In
its successful advocacy for the provision and access to clean safe water and good sanitation in Katakwi district, Community Integrated Development Initiative
(CIDI) used Community advocacy structures as key avenues to reach out, empower
and or engage the community. Community advocacy structures are community forums set
within target communities. They are composed of community residents who
understand the environment they live and operate in better. This is a big
advantage because members easily identify likely and unlikely allies at the
sub-county and district levels. Through set advocacy structures, it is easy to
identify who is likely to support advocacy prioritized issues and which
decision maker requires more time to be influenced positively. The advocacy
structures provide collective participation of members to move and maximize
their energies in the right direction.
In
Ngariam Sub County, community advocacy structures provided the community with a
platform for discussion, presentation and alternative sharing. The community
found this mechanism handy because it easily brought them together for a common
cause- sanitation and hygiene.
Through these advocacy set structures, communities learnt about their
rights and responsibilities to access to clean safe water and good sanitation, how to demand
for accountability and improved services from their leaders, for example; in Okuwe
village, Kaikamosing parish, the community tasked TEDDO one of the WASH service
providers in the district to address the severe water crisis in their area. In
response to their request, a bore hole was drilled. And today a total of 470 people now have
access to safe and clean water at this water point.
Through
this initiative, Ngariam whose sanitation situation was very deplorable now boasts of
improved hygiene and sanitation standard.
Several facilities have been erected/renovated since CIDI’s
intervention.
Overview of the
Hygiene and Sanitation Situation of Okuwe Village, Ngariam Sub County
Total
population
|
No. HHs
|
No of pit
latrines
|
Bath
shelters, drying racks& refuse pits
|
Village
hygiene &sanitation percentage
|
No of
functional boreholes
|
470
|
97
|
96
|
97
|
82%
|
02
|
“We are
grateful for the support that has brought this change in our village, the place is now
comfortable to live in”, remarked some of the women in Okuwe village.
According to
Katakwi district health Assistant’s report of December 2013, Ngariam sub
–county has a total of 29 villages and has registered an improvement in WASH
coverage. (Sanitation coverage is at 80%, water coverage is at
60%).
Precisely community advocacy structures have helped the
community to hold discussions that enable them to jointly address prioritized
issues in a responsible manner, and, this in several ways mounts pressure on
duty bearers to move into action. The advocacy structures have further allowed
for collective participation of members to move and maximize their energies in
the right direction and realize results.
CIDI has been able to cause this positive change through it’s
Independent Development Fund (IDF) funded project titled “Promoting
citizens recognition on right to safe water and good sanitation in Katakwi
District”
