Ensuring WASH Program Sustainability Through Water Point Committees
Remember the gift of water our WASH program gave to Chika village some weeks ago? We are excited to have trained the Chika Water Point Committee (WPC) as a way of ensuring sustainability. Read our latest blog to learn more about WPCs and the role they play.
Ensuring WASH Program sustainability through Water Point Committees
In Malawi, about 20% of the population does not have basic water supply services. Even those who do have access to water must walk long distances to fetch it and carry it home. Most often this responsibility falls onto women and girls. Others are left with no better option and must resort to drinking water from unprotected sources which puts them at risk of life threatening waterborne diseases such as cholera. This is why our Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) program drills boreholes in rural communities to make sure that people have access to water and that they have clean and safe drinking water.
In all our programs, we strive for sustainability of the programs we implement. We believe that if the communities can sustain things that have been given to them, it can serve many other generations to come and it can also help in minimizing resource mismanagement. Electing Water Point Committees (WPCs) is one way we ensure this sustainability.
What are water point committees?
These are committees that are elected by the community as leaders responsible for taking care of boreholes and its maintenance. The committee has 10 members: 4 men and 6 women. In the Malawi cultural setting, the responsibility of managing water, starting from drawing to household use, falls in the hands of women. Thus, if they are the majority, they have high voting power in the WPCs when it comes to promoting their views and concerns. Learn more about community based water management here.
What are the roles of water point committees?
After Orant has drilled a borehole, the community is left with a responsibility to maintain it by conducting quarterly servicing, which includes changing of some small spare parts. To ensure total community participation, community members must make small contributions for this. It is the WPC’s responsibility to mobilize community members to contribute funds for the maintenance and they also have the responsibility to manage the funds.
The WPCs are also trained to conduct preventive maintenance of water points with the help of area mechanics.
WPCs play a role promoting sanitation and hygiene at the borehole and in their community. They are also responsible for resolving minor water related conflicts at the borehole.
Why are water point committees important?
WPCs are an important structure in ensuring sustainability of the boreholes as they conduct management maintenance services of the boreholes.
“WPCs are also a link between the water users and other water related stakeholders such as NGOs, area mechanics and government extension workers,” says Mayamiko Mwenda, WASH Program Manager.
Want to give a gift of water to a rural community in Malawi? Contact our Lead Development Officer, Erin Hearn.
