus continues to spend considerable amounts of time convincing communities; to have them understand and accept their roles. Direct contact with the beneficiaries as well as involving the government through rallies and the church leader during prayers on Sundays have proven to be useful means in passing on the message concerning the importance of community contribution.

Construction Costs Versus Budget

Construction costs have put a great strain on the project’s budget. The high prices result from the scarcity of local construction materials and the high costs involved in importing them from neighbouring Kenya. Prices were far above the figures mentioned in the budget, requiring an urgent review of the budget. Consequently, out of the four schools mentioned in the project document, only two can be built within the available budget. Remaining money will be used to construct additional classrooms in existing schools.

Roads and Accessibility

The catchment area has a network of all-weather dirt roads but these roads have been rendered insecure by the war, poor maintenance, insecurity, mines and LRA ambushes. The road conditions are extremely poor; access is extremely difficult, especially during the wet season. However, with the continuation of road construction works, it is expected that the situation will rapidly improve. The construction of the Torit – Juba road, for instance, has made access to Juba and the GoSS offices easier. The pictures below illustrate the poor road conditions.

Torit Base Camp

During the start-up phase of the Bridge Project, the emphasis has been on setting up a base camp in Torit and recruiting project staff. Torit is the capital city of the State of Eastern Equatoria. Its central location and administrative importance makes it an excellent location for a base from which to operate in all the state counties.

In April 2006, the Bishop of Torit allocated a 6,000 m² (100m x 60m) plot to the Bridge Project; a good site situated in the mission area bordering the road on one side and an old mission building on the other. It is located close to the UN peacekeeping force compound which has been Caritas Switzerland’s neighbour from the beginning. In the past couple of years, however, as the situation in South Sudan stabilised and became more secure, Torit has become a fast-growing town and Caritas Switzerland will soon have new neighbours. The Catholic Diocese of Torit (CDoT), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) are all in the process of building their own compounds next to that of Caritas Switzerland.

The first step in building the base was to drill a borehole and install an electrical pump to cater for the water needs of the project base and the surrounding compounds. The area was cleared and materials were purchased in Nairobi. In May the first truck arrived in Torit and construction work started; a fence was erected, temporary toilet and shower facilities, a kitchen and dinner hall, a generator house and a gate house were built. The dinner hall initially doubled as an office and approximately ten tents were set up for staff accommodation. The base camp was fully operational as per the end of July, allowing field activities to intensify. Water, electricity (solar and generator) and communication facilities (thuraya, satellite internet) were in place and functioning and two project cars had arrived at the base camp. Construction of permanent office and accommodation buildings as well as better toilet and shower facilities then went on for another few months. Currently, the Caritas Switzerland compound is made up of an office block with four offices, six self-contained rooms, seven tents and two toilets and showers. In addition, the temporary toilet and shower facilities were kept and four separate huts were built with local materials for the drivers and the guards.

The Bridge Project team consists of a project manager, a project assistant, a community development specialist and base support personnel (a camp manager, a storekeeper, three watchmen, four drivers, two cooks and one cleaner). An additional person was hired to look after the seven tents, which now serves as accommodation for guests. Offering good accommodation, the tents have become an income generating activity that contributes modestly to the costs of running the camp.

In the future, the generated income might be used to replace the tents with more permanent structures, construct thatch roofs over them to keep them cooler or make them semi-permanent and self-contained. In time, flowers or a hedge might also be planted around the fence to provide more privacy from neighbours. Life on the compound will also be improved by the various crops (including papaya, guavas, oranges, grapes, passion fruits, bananas and mangos, groundnuts and beans) that have been planted in and around the compound. Because of the limited supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, these crops will add variety and help improve future meals.

Please note that Caritas Switzerland does not in fact own any of the above-mentioned facilities but is merely using them while operational in Torit. In the end, all erected structures, vehicles and equipment will be handed over to the Bridge Project's consortium partner in Torit, the CDoT.

Water & Sanitation

The Bridge Project’s overall water and sanitation aims are to increase access to clean water in schools, health units and communities and raise awareness with regards to water and sanitation of hygiene and sanitation practices through the use of the Participatory Hygiene And Sanitation Transformation (PHAST) and Children’s Hygiene And Sanitation Training (CHAST) approaches. In this sector, the project will produce the following outputs:

Construct water catchments

Drill boreholes

Water and school committees as well as caretakers and maintenance teams are in place and functioning

Build roof catchments in schools and health facilities

Build latrines in schools, health centres and communities

Households are sensitised and use acquired PHAST hygiene and sanitation skills

Train school boy and girls trained in CHAST approach to hygiene

Using an integrated approach, the Bridge Project drills boreholes and is constructing water and roof catchments. Where needed, already existing schools and health units are equipped with water points. Hygiene and sanitation materials have been developed and trainings are conducted in schools, at health units and in the communities. Local water committees are trained to increase local-level capacity to manage and maintain the water and sanitation infrastructure. The roles of the communities in management and ownership of water points are discussed and agreed upon. At the end of the project, access to clean water and sanitation facilities will have improved for approximately 50,000 men, women, girls and boys. The incidence of disease occurrence will reduce and the overall health of the beneficiaries will improve.

Key Achievements and Pending Activities

Isoke Water Project

Including the school children, Isoke is a village counting approximately 5000 inhabitants and is situated at the foot of a number of scenic mountains in the south-east of Greater Torit. Prior to Caritas Switzerland’s intervention, the community’s access to water was inadequate; a single borehole served the entire population. As a result of the ensuing waiting lines, community members often reverted to fetching water from a river further away. This situation not only required community members to spend much time accessing water, it also compromised their health. The Isoke Water Catchment Project significantly improved this situation.

The Isoke Water Catchment Project is the Bridge Project’s first water catchment project to be completed. This project was in fact initiated under Caritas Switzerland’s Capacity Building through Participation and Application (CPA) programme, which sought to increase the organisational capacity of a number of local Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). For the practical component of the CPA programme (not to be confused with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement), the Lomohidang Valley Development Initiative (LOVADI) proposed to implement a water system in Isoke. This stage of the project involved the construction of an intake at a good, year-round water source some two kilometres from the centre of the Isoke and piping the water, through the first section of the village, to the church, including taps for the households located along the way. As of October 2006, the Bridge Project assumed responsibility for the second phase of the Water Catchment Project, which consisted of extending the water system for distribution to the primary and secondary school, the health care centre and the remaining upper and lower sections of the village.

Today, two schools and one hospital are connected to the water system and the entire village enjoys easy access to good quality water. A total of 27 water points are spread throughout Isoke, respectively three and six of which are found on the health care centre and school compounds (technical information on this project can be found here). The entire water catchment project, comprising both phases, has taken approximately two years to finalise.

That being said, the Bridge Project’s hand in the Isoke Water Catchment Project is not yet over. As was mentioned in the second post, Caritas Switzerland engrains the sustainability of its projects through community involvement and contribution. The community’s responsibilities in the Water Catchment Project have included digging trenches, providing stones and sand for construction activities, ensuring hygiene around water points and taking responsibility for the oversight and management of the facilities. It is the latter that requires more time and effort to be invested in the water project.

During the construction of the water system, the technical expert provided by the Bridge Project and LOVADI trained a number of community members to help with the implementation and to look after the maintenance and repair of the water system after project hand-over. A water committee counting 11 members was called to life and roles and responsibilities were identified and assigned. Although caretakers for the water points and to clean the water intake system are already active, the water committee requires further training. The water committee will devise a workable system to collect fees from the community, manage their funds in transparent and accountable manner, keep store of spare parts and hold responsibility for the proper maintenance and repair for the water system. In order to achieve this, an additional number of female community members will be given technical training and the overall organisational capacity of the committee will be strengthened.

Once these finals steps have successfully been completed, the project will officially be handed over to the water committee. They will be provided with sufficient spare parts to cover any repair and maintenance needs in an initial buffer period and be left to assume full responsibility for managing the Isoke Water Catchment System. The Bridge Project recognises that an empowered community can gradually take over the responsibilities of the project, albeit with continued external technical and financial support and backing. Therefore, until it is ascertained that the water committee has the capability to manage the project without external assistance, Caritas Switzerland will continue to monitor the Isoke Water Project while operational in Eastern Equatoria. Furthermore, the Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SRRC) - whose function is to coordinate development efforts in Southern Sudan - LOVADI and the Catholic Church remain on the ground in case advice or assistance is required.

In the near future, similar water catchment projects will commence in Ikotos, Palotaka and Chukudum.

Drilling Boreholes

Given that several Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are active in the water sector in Eastern Equatoria, determining locations for the drilling of boreholes required a great degree of coordination between all actors involved. In the initial phases, the Bridge Project therefore played an instrumental role in improving coordination at the state level. The Bridge team strongly felt that mapping partner’s operation zones, monitoring their activities, availing government policies to the partners and the recruitment of staff at all levels by the directorate are essential to ensure equity in service provision in the state. The start-up phase further included mobilising stakeholders and beneficiary communities, establishing management committees and contracting and supervising work of drillers. In addition, training manuals for technicians and caretakers have been developed and Community Water Workers (CWWs) trained.

As part of the Bridge Project’s 3-Sector Wide Approach (SWA), exclusively drills boreholes for schools and health care centres. Thus far, 11 successful boreholes have been drilled. Four of these are found in Torit County, three of which are in Torit itself; the remaining seven are found in Kapoeta East. Of these, six and four boreholes have been drilled on school and health care centre compounds, respectively. The final borehole is located on the premises of the project base and not only meets the water needs of the compound but also serves neighbouring partners. In the near future, it is expected that an additional nine boreholes will be drilled in Greater Torit, particularly in Magwi County, and Greater Kapoeta. These which will likewise benefit schools and health care centres. The management of the water points is done by school and health clinic administrations, whereas the maintenance of the boreholes is done by technicians from the State Water and Sanitation Department. All boreholes are equipped with a platform and pump.

Although the Bridge Project concentrates on drilling boreholes for institutions, they are also used by communities. Moreover, the Catholic Diocese of Torit (CDoT), Caritas Switzerland’s consortium partner for the Bridge Project, focuses more on drilling communal water points. Technical details concerning the Bridge Project’s boreholes can be found here.

Roof Catchments

The Bridge Project has proposed to build roof catchments in schools and health facilities. These consist of simple gutters placed along the roofs of suitable buildings; these will collect rainwater and drain this off into 2000 litre tanks. Roof catchments will provide these institutions with an alternative source of water for washing and bathing. The Bridge Project is currently in the process of identifying schools and health care centres that could benefit, assessing the roof of facilities for the feasibility of installing roof catchments. The implementation phase for this activity is pending.

Latrines, Hand-Washing Facilities and Rubbish Pits

As an integral part of its hygiene and sensitisation activities, the Bridge Project is building pit latrines, hand-washing facilities and rubbish pits in schools, health centres and communities. At this stage, 16 rubbish pits were dug in Isoke and a number of hand-washing facilities were put in place. 16 latrine blocks, with 32 latrines, have been constructed in Isoke; a number are found on the school and health care facilities while the rest is spread throughout the village. Another 14 latrines have been built in Torit town; two of which are located on the premises of the Torit Primary School and the remaining ten of which are found on the St. Teresa School, erected by the Bridge Project (see Education). Furthermore, an additional 60 PVC cabin latrines have recently arrived in Torit; in partnership with local Civil Society Organisations, these will be placed throughout Eastern Equatoria State, principally on school and health care centre compounds.

In line with Caritas Switzerland and the Bridge Project’s principles, community ownership is ingrained through community contribution, whether in kind or in labour. The usual approach can be illustrated through the latrines that will be constructed for both boys’ and girls’ St. Daniel Comboni Primary Schools in Narus. This will be carried out in partnership with the Toposa Development Initiative (TDA), a local NGO, and in coordination with school staff. Whereas the TDA is to mobilise school staff and monitor the implementation, the school staff is to provide the stones and sand and is required to sink the pit. The Bridge Project, in turn, will provide the necessary technical assistance and the remaining construction materials. The schools, health care centres and communities always contribute to the projects that benefit them.

PHAST and CHAST Training

Constructing water and sanitation is but one step. This hardware component is complemented by a software component aimed at raisingawareness with regards to good hygiene and sanitation practices. Caritas Switzerland and the Bridge Project's approach to hygiene and sanitation is through the use of the Participatory Hygiene And Sanitation Transformation (PHAST) and Children’s Hygiene And Sanitation Training (CHAST) methodologies.

The PHAST approach is a joint programme developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/World Bank Water and Sanitation Programme (more information on PHAST and the step-by-step guide can be found here). The CHAST approach, on the other hand, was developed by Caritas Switzerland and Caritas Luxembourg with EU funding. Because PHAST was initially designed for adults, it has been carefully revised and adapted to suit the needs of young children (more information in CHAST can be found here).

Now, because CHAST was designed to promote personal hygiene among children living in the rural areas of Somalia, new materials first had to be developed to suit the South Sudanese context. Following this, numerous hygiene and sanitation workshops were given throughout Eastern Equatoria State. Public health officers and hospital health workers were trained to develop hygiene messages and PHAST and CHAST trainings were conducted for teachers, the public health department of Greater Torit and Greater Kapoeta as well as NGO and CSO staff. PHAST training was also given to both LOVADI, the Bridge Project’s partner in Isoke, and community health promoters in Isoke; as yet, they went on to carry out over 72 hygiene and sanitation awareness sessions in the community, school and health facility in Isoke. Whereas, in the Bridge Project, PHAST is generally used to train communities and health workers, CHAST is provided to teachers who will pass on the training to school children.