A technician tightens the main valve on the rehabilitated water system
at Kasongo, Maniema
English
Tearfund staff member Deograce, in the final stages of rehabilitating the
Kasongo pump and engine
The main cistern at Kasongo, which had been empty for 25 long years before the water system was rehabilitated under the SWIFT programme
A meeting with representatives of Pangi village. SWIFT is working with Pangi to implement the Healthy Villages and Schools approach
One of the bridges being rehabilitated to enable Tearfund to get the materials it needs to construct wells and protect springs into Pangi
Pangi women wash clothes in the river, the community’s primary water point. Women currently walk two hours a day to collect water
Tearfund’s WASH coordinator in DRC Nathanael Hollands has been visiting communities with which the SWIFT Consortium is working. Here he describes the reaction of people in Maniema province to gaining access to safe, sustainable water for the first time in 25 years.
Among the sites I visited was Kasongo, a town that lies east of the Lualaba River. The town’s water system was built between 1954 and 1957 by the Belgians, and continued to function – more or less – until the mid-1980s. Despite attempts by the water utility company Regideso to keep it going, the system ceased functioning completely in 1990. Two INGOs have tried to rehabilitate it since then, but with little success; the cistern has been empty for 25 long years.
During my visit, I met with Regideso, which is partnering with us to deliver the SWIFT programme, and interviewed some of those we are hoping to help. Most people in the community with which we are working get their water from a source which is 5km from where they live. It takes them up to two hours to collect 20 litres, and while Regideso maintains a few tap stands near the source, the average queuing time is three hours.
“I didn’t know what this pipe was for”
When I arrived, the Tearfund team had been working for two weeks to rehabilitate the water system’s engine and pump. Before any piping or construction work could begin, we had to ensure that water could be pumped the 5km uphill to the cistern. After weeks of patching holes in the pipe, we finally succeeded. The community was very excited and couldn’t believe water was reaching them. One young man who lives near a derelict tap stand was amazed when he saw water come out of the pipe. “I have lived here my entire life, and I didn’t know what this pipe was for,” he said.
With this first test successful, we can now complete the design and procurement process for materials. The project is progressing well and we are confident that by the end of this year, the community with have their own functioning water system for the first time in a quarter of a century.
Inclusive, community-driven management
To ensure the new water system’s longevity, a Water-Supply and Sanitation Stakeholders’ Committee has been set up to ensure management of the system is inclusive and community-driven, and oversee the various aspects of sustainability.
The committee is formed of 11 members, elected from 25 candidates drawn from civil society, the city department, the territory administration, the Bureau Central des Zones de Santé (BCZ), town sector leaders and representatives of local women’s groups. The role of each stakeholder was identified in a participatory manner, and a constitution drawn up to guide the group.
There is good co-operation between the new committee and the water utility Regideso, which is responsible for managing the water system and collecting fees. This stems from the establishment of clear terms of engagement between the two, and the training of Regideso and ministry staff in the sustainability aspects of the project. On the committee’s initiative, monthly meetings have been scheduled to facilitate effective collaboration and monitor progress.
Reaching the most remote communities
From Kasongo, I went on to the remote centre of Pangi with which we are working to implement the Healthy Villages and Schools approach, a step-by-step process of village mobilisation. SWIFT partners help villages to set up managing committees and train ‘community motivators’ in hygiene awareness. They support villages to upgrade their toilets, dig rubbish pits, and promote hand-washing, with the aim of reaching ‘healthy village’ status within a year.
Through the Healthy Villages process and the development of Water Safety Plans, communities identify the need to contribute user fees for the water points if they are to be sustainable. Users themselves agree the tariff levels, in conjunction with local water authorities, based on predicted costs. Water User Committees are established to collect fees and manage the maintenance of water systems, and these groups are followed up with on a regular basis.
Earlier this year, when we delivered our latrine-digging tools, the kits had to be carried by hand a distance of 70km, because the road wasn’t passable by vehicle. It has since been cleared, and we can now get materials to within 32km of the communities, travelling the rest of the distance by foot or motorcycle.
Rebuilding bridges
We recently found a transport supplier with a small tractor who has agreed to take to Pangi centre the materials we need to construct five wells and protect 10 springs. However, before he can do so, we need to rebuild three bridges. Since this wasn’t part of the plan, we have mobilised the community and they have agreed to provide the trees necessary to do the repairs. We’ve already started work, and hope to begin delivering the materials before the end of September.
Through talking to local people and community leaders, I learned that ours is the first water, sanitation and hygiene project to be implemented in the Pangi area. Since the water systems built by the Belgians in the colonial era fell into disrepair, women have been walking two hours a day to collect 20 litres of water, which must keep their families going for a day, including drinking, washing and cooking. Under the SWIFT programme, we aim to bring water to the heart of the community for the first time in a generation; what’s more, we intend to ensure that it will last.
