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.
