Water- and sanitationproject Mweteni-village

Tanzania

Tegemeo Women Group

Presentation Zaragoza Conference

Eliza Mngale

16 January 2015

Mweteni-village is a village in the Pare-

mountains, nearby the Kilimanjaro and consists of four

subvillages: Kwamshitu,

Mturo, Mtambe,

Kwanatema.

Tegemeo-women:

originally 7 women, nowadays 25 women

2005: Tegemeo starts a water- and sanitationproject. The project helps women and children to reduce the heavy work of fetching water. Roundabout 10.000 benificiaries will use the water. The project helps women to participate in decisionmaking in the community Tegemeo becomes member of the Women for Water Partnership.

Triggers

With the project Tegemeo women gave attention to the problem with water in the MweteniCommunity:- Women and children have to spend a lot of time with fetching water- The heavy work of fetching water - Children missing school - Water which is not clean and causes diseases - The lack of water- Acuteness of water access because HIV/Aids entered the community

What did the Tegemeo women do since 2005?

• Building up a network; WfWP added social approach• Plans for outsite technology came and go without having good solutions• The technical method of the District Water Engineer was followed• Arranging waterrights and ownership of the watersources• Introducing and implementing watertariffs• Having patience and handle disappointments • Built up a community-based project, working together with several village-

governments and districtgovernment and hoping that water will come

• 2010: with the help of WfWP, A4A, District- and Village Government start of phase 1 of the project.

Participation of the

community and building up the sense of ownershipof the project

(phase I) Sponsor:

Aqua for All

SUCCESS!

2011: 2 subvillages of Mweteni (Kwamshitu and Mturo) get water!

The Water Users Association is set up, responsible for the maintenance of the

watersupply

Seminars about: • Rights and empowerment of women • Leadership by women• Government

Trainings for Tegemeo women, village-government and the community of Mweteni

Members of the community follows the Program Hygiene And Sanitation Training (PHAST) and are now registrated as community trainers.

Getting the certificates

Demonstration

Celebrating the success

•TWG builts a communication- and training centre with computer-, printer- en copy facilities and internet and

• Asked the District-government for the supply of electricity for Mweteni

Empowerment of women

At the same time Tegemeo women developes themselves as a group, with own ideas, a group which want to think about wishes and development of

women and the whole community

Economising for economic activities (Vikoba system)

Computer, internet

Empowerment of women

Active role in meetings and negotiations

Challenges The Tegemeo Women faced many challenges

– Tegemeo women met obstruction, doubts if women were able to start and realise own projects

– Outside technology didn’t work, was not applicable – The stay out of funding– Funding just for a part of the project, so the project had to be split

into phases– Resistance of a part of the villagers, afraid that their village will never

get water; in phase I two subvillages get water out of the Hemvera-source

– Schools and hospital cannot afford to pay for the water they need; RainWaterHarvesting was provided and became a subproject; Soroptimisten made survey and realisation possible

– Empowerment: the Tegemeo-women and the community had to solve their own problems; it’s possible when convinction is there and when it really comes from the heart

Another challenge Everyone has to pay for the use of water!

2012-2013: RainWaterHarvesting for hospital, three primary schools and a secondary school

Sponsors: Soroptimist en Retourschip.

February 2014: start of phase II with participation of the community

In phase 2 is made use of experiences in phase 1. In phase 2 is TWG not only project-owner, but also budgetholders and taking

care of the financial administration. The projectmanagement was carried by all the stakeholders. This prevented corruption.

November 2013: PHAST-training in Ntambwe about hygiene, sanitation and environment

Schoolsanitation for children of Primary School

Februari /March/ April 2014: phase II during heavy rains

February/March/ April 2014: rain causing delayInvolving local contractors and following the technical method of DWE it was

possible to cope the situation.

February / March 2014: damage caused by storm

May 2014: Constructions, tanks and domestic points

WATER IN NTAMBWE!

May 2014: Fieldvisit Women for Water Partnership during internal handover

What makes this project to be succesfull?

1. Full local ownership: building local ownership and community involvement has been pursued from day one. 2. International cooperation between all stakeholders in Tanzania, WfWP, supporting organisations in Tanzania (TGNP) and Soroptimist in the Netherlands, committed sponsors and liaisons. Clearly defined roles and agreed responsibilities. It prevents corruption.

3. Technical and financial sustainability: arrangements are made about maintenance and payment

4. The spin-off resulting from women’s empowerment and leadership development in Mweteni. The Tegemeo network has increased and engaged in new social and income generating activities, which lead to continued economic development of the community.

Relationships with donors

1.Community-based projects needs flexibility from donors with deadlines and reporting-frames.

2.The interest of donors has not to be only short-term support of projects, but long term commitment: from baby-case to up-scaling. The input of expertise concerning information and communication (technology), monitoring and coaching is costefficient and contributes to sustainable development.

3.Commercial partners were new for the Tegemeo women and for WfWP; they gave Tegemeo women the opportunity to realise the project, making arrangements about publicity with accordance of Tegemeo, and the community, more attention for pictures, film and quotes which made the Tegemeo women and their project and the Mweteni-community more visible

“I haile the Tegemeo Women Group who sacrificed much to see the project all the way through. I call up every member of the community to take care of the project as lack of water not only magnify poverty, but also leads to loss of life.”

Mr. Mwalimu Herman Kapufi, Same District Officer

How water change life"It's wonderful that water is passing the pipelines, in three subvillages we can fetch water nearby the houses. We can see now how water change life. Women and children are less loaded and have more time for other daily things. Children play with water for the first time. Now everyone can fetch water, because it is nearby. Our clothes and houses are more proper, because we use more water. When there are festivities or burials people have the possibiliy now to focus on that in stead of searching for water. Water is like an eye-opener: other villages realise better what they miss and what they would like to have. To keep the unity of the Mweteni-village we have to fight for other funds, in that way last subvillage will get water too."

Resti Gerald, chair TWG

• Happy Zawadi:

• “This program empowered women, during meetings they are no longer silent, but we speak freely. There is no longer the problem of fetching water far away. Less female students drop out, they have time to do their homework.”

Futureplans Tegemeo Women Group

1.Finding donors for the two last watersources (Kidingidingi en Kwakibulu) to bring water to the last subvillage of Mweteni: Kwanatema

2.Good toilets for households and schoolchildren

3.Taking care of a watersysteem, to make it sustainable

4.To realise watersupply, road and electricity for the whole village.

5.Finding means to support other women in and out of Tanzania and bring over and sharing experiences.

6.Finding a way together with the District government to upscale.

7.Start of other developmentprojects in the community of Mweteni: hygienic use of toilets, help of AIDS-orphans

8.Going on to reduce poverty by activities, like sowing, vikoba, selling vitenges and grinding maize