NDA, Ghana

Song - Community Initiated Water and Sanitation Improvement Project

 

From February to August 2011, NDA ran the Community Initiated Water and Sanitation Improvement Project in the Song Community in the Kumbungu District.

 

Traditional water sources in the area involve local streams, hand dug wells and collecting rain water. However, these sources are not safe, sustainable, nor reliable. In particular, during the dry season they dry up and people had to travel as far as six kilometers to obtain water. This had far reaching consequences in the community, with children missing school and women unable to undertake income generating activities due to the amount of time spent fetching water.

Consequently, with the partnership of AusAID, NDA carried out a water and sanitation project in the area. The project aimed to provide the community with facilities providing a reliable source of potable water and ensuring the community were able to maintain and manage these facilities.

 

First a baseline survey was carried out to work out the total population of the community, as there had been no previous population survey in the area before.

 

Subsequently, the Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) committee was set up and trained, with responsible members of the community being chosen. The purpose of the committee is to educate the community about proper usage of the facilities, as well as general hygiene practices. Furthermore, the committee is responsible for raising the funds needed to maintain these facilities on a yearly basis.

 

Finally, with input from the community about where the facilities should be situated, two boreholes and twenty five latrines were constructed. After the WATSAN committee had been fully trained in how to use and maintain the facilities, they were handed over to the district assembly.