SECOND ANNUAL SOUTHERN AFRICA LOCAL

GOVERNMENT AND GENDER JUSTICE

PROJECTS: RESPONSE

SUMMIT AND AWARDS

28 – 30 MARCH 2011
KOPANONG HOTEL, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH
AFRICA
“365 DAYS OF LOCAL ACTION TO END GENDER
VIOLENCE: HALVE GENDER VIOLENCE BY 2015”

PROVIDING CLEAN WATER- MRDC

 HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT IDENTIFYING
THIS PROBLEM?
• There is loss of productive time as the distance covered to fetch
PROJECTS:RESPONSE

water and also results in the women which results v in women

being raped because of the thick forest they walk
• The erratic supply of piped water in the townships has affected
people at homes and at workplaces i.e. Nyazura and Headlands
Townships in the district
• Electricity power cuts have affected towns in Zimbabwe and
townships in Makoni District, have not been spared.
• People have now resorted to the use of firewood and they fetch
water from streams/rivers which are between 3km and 3,5km from
the townships.
• We have people living with HIV/AIDS, the chronically ill,
breastfeeding women, pregnant women and young children who
cannot walk for 3km to 3,5km to fetch water.
• All household chores need water i.e. cooking, bathing, gardening,
cleaning and ablution facilities. Instead of women caring for the
sick, they and the girls spend most of their time fetching water and
has affected their day-to-day activities.
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 IS THIS ISSUE IMPORTANT?
• Water is life and has no substitute. Without water, no services can be
rendered at schools, clinics and industries in towns, cities and even in
PROJECTS:RESPONSE

Nyazura and Headlands Townships.

• Council has gone to the extend of supplementing piped water by drilling
boreholes at public places. Individual residents have also constructed
deep wells to alleviate the water problem.
• People are now prone to water-borne diseases as they collect water from
unprotected water sources (streams/rivers).
• Children, especially girls, are delaying to go to school as they go to fetch
water early in the morning and they can no longer study after school as
they will also be fetching water after school. They no longer have
enough rest which result in low pass rate at schools.
• Electricity shortages have also affected families whereby women and
girls travel long distances to fetch firewood.
• Girls are traumatised and are emotionally abused as they fail to study at
night and in the morning as they will be fetching water.

PROVIDING CLEAN WATER- MRDC

 HOW ARE YOU GOING ABOUT ADDRESSING
THI S PROBLEM?
• Council entered into an agreement with Hwange Colliery to be a coal
PROJECTS: RESPONSE

merchant. Council purchases coal from Hwange Colliery and sells it to

residents in Townships at reasonable prices. This has curbed
environmental degradation.
• People living with HIV & AIDS, the pregnant mothers, breastfeeding
mothers and the rest of the populace now find it easy to use coal instead
of firewood.
• No more rape cases for the vulnerable girls and women, as reported
before as they no longer fetch firewood for cooking.
• Boreholes have been drilled at central places in the townships. Water
reservoirs for water storages have been constructed.
• There is family union as there had been disintegration due to fetching of
firewood and water from long distances.
• Parents have enough time to monitor homework for girls at school.
• Community gardens to augment fresh vegetables have been established
near boreholes.

PROVIDING CLEAN WATER- MRDC

 WHAT IS THE TIME-FRAME FOR THE
PROJECT?
PROJECTS: RESPONSE

• As long as there is load shedding of electricity resulting

in water shortages, the problem will be on-going.
• Council endeavours to keep on supplying water and
coal to township residents.

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 WHO IS THE KEY TARGET? WHO IS
INVOLVED? ARE WOMEN AND MEN EQUALLY
INVOLVED?
PROJECTS: RESPONSE

• Women are mostly involved in household chores and they are the key
target. Workplaces and communities are targeted.
• Women and men are equally involved and their concerns are equally
considered.

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 PARTNERSHIPS FORMED THROUGH THE
PROJECT
PROJECTS: RESPONSE

• Council has entered into agreement with Hwange Colliery

in the supply of coal and also entered into agreement with
a Non-Governmental Organisation (I.O.M) and D.D.F. to
assist in the drilling of boreholes.
• There has been an integration between the communities
because of the establishment of the boreholes.

PROVIDING CLEAN WATER- MRDC

 RESOURCEFULNESS: WHAT FINANCIAL,
HUMAN AND OTHER RESOURCES WERE
MOBILISED?
PROJECTS: RESPONSE

• Ministry of Local Government, Urban & Rural Development,

through the National Gender Policy, made a directive to have a
stand alone gender budget for 2011 for each Council subject to
ministerial approval.
• A total amount of US$5 500,00 was used to drill, equip and install
each borehole in Nyazura and Headlands Townships. Labour
has also been included in the amount. The borehole is being
efficiently utilised as the Residents Associations for the two
townships, trained pump minders through D.D.F. personnel.
• Women and men were trained as pump minders and they now
own the project which has sustainability.

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 MONITORING AND EVALUATION
PROJECTS:RESPONSE

• Community mobilisation was conducted by Council for the provision of

locally available resources (i.e. bricks, pit sand, river sand and
manpower). Official opening meetings were held where Council
educated communities on the use of the infrastructure (i.e. the
boreholes).
• Monthly reports from Nyazura and Headlands Clinics showed/indicated
significant reduction in water borne diseases (bilharzia).
• Home-based care cases are improving as reflected on the monthly
reports from the clinics.
• Domestic violence cases have decreased as indicated in reports at the
District Community Relations Liaison Offices and at the One Stop centre
at Rusape General Hospital.

PROVIDING CLEAN WATER- MRDC

 WHAT RESULTS HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED?
PROJECTS: RESPONSE

• Nyazura and Headlands Townships now have clean water

supply.
• Clinics have reported low death rate as a result of improved care
for home based care patients.
• Children are now concentrating on school activities without any
interruptions. High pass rate has been noted at the schools.
• Council has enough coal supplies to augment the electricity
power cuts.
• There has been a reduction in sexual, emotional and economic
abuse as children learn without fear, disturbance because of the
establishment of the boreholes in their vicinities.

PROVIDING CLEAN WATER- MRDC

 SUSTAINABILITY AND REPLICATION

• The project is sustainable and can be replicated by others,

PROJECTS: RESPONSE

through the establishment of:

• other coal merchants by other local authorities
• digging of deep wells and constructing boreholes in other
townships in the country
• encouragement of developmental partners whose
functions are community based like Rusape Town
Council, which had a borehole constructed through a
developmental partner called FACT Rusape.

PROVIDING CLEAN WATER- MRDC

 IMPACT (BASED ON THE SADC PROTOCOL
TARGETS)
PROJECTS: RESPONSE

OUR CLEAN WATER PROJECTING IS HELPING:

• halve gender based violence by 2015
• our women, through Articles 26 and 27 are being helped. The articles
address the physical, mental, emotional and social well-being of women
as they no longer walk long distances to fetch water from distances of
3km and 3½km away.
• Those who are living positively with HIV & AIDS are well cared for by
caregivers who have ample time to care for them and have water
available for them.
• Children, both boys and girls now have equal access to education as
provided in Article 14 on Education and Training.

PROVIDING CLEAN WATER- MRDC

 EFFECTIVENESS

• Yes, our clean water project is highly effective because of the following
PROJECTS: RESPONSE

reasons:
• reduction in water-borne diseases
• a decrease in rape cases and crocodile attacks as the distance covered
by women is reduced
• there is home based care people
• there is provision of a clean environment
• children have enough time to study
• Parents have ample time with their children and can socialize with them.
• Girl children have equal opportunities for study just the same as their
counterparts (boy children).
• Families embark on developmental projects rather than concentrating on
fetching water from far away.

PROVIDING CLEAN WATER- MRDC

 LESSONS LEARNED

• We have learnt that the erratic supply of basic resources

PROJECTS: RESPONSE

i.e. water and firewood, increases gender based violence

cases, high failure rate at schools and lack of rest by
communities.
• The lessons learnt are being applied through community-
based education through training of Ward health Teams
and Residents Association Committees.
• Projects should be owned by communities for them to be
sustainable.

PROVIDING CLEAN WATER- MRDC

School girls and community members fetching safe water from a deep well
dug by Makoni RDC.
PROJECTS:RESPONSE ANY QUESTIONS?

PROVIDING CLEAN WATER- MRDC