Voice Newsletter
February 2007 Edition
To read past editions please visit the archive - click here.
Oxfam's International Youth Partnerships (OIYP) Voice Newsletter showcases the positive social change accomplished by Action Partners worldwide. Voice also features relevant news from external partners and organizations for the benefit of our readership. Also Published at www.iyp.oxfam.org/news/
Email us at: iypvoice@oxfam.org.au
Una versión espanol de este boletin estara disponible dentro de diez dias. Si les gustarian recibir una copia, por favor envian un correo al redactor jefe a iypvoice@oxfam.org.au.
Focus
Welcome to the February 2007edition of Voice Newsletter.
In this edition we turn our focus to the issue of Water. As I write this editorial, stories about the worsening crisis of global warming and its consequences for our planet are finally making their way into mainstream media. Whilst political leaders worldwide take too long to act, the OIYP Action Partners in our network are facing these issues head on in their communities and taking very real steps to protect precious resources such as Water.
The theme for World Water Day to be held on March 22 will be ‘coping with scarcity.’ We live in a world where 1.2 billion people across the globe continue to lack access to safe drinking water. According to the UN, limited access to natural resources, like water, weakens development efforts and places an increasingly heavy burden on women and girls who are living in poor countries.
In this edition of Voice, Action Partner Sneha Madiath gives us a passionate account of the need to implement adequate sanitation facilities in Orissa in order to improve community health. She outlines how these water programs have not only increased health outcomes in the communities but have brought greater equality and social cohesion amongst villagers who have undertaken water protection activities together. Vikram Aditya shares some of the steps that the WWF-India have undertaken in order to reverse the massive human and environmental destruction that will accompany the implementation of Polavaram Dam Project on the Godavari River in Andra Pradesh, India. Action Partner Diana Lopez reminds us of the importance of thinking creatively and innovatively when responding to mass issues. She reminds us that youth are not apathetic but an innovative force for community change.
I hope you enjoy reading this big edition of Voice newsletter and are inspired by the work of some of our OIYP Action Partners who are working as a global force for change.
Action Partner News
Read about the work of Action Partners around the world.
Sharing stories of work on the ground.
Olusegun Olowu from Uganda
Olusegun shares an update about his project to rebuild a school in Northern Nigeria.
‘A positive impact of the project relates to the improvement of the quality of education in the community by helping to provide a habitable classroom block for the pupils. This primary impact is meant to help achieve the goal of increasing school enrolment for boys and girls in the school communities.
For the first time, the communities are experiencing a project of this magnitude which is being run by non-members of the community. They are also witnessing the completion of a project in which they have made significant input into its design and implementation. Many local projects have been run in the communities before now under the auspices of the National Youth Service Corps, but none has so far had this magnitude of potential impact.
The school environments look enhanced and the morale of many of the pupils and teachers have been boosted. At the start of term last October, an increased enrollment was observed with a more than 100% increase in female enrolment for Gashua community primary school, Gashua. It cannot be told at the moment if this increase is due entirely to the project carried out. But today, it can be said with confidence that an enabling environment has been created for those who want to have primary schooling but were inhibited by the lack of liveable infrastructure.
The many challenges have not disappeared yet but a big one has been surmounted.’
Vikram Aditya from India writes about the Polavaram Dam Project
The rapid economic progress of India has been accompanied by a drastic environmental deterioration and over-utilisation of resources, especially water. A perennial shortage of fresh water resources for agriculture, industry and domestic purposes has prompted the government to explore ways of harnessing available surface waters, often at the cost of the environment. One such instance is the hugely controversial Polavaram project, embarked upon by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, my state.
The Polavaram project is a massive multipurpose dam being constructed across the Godavari river, the second largest river in India and the largest river in Andhra Pradesh.
The project is being constructed in the middle of an ecologically significant landscape, the Eastern Ghats, a semi-contiguous chain of hills running parallel to the Eastern Coast of India for nearly1,500 kms which harbours several rare species of flora and fauna. Moreover, the project site lies next to the famous Papikonda Wildlife Sanctuary, home to the tiger, leopard, gaur (Indian bison), sambar deer, mouse deer, spotted deer etc, along with several other species of birds and animals. The reservoir also completely destroys the Sabari river system, a river mentioned in several of the ancient texts of India, along with several other tributaries of the Godavari and other streams.
The Polavaram project is being constructed in an anthropologically unique region. The Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh are home to several tribal groups such as the Koyas, Kondareddys, Kondadoras etc, having their own languages, lifestyles and religious beliefs. These original inhabitants of the region are fiercely independent and survive by practicing sustainable hill slope agriculture and gathering food in the forests. The project will displace nearly 240,000 people, mostly tribals living in 276 villages in Andhra Pradesh. They are being rehabilitated in a region far different from the forested hill slopes they have been inhabiting, and their displacement from their ancestral lands might bring about the death of their distinct culture and way of life.
The Polavaram project will submerge areas of archeological, cultural and historical importance, including several tribal temples and monuments. The project will have far reaching negative impacts, far from the domain of the Godavari river and its immediate vicinity.
Recognizing the ecological and human tragedy in the making through the Polavaram project, several environmental and rights based groups are campaigning against its ongoing construction on several grounds - destruction to the environment, tribal displacement, submergence of agricultural lands etc. WWF-India, where I work as a research associate has been campaigning actively against this historical blunder in progress. WWF has filed several petitions in the honourable Supreme Court of India and has lobbied successfully with legislators in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly through questions and soliciting explanations on forest land and protected area submergence by the concerned irrigation officials. I have also been involved with WWF in conducting biodiversity studies to assess the presence of threatened and protected species in the submergence area of Polavaram. Currently, we are also working on raising awareness on the region about to be submerged by organizing regular awareness camps to the site and through working with local NGO’s on assessing tribal opinions on the project. For OIYP action partners interested in supporting the campaign against the Polavaram Project, please get in touch with me at vikram_aditya_99@yahoo.com or WWF-India, APSO at ftampal@wwfindia.net
STORy OF THE MONTH
WATER AND SANITATION: THE CHALLENGES
Action Partner Sneha Madiath gives us a passionate account of the need to implement adequate sanitation facilities in Orissa, India in order to improve community health and community inclusion. She tells us why the health of our water systems requires a comprehensive approach by all community members.
Our Approach…
Environmental sanitation, hygiene promotion and safe supply of water are vital for protecting the environment, improving health and alleviating poverty. Disease, drudgery, loss of human dignity and millions of deaths every year are directly attributable to the lack of these basic services. The poor and powerless, especially women and children, are the main victims of this unmarked ‘genocide’ that continues in the developing world today. The numbers vary depending on which report one is reading, but the generally accepted figures are that more than 1.1 billion individuals do not have access to safe drinking water and more than 2.4 billion people do not have access even to rudimentary sanitation facilities.
The safe water challenge
The task is daunting and providing water and sanitation facilities for these billions of un-served populations may seem expensive, but the costs of not providing are much higher. Lack of access to safe drinking water is a major cause of ill-health. It is perhaps the principal cause of life-threatening diseases among infants and children. In poor urban settlements and most rural areas, improper disposal of human waste is one of the most obvious contaminant of water bodies. About 3 million deaths each year are attributable to water-borne diseases. Related estimates of morbidity and loss of productivity are not available at hand. Women continue to bear the burden to provisioning safe water for their families, jostling at stand-posts, scrounging in drying riverbeds and walking miles to springs and wells for the ‘magic potion’.
The sanitation challenge
It is recognised widely that sanitation, like water, is a basic service as well. There are clues to what works and what does not, yet there are no clear policies or programme outlines to define how sanitation targets are going to be met, either at the international, national or regional levels. Water is more important in terms of expressed need, technically more challenging and politically more attractive. Though there is a lot written about sanitation, this is largely urban focussed, while discourses in promotion of sanitation especially in peri-urban and rural areas are slimmer, weaker and uncoordinated. Water and environmental sanitation have to be seen in conjunction, whether in rural or urban areas. It is not clear how without one the other would be possible at all.
The coverage challenge
For ensuring effective protection of water and environmental sanitation in any habitat, 100% coverage is an essential. Even one family left out would result in continued pollution of the environment, most immediately of water bodies, feeding into the cycle of morbidity, mortality and loss of productivity. There cannot be a selective approach, especially where use of common resources is concerned, including use of water sources and disposal of excreta. Today rivers and streams are cess pools of night soil and other human waste, and to check this all polluters must have viable and workable alternatives, rather than apportioning blame and issuing legal notices.
Together with this we need to recognise and acknowledge that unless living conditions and livelihoods are improved in rural areas[1], and villages take pride in living in villages, the urban challenge of safe water and sanitation will continue to amplify, choking the lifelines of towns and cities.
The Initiative
There are numerous water and sanitation initiatives across the developing world, India being no exception. Gram Vikas* has been a lonely crusader in the field of water and sanitation, propagating seemingly impossible principles such as 100% inclusion, an upfront people’s contribution of Rs. 1000 towards a corpus fund, a ‘pucca’ toilet with ceramic pan, provision of a bathing room in addition to a toilet and finally, 24-hour water supply through three taps – one each in the toilet, bathing room and the kitchen of the house. Not only does this make Gram Vikas’ end product differ significantly from the rest, it also clearly brings out the values that guide Gram Vikas in its approach to rural development. Then, of course, there are those principles, which are core to the sustainability of any project in any part of the world. We shall look at these one by one.
100% Social inclusion:The programme involves each and every family in the village without exception. A 100% open defecation-free status is important to ensure there is no contamination of water bodies. More importantly, 100% consensus ensures that even the poorest and most marginalized benefits from the same level of service, and has an equal say in deciding how the project should be implemented. This minimizes the chances of the systems established falling into disrepair or disuse. In villages where the programme is established, the village institutions represent interests of all sections, and attempts are made to develop necessary capacities so that they are able to manage conflicts. For the first time the poorest woman, the widow, or the dalit (untouchable) feels that s/he has a voice, which will be heard and which matters.
Women’s involvement and empowerment:Interventions in water supply and sanitation directly affect women and their well-being. Women comprise at least 50% of the Village Executive Committee (VEC) and are enabled to confidently participate in all village decision-making activities. Where women play leadership roles, the programme is more robust and has a fuller dimension than being a mere technology intervention. Once given the opportunity to participate in the community space, they engage themselves in a variety of social issues, including village cleanliness, education, health, anti-alcoholism campaigns etc. They are also proactive in exploring alternative sources of income, and in enabling their families and their village launch into an upward spiral of development.
Hygiene education:Gram Vikas staff engage with self help groups of women to impress upon them, the importance of personal hygiene. This approach has been successful, since educating a woman is rightly referred to being the equivalent of educating an entire family.
Community management:At the beginning of the programme, the entire population is mobilized to come together and form a village general body. From among the general body, people elect an Executive Committee. This committee is accountable for maintaining the facilities created by the programme, for which, systems are built right from the beginning. The village body is also registered as a legally recognized society, giving them a separate legal entity. Riding on the experience of 100% consensus and working together for water supply and sanitation, communities build up experiential learning of collective organization and management. This sets the stage for other development activities to take off. In most villages the collective responsibility and ownership of villages over all community resources (forests, water bodies), services (Schools, health centers, etc) are enhanced.
The effects
Piped water supply and sanitation infrastructure contributes to improvements in the quality of life not just of individuals, but the village as a whole. There are no losers here. The programme has had a positive impact on the quality of life of all participating villages, through reduction of water-borne diseases and hence, a marked improvement in the health situation. Due to the importance given to personal hygiene, people have cleaner habits and are more aware of their responsibility in keeping not only themselves, but also their village clean. Thus, in these villages, roads, surroundings and water bodies are clean. Incidences of diseases, especially skin diseases and diarrhoeal incidents are monitored regularly. Studies have shown an 85% reduction in the incidence of water-borne diseases in these villages. In all these villages, over 90% eligible children are in school and regular immunization camps are conducted, covering all eligible children. In most cases, the responsibility of monitoring these activities is taken up by SHGs.
Water and sanitation as an activity has the potential of bringing a village community together. Along with this being a tool to bring about total social inclusion in the village, it can also be an energizing activity, which raises the enthusiasm of the villagers, and in the long term, enables convergent community action in establishing sustainable systems through mobilising community’s own resources to break the inertia caused by a long history of marginalisation and deprivation. Thus, sanitation or water is not the issue; it is a small step towards a larger goal. It is a part of the process that will enable people to decide their own destiny. It is the journey out of a life as victims of circumstances, to one where they are the makers of their own destinies and lead a dignified life
*Gram Vikas is a rural development organization working in Orissa, one of the poorest states of India, since 1979. Orissa has a population of close to 37 million of which 86 percent live in rural areas (Census 2001). According to a survey conducted by Gram Vikas in 2004, of 4399 households in 49 villages across 9 districts of Orissa, less than 1% had access to piped water supply.
FEBRUary FEATURE
THE ROLE OF YOUTH AND THE RIGHT TO WATER
MDG 7 aims to ensure environmental sustainability and includes the aim of reducing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water. Action Partner Diana Lopez examines how young people can work creatively to protect the right of all people to a secure and safe water supply
Water plays a central and critical role in all aspects of life, in the national environment, in our economies, in food security, in production, in politics. In spite of this fact, many people living in poverty, particularly in the developing countries, daily face enormous hardship because water supplies are neither sufficient nor safe. Women bear a disproportionate hardship. For water users living in poverty this is rapidly becoming an issue crucial for life and, in the broad sense of the concept, a right to life issue.
People and countries, including future generations, have the right to fundamental access to those goods which are necessary for their development. Water is such a common good of humankind. This is the basis for cooperation toward a water policy that gives priority to persons living in poverty and those living in areas endowed with fewer resources.
Which is the role that we play in all these considerations? Young people must become the "active subjects" of safe water policies; it is our creativity and capacity for innovation that make us the driving force toward finding new solutions; it is the youth who has the ability and sensibility to perceive the needs of others and to begin the movement to satisfy them. Water management should be based on a participatory approach, involving users, planners and policy makers at all levels.
But these are not only good intentions, it´s possible! For example, in Mexico, the National Youth Survey shows that although the great majority of young Mexicans are not interested about participating in a traditional or institutional way, but they are often ready to take part in those activities related with respect to the indigenous people, the defense of natural environment, peace, and human rights; the question of water involves all this elements. As we say at my organization, the youth is not apathetic, just need the adequate incentive.
As in Mexico, the young people around the world are working to guarantee the right to water. As young people, we are putting our particular touch to our projects, which is the participation as a fundamental principle: esteeming the special knowledge of indigenous people, developing water-saving technologies, etc. The last year, during the IV Youth World Water Forum, young people from 22 countries, presented their works (all of them innovative and of an excellent quality) about water related issues, concluding with the IV World Water Forum Youth Declaration, that reflects our vision of water for growth an development, implementing integrated water resources management, water supply and sanitation for all, water management for food and the environment, and risk management. There are still a long way to go, but we agree that, as Mahatma Gandhi said, we must “be the change you want to see in the world”, and I still believe it.
Diana López Higareda - Action Partner ‘04 Mexico
