Project Name: Community-Managed Water Supply and Sanitation Project – Phase Two (CMWSP)

Donor: NGO Forum for Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation

Total Budget: Tk 918,000

Staff: Three (male two, female one)

Duration: July 2009 to June 2013

Working Area: 52 villages in Panchari Sadar Union of Panchari Upazilla

Participants : 15,130 (male 8547, female 6583)
CMWSP works with communities which have limited access to basic water and sanitation facilities. In the past, they have been dependent on collecting drinking water from lakes and streams, with serious implications for their health.

Project Purpose:
‘To reduce the incidence of waterborne diseases, contributing to an improvement in public health conditions of the rural poor in the Chittagong Hill Tracts’

Project Summary: In each of the 52 villages in which we work, we have mobilised communities to form ‘Village Development Working Groups’ (VDWG), responsible for identifying community water and sanitation needs, carrying out awareness-raising activities, and installing new water and sanitation facilities.

In the first year of the project, TUS supported 150 meetings, with almost 1500 participants overall. Men, women and children sit together and assess their situations, identifying areas to change their behaviour, increase their access to water and sanitation facilities, and improve their health. TUS also organises regular ‘Allies Meetings’ in each ward, bringing together community groups and NGO and government representatives, helping to build a joint approach in tackling the problems of unsafe water and sanitation.

TUS recognises that discussing issues of sanitation and hygiene can be difficult. To help people feel comfortable talking about what can be personal issues, TUS organises separate awareness-raising sessions for men, women, children and local elites. In the first year of the project, TUS organised 45 separate meetings with women and men, with almost 1500 participants discussing small changes to sanitation and hygiene practices, such as hand-washing, which have big impacts on people’s health. In this time, TUS also organised 32 awareness-raising programmes in schools, using active and creative methods such as popular theatre, songs and dances, to promote good hygiene practices amongst students and teachers.

In addition, TUS organises community-wide awareness programmes to promote good hygiene practices. These include rallies and (16 events in the first year of the project) and cultural programmes (28 events in the first year of the project), using a range of methods, including ‘miking’, drama, song and dance.

TUS also recognises that, in order to improved people’s health, awareness-raising activities must be combined with the installation of safe water and sanitation facilities, using technologies based on community needs. To date, it has installed six tube-wells, five deep-set pumps, and two ring-wells in nine villages, allowing about 520 people to easily access clean drinking water. TUS has also supported the installation of 15 latrines, helping communities to improve their hygiene, and their health.

Reference Contact Details:

S. M. A. Rashid
Executive Director
NGO Forum for Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation
4/6, Block-E, Lalmatia
Dhaka-1207
Telephone: +88-02-8154273-4, +88-02-8128258-9