Peer Review

Summary

Improve the standard of living of the informal settlements by providing access to adequate clean water and promoting health through WASH techniques.

Background

Bodaboda Initiatives has already water systems in place. In the areas that we operate in we have formed water committees who oversee the distribution of water from our water kiosks. They are also responsible for organizing water purification by training women groups on hygienic practices.
We have over 10 water kiosks which are controlled by our members and we sell water to our members and non members at subsidized prices.
We collected money from our members as well as other well-wishers to construct 10 water kiosks from which our members gain income. Last year the Global Fund for Women granted us US$ 4,500 to hold a workshop that took place for 3 days from 8th to 10th Nov 2006.The workshop’s goal was to bring researchers and practitioners together to exchange knowledge and decide future actions and collaborations to spread access to solar cooking, water purification and related solar food processing applications. The workshop’s purpose was to reduce the health and environmental hazards related to traditional open fire cooking and growing fuel shortages affecting one-sixth of humanity. They were also able to evaluate the requirements, technology, costs and benefits of solar cooking technologies. The women were shown how to make various types of cookers over the three day workshop. During the seminar women had a chance to learn on human rights and HIV/AIDS.
What we plan to do
• Lobby and advocate for water and sanitation to influence budgets (e.g. national and local (LATF, CDF)
• Participate in decision making and promote gender integration
• Adopt appropriate technologies – e.g.rain water harvesting, recycling of water and sanitation (waste management)
Bodaboda Initiatives sees an opportunity to create a shift in water resources management. The global environmental crisis, growing poverty in urban and rural areas, and continued gender inequalities all point to the need for a different governance approach to water use and management.
We wish to advocate for cohesion among the different institutions, policy, and regulatory frameworks and deliberate measures that take account of environmental sustainability and an intersectional analysis. Gender in this context is not a sufficient point of analysis without also considering intersecting identities of race, class, caste, ethnicity, age, ability, and geographical location.
Bodaboda Initiatives feel that the following water issues need to be addressed and we are advocating for their implementation in the national policy:
• Water should be treated as an economic, social, and environmental good.
o Freshwater is valuable and limited. Water supply services and infrastructure are economic activities, while at the same time, access to basic water supply is a fundamental human right. Water use for sanitation and domestic purposes, which tends to be the responsibility of women, should be incorporated into the assessments of economic values of the use of water. Women often have no rights to land and water, and development efforts may negatively affect their livelihoods.
o While it is desirable for water supply to be paid for, it is also important to take into account people’s ability to pay. Women’s interests and gender relations are often overlooked. If charges for domestic water supply have to be paid, both men and women should be involved in determining the rates. Even though women often do not have control over cash, they are still expected to pay for water and sanitation, more than men, because they are the main users and it is considered their responsibility A gender and social equity analysis of demands is required.
o Access to basic amounts of water supply as a social good and human right needs to be included in policies and planning. Increased charges for water should not apply to meeting basic human needs and should not reduce water minimum consumption for cooking and hygiene.
• Water policies should focus on the management of water and not just on the provision of water.
o Governments and local stakeholders should be key actors in water management.
o The private sector can play a role in providing water supply services for greater efficiency. National governments need to retain responsibility for oversight of water quality and for regulating and monitoring private providers. The government is also responsible for ensuring that the water supply needs of the whole population are met. Companies solely interested in making a profit will not be concerned about low-income households, domestic water users and those who use water sources and water catchments for their basic necessities of life. Women are heavily represented in these categories.
o With increased privatisation, capacity building of local communities becomes more important, and it should be ensured that women and men benefit equally from capacity building initiatives.
• Governments should facilitate and enable the sustainable development of water resources through the provision of integrated water resources policies and regulatory frameworks.
o Holistic water management is needed because actions taken in one water sector have an impact on water availability, quantity and quality in another. Such impact is different for men and women, between and even within households, and according to sex, age and status.
o At higher levels coordination within countries and ministries is necessary, including coordination at sub-national levels, and women’s interests and rights need to be taken into account.
• Water resources should be managed at the lowest appropriate level.
o Participation by all stakeholders leads to better water management. Because of women’s traditional roles in water resources management, they have knowledge which should be included in planning and practice.
o The lowest level is most important to ensure that decisions are supported by those who implement water projects on the ground. These are often women. Female-headed households tend to have less bargaining power in communities than male-headed households. A specific effort to include them is needed.
• Both women and men should be recognised as central to the provision, management and safeguarding of water.
o Campaigns to reduce water wastage should target men and women and especially industries and institutions that waste water.
o Women’s skills and knowledge are crucial for the effective and efficient management of water.
More attention is needed to control pollution and to improve water quality and sanitation for the benefit of women who collect domestic water and to improve health

Location

Kenya,
Thika Town,
Kenya

Attachments

kiandutu...

Images_f...

Bodaboda...

Focus

People Getting Safe Drinking Water:
12,000

Bodaboda Initiatives have 40 women leaders each with a cell of 20 other members under their charge thus the there will be 800 women on the frontline. Each family has an average of 5 dependents thus making a total of 4000 people. The water will be sold on a subsidized price to our members but other residents who are not part of our network will be charged a bit higher (We will liaise with the water committees on charges).We project that approximately 12000 people will be directly involved in the water provision.4000 water vendors will be selling clean water from our water points for sale to residents who will be far away from the water points. Ultimately we intend to serve all the 85000 people living in the 7 informal settlements of Thika Municipality.

School Children Getting Water:
0

People Getting Sanitation:
0

The same number of people getting water from our 70 water points will enjoy sanitation benefits.

People Getting Other Benefits:
500

For the 70 water points we expect to employ 70 masons.70 plumbers,140 casual labourers.30 women providing food,15 transporters,8 resource persons and 1 logistics officer.Ther will be other service providers providing telephone services,emails,stationeries and other materials,hotel workers,cleaners etc

Application Type: Project Funding

Start Date: 2009-12-01

Completion Date: 2010-12-01

Technology Used:

For the purposes of this grant we intend to attain short term objectives by improving the standard of living of the informal settlement by providing access to adequate clean water. Although we are open to doing this through utilizing the Raincatcher techniques, our project areas face special problems unlike our rural counterparts and this might not work.
This is because informal settlements are basically located on land they do not own. Being squatters they are liable to be relocated at a moments notice. Therefore provision of ferro concrete tanks was ruled out and in its place, plastic tanks were appropriate because of mobility in case of rapid relocation. We also noted that water collected from the roofs is still dirty because wind borne dust from the ground is blown to the rooftops and subsequently to the tanks thus necessitating water purification again, however the water collected could be used for washing leaving the piped water to be used for drinking and cooking.
There are possibilities of reviving several water points that were formerly installed by the government but forsaken when vandalism was encountered. The water points were vandalized because the community had no feelings of ownership. However this is a long term objective because government projects take time and a lot of bureaucracy is involved.
The viable and time tested immediate option is to provide water kiosks/stands in various locations to be run by our members. We will use the grant to pay for water connection charges, meter, plastic pipes, water stand and plastic water tanks etc. The members will dig the trenches as well as connect the pipes thus saving labour costs as well as making community participation a reality thus forging ownership of the project.
Bodaboda Initiatives requires US $ 45,820 to connect 10 water points for each of the 7 settlements (making a total of 70 water connections) chosen by members. Our members will contribute US $11,455.00 (25% of total cost) through cash and kind. Thus we are requesting US$34365. This budget includes community mobilization where we will hold consultative meetings in each of the seven sites involving 10 community leaders per community. We will also capacity building sensitization workshops for 30 community leaders lasting 3 days.

Phases:

Our intention is to divide the project into two phases.Phase 1 lasting 6 months will deal with mobilization of the community as well as the actual water installations.Phase 2 lasting another 6 months will be capacity building and water and hygiene sensiti

Community Organization:

• We will hold a capacity building workshop lasting 3 days with 30 representatives from the 7 informal settlement. During the training sessions we will address the promotion of health through hygiene education, water and sanitation facilities, environmental, and waste management issues. We will also involve community leaders, government officers and conduct household surveys.
• We will initiate and train water committees and groups on leadership, communication and organisation skills, operation and maintenance of facilities, Records keeping, Management, Income generating activities, Health and sanitation, Sustainability issues i.e. gender issues, Environmental protection etc
• Physical implementation (Liaising with women groups in construction of 70 water kiosks, construction of toilets and other sanitation facilities)
• Documentation. The water committees will ensure that all funds collected from water kiosks are well documented on a daily basis and good book keeping practiced. The money collected will enable payment of bills to the Municipal Council as well as being used for IGAs.
• Networking with other organizations with same interests
• Monitoring, follow ups and evaluation

Government Interaction:

There are several water points which were initiated by the government but were abandoned later due to a cash crunch or bad government objectives.Bodaboda is willing to enter negotiations with the government to revive these water points which have some infrastructure in place already.
If we are given the go ahead by the government to reviving the several water points that were formerly installed but forsaken when vandalism was encountered we would hold a community meeting where all the stakeholders would be invited and pass over the ownership of the water points to the community who would not vandalize their own property.

Ancillary activities:

• To improve water quality through using Simple Solar Water Pasteurizers and boiling unclean water collected from pools using Solar Cookers.
• To strengthen community management and institutional capacity in order to run and manage installed facilities by holding 3 capacity building workshops lasting 2 days for every informal settlement. During the training sessions we will address the promotion of health through hygiene education, water and sanitation facilities, environmental, and waste management issues. We will also facilitate gender equity in project formulation, decision making and management facilities and services.
• To improve the cleanliness of the environment through organized garbage collection in the community.
• To empower the communities to save through the compulsory group savings from funds generated from the project.

Other Issues:

Bodaboda Initiatives Kenya is a community based organization (CBO) that was started in late 1999 as a self help group. We have already filed papers with our National NGO Bureau to upgrade our organisation to NGO status to be able to serve the women on a national basis.
The group was formed by women in the second largest informal settlement in located in Thika Municipality which encompasses 7 villages with a population of 85,000 people of which women form the greater number. HIV/AIDS and poverty are extreme with women living on less than US$1 a day.
Being an informal settlement the women and residents do not own the land they occupy hence they are squatters. However we do have stagnant ponds left over from excavated stone quarries where runoff water collects during the wet seasons. The women use the water from the stagnant ponds to wash their clothes as well as feed their animals. Some of the poorest women even use the water for cooking as they cannot afford to pay for water from vendors or water kiosks. The quarries are over 6 kms away.
The municipality provides water through pipes to households but as we pointed out earlier they cannot provide water to informal settlements which have no ownership documents. Those who have piped water pay approximately US$100 per month. In some regions near the main water pipes organisations are allowed by the Municipal Council to construct water kiosks on designated road reserves. Our organisation has in place a number of water kiosks which belong to our members. In other areas water is delivered in 20 litre containers to households. The quality of the water is poor as it is collected from unreliable sources. Water purchased from water kiosks is safe to drink but the majority of our women cannot access this. They collect water from the stagnant ponds and a nearby river which is heavily contaminated from sewage effluents and pesticides from flower farms upriver.
Most of the water has to be treated. A few members of the community can afford a water purifier purchased from chemists and supermarkets called Water Guard. A number of members in our organisation have been introduced in the use of Solar Cookers to boil their water but the majority of the women just use the water without any treatment which has led to several cases of waterborne diseases in the local hospital.
There are very few public or private toilets. Some have dug pit latrines less than 10 ft deep which fill very rapidly and are unsafe to use. Majority of the people use the famous ‘flying toilets’ where polythene papers are used and disposed outside the door. Raw sewage flows everywhere and ends up in the only river that women collect the water from. It also ends up in the stagnant quarry pools which are also a water source.
In the areas that we operate in we have formed water committees who oversee the distribution of water from our water kiosks. They are also responsible for organizing water purification by training women groups on hygienic practices.
We have also started addressing the problem of plastic waste management by collecting, sorting and recycling plastic waste thereby producing recycled products for reuse. The people involved are the waste collectors, street children, economically marginalized women from the slum areas and OVC’s (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) .Bodaboda Initiatives has been involved in waste collecting for some time. Initially this was solely for business purposes because we got our daily bread from the activity. From poverty alleviation we also realized that the environment was getting cleaner and thus was born the idea of adding plastic waste and the idea of recycling
Bodaboda Initiatives are heavily involved in the issue of water and environment sustainability and we face several problems in the informal settlements.
o Women want to address the disparities concerning their representation, and the decision-making process.
o Women place high values on the opportunity cost of the time spent in collecting water; and when access to water improves, more time can be devoted to income-generating activities such as agriculture and micro-enterprises. In densely populated slums waiting times at water kiosks of 1-2 hours
o A family of five would need 100 liters of water a day to meet its minimum needs; the weight of that water is 100 kg (220 pounds). In these circumstances, women and children may need to walk to the water source two or three times daily, with the first of these trips taking place before dawn.
o Carrying heavy loads over long periods of time causes cumulative damage to the spine, the neck muscles and the lower back, thus leading to the early ageing of the vertebral column.
o As in rural areas, most of the fetching and waiting in urban areas falls upon women and girl children. There is a straight trade-off between time spent in school and time spent collecting water, and this is much less true for boys than it is for girls The lack of reliable access to water and sanitation could therefore be a major contributor to continuing gender inequality in education and the opportunities that education can provide.
o Sources of surface as well as ground water are increasingly contaminated from human and animal waste, agricultural runoff, chemicals such as fluorine or arsenic, and industrial effluents.
o The most deadly health cost of waterborne diseases is the 1.8 million lives of children under five that diarrhea claims every year. In addition, the suffering caused by sickness and disability from waterborne, water-washed and water-related diseases, such as intestinal helminths, periodic episodes of cholera, blinding trachoma and schistosomiasis is amply documented in the public health and epidemiological literatures. But much less attention has been paid to the health risks that women face as water carriers.
o Globally, more than 50% of poor women suffer malnutrition and iron deficiency and30% or more of a woman’s daily energy intake is spent just in fetching water.
o The average person in the developing world uses 10 litres of water per day, the average North American uses more the 300 litres per day.
Our Key issues of concern
1. Water and sanitation are crucial for sustainable development
• poverty reduction- Lack of access to improved water and sanitation services is strongly correlated with poverty. E.g. Sanitation and hygiene are indicators of the poverty status in the Kenya.
• human development – education and productivity
• ecosystem management - water crucial for environmental sustainability
2. Water is a pre requisite for meeting all the other MDGs including MDG 3 on Gender Equality.
• Water is Life, Sanitation is Dignity
• The indispensable role of water is reflected in the twin aphorisms “water for life” and “water is life.”
• Everyone has a right to safe and clean water, to a dignified life
• Defined as the right to access, both physically and economically, a sufficient quantity and quality of water necessary to meet basic human needs
• Inspite of the wide recognition that gender integration is key for sustainability of water management, policies and programmes are still insensitive /unresponsive
• Women are absent in decision making
• Inappropriate technologies
• Water privatization,
• Poor water resources management
• Low appreciation for gender – low budgets
3. In concert with other organisations dealing with the marginalized women particularly from slum areas, we have come up with 'The Kenya Women Manifesto', with demands to encourage women's advancement and participation in leadership. It calls for affirmative action to be implemented, to increase the number of women at all levels of government. Currently in Kenya, out of the 222 members of parliament, only 18 are women. There are 30 cabinet ministers, only two of these are women. None of the eight heads of provinces are women. An Affirmative Action Bill is still pending, despite having been given the nod by parliament in 2000. At a meeting in Nairobi, leaders of women's groups and political parties said the manifesto would be used to convince citizens particularly women to vote for female candidates. With vernacular stations, it is about hearing the message, and so we will be able to reach more people more effectively. We use the more than ten radio stations that broadcast in local languages and these are a powerful tool for informing the country, which has a relatively high rate of illiteracy. Of the country’s 30 million people, eight million are illiterate 60% women. As efforts to have women voted for intensify, the issue of culture has been cited as a major challenge. Customs and traditions are discriminating against women, portraying them as inferior and creating the impression that only men can be leaders. We and other aspirant women politicians are trying to surmount this obstacle -- by enlisting the help of men. If men are involved in the campaign to let society know that women too can be leaders, negative attitudes towards women will be reduced.
4. The seven MDG goals relate to poverty and hunger, universal primary education, gender equality and empowerment of women, child mortality, maternal health, HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases and environmental sustainability. The UN defines environmental sustainability as "using natural resources wisely and protecting the ecosystems on which our survival depends.
Women in poor countries are often better at managing water resources and should play a bigger role in policy-making. Women are responsible for fetching the water. In practice community water and sanitation projects designed and run by women are more sustainable and effective than those that are not. Women have knowledge about water resources, including location, quality and storage. Women's organisations must pressure their governments to change water management structures, men must be sensitized to gender issues and governments held accountable for progress. Corruption in water management is another hot issue. Corruption is a huge problem and there has been very little work done on it. Women in poor countries are often better at managing water resources and should play a bigger role.
The crisis in water is the violation of the basic human right to water. Access to water is intrinsic to human development. The deficits in water and sanitation are trapping households in cycles of poverty. Few countries treat water as a political priority. The limited coverage of water utilities in slums means that the poorest tend to pay the most for water. The poor, women and children have least voice in asserting their claims to water. Many countries have made progress by legislating on the right to water, and communities have shown leadership in improving sanitary conditions.
Bodaboda Initiatives have 40 women leaders each with a cell of 20 other members under their charge thus the there will be 800 women on the frontline. Each family has an average of 5 dependents thus making a total of 4000 people. The water will be sold on a subsidized price to our members but other residents who are not part of our network will be charged a bit higher (We will liaise with the water committees on charges).We project that approximately 12,000 people will be directly involved in the water provision.4,000 water vendors will be selling clean water from our water points for sale to residents. Ultimately we intend to serve the 85,000 people living in the 7 informal settlements.
The following individuals are the key people involved in Bodaboda Initiatives activities and will directly participate in the project.
• Beatrice Wamuhu-Project Coordinator
• Lydiah Wambui- Organizing Secretary
• Johnson Warui- Logistics Manager
• Other Human Resource persons will be hired on demand
Being the main officials involved in the day to day running of Bodaboda Initiatives their duties include the following among others:
• Community Mobilisation (meeting women groups, meeting community leaders, holding seminars and workshops, household surveys)
• Training water committees and groups (leadership, communication and organisation skills, Operation and maintenance of facilities, Records keeping, Management, Income generating activities, Health and sanitation, Sustainability issues i.e. gender issues, Environmental protection)
• Physical implementation (Liaising with women groups in construction of water kiosks, construction of toilets and other sanitation facilities)
• Monitoring, follow ups and evaluation
• Documentation - The data is from:
Written documents - both internal and external. The local community has unwritten but useful information.
• Networking with other organizations with same interests
The project cannot succeed without active community participation. We will closely monitor the water project to check
• the monthly bills are paid on time to avoid disconnection,
• any pipe leakages are repaired
• no pipes or water tanks have been vandalized
• proper sales records of water are kept
• that water and sanitation hygiene is being practiced
• whether new members are willing to join us.
After the donor has withdrawn, we expect to expand over time by utilizing the funds we collect from water sales to continue increasing water points and ensure that water and sanitation hygiene is being practiced.
This being a community run organisation with the members seeing the fruits of their work monitoring and evaluation are ingrained in the project. We will evaluate our success by noting the following:
• No. of persons who have improved their standards of living in the informal settlement by accessing adequate clean water.
• No. of the water storage tanks installed.
• No. of water points installed from the municipal water mains for our member groups.
• No. of women who have improve water quality through using Simple Solar Water Pasteurizers and boiling unclean water collected from pools using Solar Cookers.
• No. of persons who have attained strengthened community management and institutional capability in order to run and manage installed facilities.
• No. of workshops conducted to promote health through hygiene education, water and sanitation facilities, environmental, and waste management issues.
• Increase of facilitation of gender equity in project formulation, decision making and management facilities and services.
• Improvement in the cleanliness of the environment through organized garbage collection in the community.
• No. of members of the communities empowered through group savings from funds generated from the project.

Maintenance Revenue:

The Municipal Council will take care of all maintenance on payment of monthly bill for water usage.

Maintenance Cost: $0

Metrics:

Prior art before metrics

Cost: $45,820

See atached detailed budget

Co Funding Amount: $0

Community Contribution
Amount: $12,463

It is expected that the community will provide US$ 12463 in form of labour,time and cash contribution.

Fund Requested: $33,357

Implementing Organization:

Attachments

Results from earlier project

Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network

We need to see results from the earlier project. This will help us assess this proposal.
In that report, it says complete, but the text is still phrased like a proposal and the 'narrative' talks about the forthcoming installation of one point.
I would like to see photos of the actual water p...

We need to see results from the earlier project. This will help us assess this proposal.

In that report, it says complete, but the text is still phrased like a proposal and the 'narrative' talks about the forthcoming installation of one point.

I would like to see photos of the actual water point, esp. before its construction and after and people using it and also interviews.

The photos attached to this application (inside the doc) are very tiny. Since you are very close to the area, it should be possible to upload good quality photos of your work.

Detailed clarification on proposal and budget submitted

Idriss Kamara of Safer Future Youth Development Project

Hello,
Thank you for the initiative to provide adequate clean water and promote health for deprived people. However there are few clarifications to be made in your proposal and budget:
1) Is the project targeted to benefit just the women at Boda Boda or the informal settlement as a whole?
2) In your project summary, you promised to provi...

Hello,

Thank you for the initiative to provide adequate clean water and promote health for deprived people. However there are few clarifications to be made in your proposal and budget:

1) Is the project targeted to benefit just the women at Boda Boda or the informal settlement as a whole?
2) In your project summary, you promised to provide access to adequate clean water & promote health. Why is it that the poorest in the settlement could not access the water because of high fees?
3) What is the total population and size of the settlement and how much litres will each kiosk supply per day?
4) Please explain how the charged fees are arranged and what are the collected funds for?
5) Can you please explain the actual source of water, since it is not clear whether it is from wells or tanks or already installed water pipe systems?
6) What are the conditions/criteria to become a member and why should there be fee-exceptions between members and other inhabitants of the settlement?

On the budget:
1) Please show us a detailed breakdown of the entire budget, avoiding bulk sums like materials, admin cost, labour etc.
2) What is the importance of the laptop to the present project? If it is necessary, can't it be funded through several projects?

Beatrice Wamuhu of Boda Boda Initiatives

Hi Idris,
Thank you for your request for clarification on some issues in our proposal.We have tried to answer each question specifically.If you would require any more information or clarification please do not hesitate to contact us.
1) Is the project targeted to benefit just the women at Boda Boda or the informal settlement as a whole?
...

Hi Idris,
Thank you for your request for clarification on some issues in our proposal.We have tried to answer each question specifically.If you would require any more information or clarification please do not hesitate to contact us.

1) Is the project targeted to benefit just the women at Boda Boda or the informal settlement as a whole?
The project is run by women groups of Boda Boda who benefit directly by accessing clean water as well as benefiting from funds collected from water sales. The project is also meant to cater for the other members of the informal settlements who will access piped clean water at low prices.

2) In your project summary, you promised to provide access to adequate clean water & promote health. Why is it that the poorest in the settlement could not access the water because of high fees?
The price of connecting one water tap from the Municipal water pipes is out of reach of most people from the informal settlements who live on less than US$1 a day. Once we connect the water taps, the people can afford to purchase the water.

3) What is the total population and size of the settlement and how much litres will each kiosk supply per day?
The total population of the seven informal settlements is 85,000 people living in an area of approx 10 acres. The population density is 8,500 per acre. There is enough water in the taps from the Municipal mains and each water kiosk is capable of supplying as much water as is needed per day.

4) Please explain how the charged fees are arranged and what are the collected funds for?
We will sell water to consumers at Ksh 2 for a 20 litre water container (1US$=Ksh.75).The funds collected will be used to pay the bill to the Municipal Council and the balance is held in an account where we lend it to women members who operate a merry go round kind of microfinance activity. We also plan to use the money to construct more water kiosks.

5) Can you please explain the actual source of water, since it is not clear whether it is from wells or tanks or already installed water pipe systems?
The water is connected from Municipal mains which are about 2km away from the settlements. It is treated and fit for human consumption.

6) What are the conditions/criteria to become a member and why should there be fee-exceptions between members and other inhabitants of the settlement?
All people who want to be members must form groups of 15 people who are registered with the Ministry of Gender and Cultural Affairs of Kenya. The groups operate a bank account where they contribute a monthly fee of KSH 100 which they use to lend among themselves in a merry go round process. They enjoy subsidized prices when it comes to purchase water from the water kiosks. Other members of the community who do not wish to form groups have to purchase water at higher rates.
On the budget:
1) Please show us a detailed breakdown of the entire budget, avoiding bulk sums like materials, admin cost, labour etc.
Will do.
2) What is the importance of the laptop to the present project? If it is necessary, can't it be funded through several projects?
If we got funded to connect 70 new water kiosks, we would be having a total of 82 water points in the settlement. Each water kiosk has 15 members, thus we have a database of 1,230 members. We intend to take weekly meter readings from each of the water kiosks as well as recording the monies collected. We also need to record the member’s contributions as well as loan repayments from their other activities. Thus we feel that a laptop at this moment would be a worthy investment.

Sanitation and numbers

Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network

Hello,
It appears that you are not providing sanitation facitlies. Only some education. Please adjust the number (make it zero) so that we do not feel that this project will provide sanitation facilities for 12,000 people.
Also for your earlier project, the number should be zero.
Also, i maybe confused by your ultimate goal and the goal...

Hello,

It appears that you are not providing sanitation facitlies. Only some education. Please adjust the number (make it zero) so that we do not feel that this project will provide sanitation facilities for 12,000 people.

Also for your earlier project, the number should be zero.

Also, i maybe confused by your ultimate goal and the goals for this project. It seems 70 water points will be used 4,000 water vendors (~600 vendors per oint) to serve water to 12,000 people (3 people per vendor). This does not make sense to me.

Thank you for your clarifications in advance.

Beatrice Wamuhu of Boda Boda Initiatives

Former and Existing Water Kiosks

Gemma Bulos of Global Women's Water Initiative

Greetings Boda Boda!
If you will remember I visited the slum in Thika with you and we saw a few of the broken down water points. You say there are now 10 functioning water kiosks? How have they been received by the surrounding community? You mentioned that now that people own the water points and not the government people won't vandali...

Greetings Boda Boda!
If you will remember I visited the slum in Thika with you and we saw a few of the broken down water points. You say there are now 10 functioning water kiosks? How have they been received by the surrounding community? You mentioned that now that people own the water points and not the government people won't vandalize them, is there such a tendency to not take care of services and installations provided by the government?
The scope of this project is quite large, with 70 water points as the ultimate goal, what have been your monitoring and evaluation efforts thus far to consider how the ones already in place are being received, working properly, meet the demand of the community, etc.?

Beatrice Wamuhu of Boda Boda Initiatives

Hi Mariah,
We got your email on AWWC and we have got the figures you want.
Like we have explained to Rajesh electricity is being rationed in Kenya and communication breakdown are frequent. It would not be possible to have an uninterrupted conversation without loss of network and cessation of mobile access. What we can assure you is that ...

Hi Mariah,
We got your email on AWWC and we have got the figures you want.
Like we have explained to Rajesh electricity is being rationed in Kenya and communication breakdown are frequent. It would not be possible to have an uninterrupted conversation without loss of network and cessation of mobile access. What we can assure you is that we will give you the results when power is restored. We will inform you when power is restored completely although that will depend on the long rains expected later in the year to replenish our water reservoirs for generation of electricity.
We have 12 functioning water kiosks. We added 2 from the grant that we received from AWWC. It was launched in a ceremony that was attended by various dignitaries from the Municipal Council of Thika, Water Ministry and the local administration. The national press was there to cover us as well as the local vernacular radio stations. (See newspaper cutting) It is a pity that we are unable to upload the photos because the folder containing them is not opening. The photos were in digital form and we had no hard copies. We learnt a lesson that we should invest in a camera soon but it is not a priority here on the ground except for records.
The surrounding community has taken the project to heart. They own the water points and they contributed in cash and kind. The water points are located in homesteads where security is guaranteed. Government property is considered public property but our water project is considered ‘public private ‘ and not to be tampered with.
You remember the vandalized public water kiosks that you and Gemma saw? During the recent launch, the community unanimously requested that we repair them and promised to take care of them!! The administration gave a tentative nod but we need a letter from them first before we act. Furthermore there will always be other people who will claim that we found them there and we did not initiate their installation but we are working on it.
We assure you that the water points are working properly and guarded like gold. We do monitor them on a weekly basis to read the meter and like we said the Municipal Council will repair the water point as long as the water bill is paid. By the way each water group pays for their water usage and the bill is in their name not Bodaboda. Our work is to install, check meter readings per week and ensure that the treasurer has paid the monthly bill is paid.

sanitation education and promotion

Pat Klever of Lifewater International

Greetings,
Can you please provide more details about the sanitation program. Specifically something that you have learned from previous projects about your strategy to reduce the flying toilets. Have you considered using some of the income generated from the water sales to invest in communcal toilets that can be accessed for a few shill...

Greetings,

Can you please provide more details about the sanitation program. Specifically something that you have learned from previous projects about your strategy to reduce the flying toilets. Have you considered using some of the income generated from the water sales to invest in communcal toilets that can be accessed for a few shillings?

Also, do you have any promotion campaign in place to emphasize the benefits of good hygiene, such as hand washing and safe water storage, as well as sanitation. latrine use and safe disposal of feces. Combined, safe drinking water, proper sanitation and hygiene education really is like money in the bank. How does promotion fit into your education plan.

What is your plan to monitor improvements in the member households to determine health changes due to safe water?

My concern is you are taking too big of a step with 70 projects. Its one thing to manage a few, another to try so many. I think small steps of 10-15 at a time will be safer for your organization as you move from a CBO to an NGO. The reporting requirements with the government and amount of administrative work will be a lot to learn at first.

I love seeing motivated women take on these projects to help thier fmailies. The solid waste program is innovative and others could learn from you on that. Way to go!

Patricia Klever

Lifewater International
please repsond to: pklever@lifewater.org

Beatrice Wamuhu of Boda Boda Initiatives

Hi
In our project area our organization alongside others have embarked on WASH issues and the community have really adopted the lessons. Most of the communities have dug a pit latrine and use hem regularly. The AWWC team was there and they found extremely clean places and extremely dirty places.
The Municipal Council of Thika has extend...

Hi
In our project area our organization alongside others have embarked on WASH issues and the community have really adopted the lessons. Most of the communities have dug a pit latrine and use hem regularly. The AWWC team was there and they found extremely clean places and extremely dirty places.
The Municipal Council of Thika has extended the sewerage system of the closed Castle Brewing Company to pass through the main slum area. Our next project will be to construct toilet facilities near our water points which will be connected to the sewer but first we will make water accessible e believe that although we have not talked about providing sanitation, the fact that we have provided clean water we consider tha t as a contributor towards good sanitation hygiene.
We have been on the ground from 1999 and do not believe that we cannot handle not 70 but 82 water points. If you check the answer I have provided Rajesh you will find that a group of 15 will mange each water point. We trust these groups to look after their water point which is mere water tap with a meter.
We have already applied for change of particulars from CBO to NGO status but we are not very anxious for that change. We have found that the more scrutiny you receive from government when you are a CBO, the more you work openly whereas NGOs are not scrutinized and they have a field day such that nowadays NGO means Nothing Going On.

supporting Vulnerable groups

Iskaka Msigwa of Tanzania Mission to the Poor and Disabled (PADI)

Hi Beatrice, what is your future plan on supporting Vulnerable groups through your project ( older people ,disabled etc.). Do you plan also to give them clean water at subsidised price or free support.
Msigwa.

Hi Beatrice, what is your future plan on supporting Vulnerable groups through your project ( older people ,disabled etc.). Do you plan also to give them clean water at subsidised price or free support.
Msigwa.

Beatrice Wamuhu of Boda Boda Initiatives

Hi Msigwa,
Thank you for your pertinent question on vulnerable people.It has been our policy to give these people one free 20 litre jerrican of water per day.Any other water is paid for at subsidized rates.

Hi Msigwa,
Thank you for your pertinent question on vulnerable people.It has been our policy to give these people one free 20 litre jerrican of water per day.Any other water is paid for at subsidized rates.

Kenya water government dept corrupt

Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network

Depending on the municipality to supply and maintain the water point - how good a strategy is it?
The internet is filled with stories about the corruption in the water boards: one cannot even complain about a water bill.
Here is a new report from Transparency International:
KENYA: Nairobi water board sent packing following reports on ma...

Depending on the municipality to supply and maintain the water point - how good a strategy is it?

The internet is filled with stories about the corruption in the water boards: one cannot even complain about a water bill.

Here is a new report from Transparency International:

KENYA: Nairobi water board sent packing following reports on malpractices

The entire board of the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company was sent packing over alleged mismanagement on 8 July 2009. A full council meeting of the City Council of Nairobi made the move citing unfair water rationing and
illegal connections that have seen millions of cubic litres of water lost even with the rains failing substantially.

The sacking of the board followed after Transparency International Kenya
(TI-K) in partnership with Maji na Ufanisi a non governmental organization,
released a report [1] at the end of June 2009 aimed at improving good
governance in the Kenya water and sanitation sector. Their study established that 57% of water consumed for domestic purposes was unaccounted for and that cases of bribery for illegal connections were higher in Nairobi at 87%, Mombasa 75% and Kisumu 67%. Other malpractices include tampering with meter readings and diversion of water from domestic users to industries.

The TI-K report was based on a study conducted between March and May 2009 in Nairobi, Mombasa, Mwingi, Kitui and Budalangi using a sample size of 2722 small-scale water users and 119 large-scale water users. Speaking
during the release of the report findings TI-K Director Job Ogonda said that poor management and corruption within the water sector has lead to malpractices and therefore experiencing a big loss in revenue collection. Water Permanent Secretary David Stower welcomed the TI-K report saying that it would help the ministry in the ongoing reforms in the water sector.

Beatrice Wamuhu of Boda Boda Initiatives

We do not really know what we are supposed to do when you depend on stories from the internet as your backup instead of depending on reality from the people on the ground that is us,.
The reports sent out by organisations purporting to be genuine accounts are always politically motivared.The board that was being dissolved was being replac...

We do not really know what we are supposed to do when you depend on stories from the internet as your backup instead of depending on reality from the people on the ground that is us,.
The reports sent out by organisations purporting to be genuine accounts are always politically motivared.The board that was being dissolved was being replaced by another board that was sponsored by another political party and was meant to allow their team to come in.
In any case we fall under a different organisation which regularly supplies water to us faithfully and repairs and maintains our water system adequately.
Water is there and even if we do not receive funding from BPR,we will continue plodding along slowly and hopefully by next year we will add another 5 to 10 water points for our women.
We have noted that if you are the first to finish reviewing other organisations they wait to see the ratings you give them and the questions you ask to review your application.Perhaps next time you will not let me review an organisation that will review me because i will not be critical.
Getting a rating of 1 from BPR has shattered our dreams of making it in the Peer Water Exchange.

Rajesh Shah of Peer Water Exchange

We see reports from reputed organizations such as Transparency International as well as information from you.
We see you also thru the internet only - we were unable to connect when i visited Kenya. So its your reports and results that we depend on.
As your reports grow stronger, we will learn how you work. As you incrementally grow your...

We see reports from reputed organizations such as Transparency International as well as information from you.

We see you also thru the internet only - we were unable to connect when i visited Kenya. So its your reports and results that we depend on.

As your reports grow stronger, we will learn how you work. As you incrementally grow your work, we will learn how you can grow. With only the information on PWX (the internet) we don't see how you can go from the one report today to 70.

After showcasing your results more clearly and having reports on the project from visitors, you are welcome to apply for funding again.

Rajesh Shah of Peer Water Exchange

We see reports from reputed organizations such as Transparency International as well as information from you.
We see you also thru the internet only - we were unable to connect when i visited Kenya. So its your reports and results that we depend on.
As your reports grow stronger, we will learn how you work. As you incrementally grow your...

We see reports from reputed organizations such as Transparency International as well as information from you.

We see you also thru the internet only - we were unable to connect when i visited Kenya. So its your reports and results that we depend on.

As your reports grow stronger, we will learn how you work. As you incrementally grow your work, we will learn how you can grow. With only the information on PWX (the internet) we don't see how you can go from the one report today to 70.

After showcasing your results more clearly and having reports on the project from visitors, you are welcome to apply for funding again.

Rating: 5

review by (only shown to members)

From the entirety of the project you can find lots of inconsistencies and secondly sustainability of the project seems very doubtful because the council is part of the government that was not able to maintain the few already installed points. So, handing over to them the maintenance of the water points because they receive payment that they used to receive before is questionable

Rating: 7

review by (only shown to members)

I have been to the Thika community that Boda Boda is working with and have seen the involvement of the organization and the women's groups there and this project is identifying a critical need of the people there. The scope is large and I would like to see more information on the monitoring and success of the existing water points and what Boda Boda has learned already and how that will affect how they will proceed with this large scale implementation. But, they know how to work in their community and this project will definitely continue to have a positive and effective impact.

Rating: 8

review by (only shown to members)

The project is well focused in supporting specified group and shows elemnt of sustainability.

Rating: 6

review by (only shown to members)

1. The 70-tank project seems too large for the organization's current capacity based on thier expereince to date.
The project proposed would require exceptional and rapid growth of the organization. From Boda Boda's expereince, the administrative issues of growth, including community liaison, technical and financial reporting could be the limiting factor to the project's success.

2. Although water is an extreme need, the hygiene and sanitation programs need further development and detail. Significant improvements in health will only be made when deliberate program activity aims towards hygiene and sanitation. An increase in hygiene and saniation education and promotion will help prevent water born diseases and diarrhea. Construction of demonstration latrines using local materials could encourage people to build.

3. Recommendation: Scale back the number of water tanks/kiosks, and increase the effort and budget for hygiene and saniation education and promotion. Include some demontration latrines or try a communal latrine with a group that is functioning at a high level as a pilot project.

Thank you for your pioneering efforts to build community through water, sanitation and hygiene.

Pat Klever
Lifewater International

Rating: 1

review by (only shown to members)

I really need to see much more to assume that this project can succeed.

The reporting of the past project leaves much to be desired, it talks about future implementation and does not show work done. Also it was scaled down from 2 water points to 1.

I cannot assume that the organization can grow their success to 70 points.

Would have been much more positive and supportive if the proposal was a modest one, fewer water points, well within the ability of the organization to handle while paving the way for growth.

Finally, the shift in the poliical situation may change the shape of this project.