Newsletter  April 2012



News from the 6th World Water Forum

The Forum was held in Marseille on March 12 to 17.  Wasrag Chair Ron Denham attended the Forum and provides the following report: Over 35,000 participants shared experiences and views on the most effective way of addressing the lack of access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene.

Fundamental to achieving the MDGs for WaSH in Africa is participation of the women. "The water issue belongs to women: they go to get water and bring it back in a bucket" says Court�s Ketcha, mayor of Bangangt�, Cameroon. Women are still under-represented in decision-making bodies, although they were identified as one of the nine "Major Groups" of Agenda 21 at the Rio Summit in 1992. Read More...

 

Coming to Bangkok?

We'd love to see you there! You'll find us at the Wasrag Booth - #402 in the House of Friendship. There will be several opportunities to learn more about WASH and Wasrag, including:

 

Monday May 7, 14.30 to 16.00 - Breakout Session
Planning for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Projects

IMPACT Convention Centre, Room Sapphire 202

 

Tuesday May 8, 14.30 to 16.00 - Breakout Session

RI/USAID International H2O Collaboration - IMPACT Convention Centre, Room Sapphire 102

 

Wednesday May 9, 12.30 to 14.00 - Breakout Session

Maximizing Rotarian Impact in Water & Sanitation (learn all about Future Vision's Pilot Program), Sapphire 4.

 

AND!  Do you want to build strong, sustainable WASH programs for your Rotary clubs and district?  Learn all about the new Rotary Foundation/Wasrag "PEP" pilot.  Wasrag is hosting a series of orientation sessions on the Wasrag Model - and will discuss our new multi-disciplinary Regional Teams and the Program Planning and Performance Teams. Sessions will run through the day on Tuesday May 8th at 10.30 a.m., 12.00 noon, 1.30 p.m. and 3.00 p.m. If you would like to register, click on the SIGN UP link.  Location:  Bistro de Champagne, 2nd Floor, IMPACT Convention Centre.

 

For a detailed list of Wasrag events in Bangkok, go to Bangkok  our blog or website.



ConferenceUpcoming webinar from WASH Advocates

Please join WASH Advocates and partners for the upcoming webinar on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 11:00 am EDT "Equity and Sustainability: Making them a WASH reality." Participants will learn how marginalized populations contribute to the sustainability of WASH projects. For more information, contact Jackie Powell 



Update on Adopt-A-School Program

Recently the Wasrag Adopt-A-School program manager visited Dodoma, Tanzania and met with the Africare in-country team. During the visit, the team was joined by the government Rural Water Supply Coordinator and Education Coordinator for a visit to three of the fifteen Tanzanian schools in the program.

Read a report on the visit. See all the photos taken. Read about an innovative fundraiser by the RC East Liverpool, OH

Interested in Adopting a School? The program is 40% funded! But there is need for more. Contact the program manager for information.



Joint Monitoring Program Bi-annual report

This Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation reports every two years on access to drinking water and sanitation worldwide and on progress towards related targets under Millennium Development Goal 7 'to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation'. The estimates presented in the 2012 report describe the situation as of end-2010 and supersede those of the JMP update published in March 2010. Monitoring draws on the findings of household surveys and censuses usually supported by national statistics bureaus. Download the report 



Fetching WaterWorld Water Supply Network - Kampala Forum report  

The 6th international Forum of the Rural Water Supply Network took place in Kampala Nov. 29 - Dec. 4, 2011 and included participants from 54 countries, from national and local governments, academia, NGOs and CBOs, the private sector and development partners. A key output of the forum was the development of a statement of commitments. In addition 30 sessions were held for which specific outcomes and actionable steps were defined. Visit the Forum website   Download the Forum report  



Why Water Shortages in Nigeria & Ghana?

 In two of the biggest and richest nations of the region, Nigeria and Ghana, pollution, political unrest, and corruption have contributed to water shortages for decades.

WHO estimates that every day more than 1000 people die in West Africa from causes related to unsafe water. What is behind the lack of access to safe drinking water in Nigeria and Ghana?

Investigative journalists Ameto Akepe and Samuel Agyemang worked in two communities to find out. Read More...

 

New Projects...    

Several new projects have been posted on the Wasrag website in the last month:

 

Kenya:  Matibabu/Rotary Borehole Renovation project

The project plans to work with 24 communities with failed boreholes to educate the community to develop demand for clean water.  Once demand is established the community well (WASH Committee) will establish a sustainable technical and financial structure to maintain the well over the long haul.  Once the structure is in place and the community has gathered a portion of the funds to renovate the wells, the project will seek funding.  For more information and to express interest:  GG25613 Matibabu Borehole Renovation Project

 

Jamaica:  Bringing potable water to Hagley Gap

The goal of this project is to provide a sustainable and reliable supply of safe water to the rural community of Hagley Gap and its environs in St. Thomas, Jamaica.  Less than 10% of the houses in the area have access to a safe and reliable supply of drinking water.  The Blue Mountain project will achieve this by constructing a new water system in partnership with the local community, and training selected community members to manage, operate and maintain the system.  The Community Water Committee is already formed and has actively participated in designing the system.   For more information and to express interest, go to:  Potable Water for Hagley Gap


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Wasrag - Start With Water

The Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group is a group of Rotarians whose purpose is to support Rotary clubs to effectively plan, finance, implement, monitor and evaluate water, sanitation, and hygiene programs, where they are most needed in a collaborative, cost-effective, timely, and sustainable manner, true to the principles of Rotary International. Wasrag operates in accordance with Rotary International policy but is not an agency of, or controlled by, Rotary International.