Community-based water supply and sanitation projects : Baringo and Kisumu Districts, Kenya

This booklet highlights some of the elements of community-based water and sanitation projects in selected communities in Baringo and Kisumu Districts (Kenya) which have as their objectives to increase access to safe drinking water and waste disposal, to reduce the prevalence of water-borne diseases, and to reduce the drudgery of fetching water in rural areas. The first section , concept and methodology, describes the two districts, gives reasons for the high infant mortality rate, discusses the impact of training and community participation in projects, and concludes that health education is improving sanitation and disease control. Next, the booklet outlines the community leadership training programme which emphasizes leadership style, group organization, income generation, and planning and management. The section on community participation and social mobilization describes the process used in Kochogo/Kakola, Kisumu to involve the community, especially the women, in the management, operation and maintenance of a safe water point after a cholera outbreak and in health education to change beliefs and customs which contribute to the prevalence of diseases. In a section on women's involvement, the booklet describes how women are trained as "fundis" to maintain and repair pumps, to construct latrines, and to sell water, keep records and bank money. It points out that women's groups are using water supply and/or sanitation as an entry point to build their communities' organizational capacity, technical competence and self-confidence. The last part of the booklet describes the operation and management training used to empower communities to find solutions to problems and to sustain the particular water supply system in the community. The booklet concludes that health education must target women and children, and that women are agents of change in communities and can influence policy decisions.