COWASH Organized TOT
Community-Led Accelerated WASH (COWASH) conducted a training for trainers (TOT) that focuses on the establishment and election of water, sanitation and hygiene committee (WASHCO) from March 30 – April 1, 2015 in Bambasi town of Benishangul Gumuz National Regional State.
The training was attended by a little more than 40 experts from WASH sector bureaus and offices. They are the key people expected to train the WASHCOs on the principles of Community Managed Project (CMP) approach..
Mr. Kemal Abdulai, the deputy head of the regional water, mines and energy bureau made an official opening remarks of the event. He stated that the region is targeting to implement 70 water supply schemes and 8 institutional latrines by CMP approach in 28 kebeles of the 4 COWASH districts by June 2015. The deputy, who pays tribute to stakeholders whose contributions made possible the dramatic growth of access to safe water coverage from 12.89% in the early 1990s to 79% in 2014, is convinced that COWASH plays significant role in the region’s effort to increase the coverage to 100%.
During the three day event, trainers were trained to be effective communicators by prioritizing and contextualizing important points. The other major training topic was the roles and responsibilities of WASHCOs in community implemented and managed projects.
WASHCOs are responsible for mobilizing communities and organizing and coordinating resources in addition to their mandate to enter into legal agreement with government, suppliers and service providers. The technical support, administration and supervision as per their needs are addressed by water experts in these districts. These experts are also entrusted to facilitate the fund requests and transfers to the communities using local micro-finance institution.
The first training on CMP was organized in December 2014. Since then the districts have been introducing CMP approach. It was reported that all districts have identified and selected focus kebeles and promoted the approach. Some communities have already been digging their wells. For instance, Bambasi district, the host of this training, has promoted the approach in 10 kebeles and started constructing wells in Shobora kebele.
The WASHCO TOT on CMP management was facilitated and ran by COWASH federal technical assistance team and regional support unit. The training which was lively with experience sharing and discussions came to conclusion after participants identified priorities and developed action plans for next immediate steps.
