posted on 2018-02-12, 15:09authored byYimenu Adane
Rural Water Supply and Environmental Programme RWSEP has been operational in Amhara Region for
the last 14 years since 1994. Phase four has been started in July 2007, with the purpose of
institutionalized capacity building at all levels to implement and maintain sustainable community
managed water supply with Community Development Fund CDF funding, and sanitation facilities and
hygiene promotion activities. The programme is working in 14 Woredas/districts and benefiting
2,454,016 people. Training, development and distribution of Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene
WASH promotional materials is part of capacity building practiced by the programme to implement
hygiene and sanitation activities at household level. Training is primarily given to Woreda and Zonal
focal persons represented from all WASH sectors and cascaded to the community. Each trained
community sanitation promoter constructs his/her own household latrine and these are referred as model
households in that Kebele. After constructing his/her own latrine each community sanitation promoter
has a responsibility to make change in 50 households in his/her respective “Gottes”/subKebeles.
As a
result of this, in some programme Kebeles Open Defecation Free Environment ODF has been launched;
Ankasha Woreda of Awi Zone which has launched ODF in 27 Kebeles out of 30 rural Kebeles and Farta
Woreda of South Gonder Zone which has also launched in 4 rural kebeles are examples of program
Woredas,. Moreover almost all programme Woredas have shown tremendous change in hygiene and
sanitation performance. Through all these efforts put in place throughout the life of the RWSEP, it is
anticipated that the beneficiary communities have gained the necessary knowledge which enables them to
bring change in their cultural habits, behaviors, attitudes and practices which, in turn, would help them
to have better and healthy lives. Therefore if we can empower and work with community, there is a great
possibility to have ODF at Kebele, Woreda, Zonal and Regional level.
History
School
Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Research Unit
Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC)
Published in
WEDC Conference
Citation
ADANE, Y., 2009. Is there possibility to have an open defecation free environment? Experience of RWSEP on WASH in rural settings of Amhara region. IN: Shaw, R.J. (ed). Water, sanitation and hygiene - Sustainable development and multisectoral approaches: Proceedings of the 34th WEDC International Conference, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 18-22 May 2009, 4p.p.
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