Of course there are technical skills, experience, organization, among other skills. But to surpass the status quo of fieldwork, to achieve real impact, it is also crucial to be innovative, flexible, interactive and collaborative. Many of our existing field methods attacking various problems, such as poor water quality and access, have evolved through many projects, each learning from its successors, and have become very effective. Here in Western Kenya, CARE has implemented a series of successful, community-based water and sanitation projects. Often water sources, such as lakes, rivers, small local reservoirs, are several hours walk from people s homes and the water itself is unsafe.
Children often fall victim to diarrhea from dirty water and inadequate hygiene.
CARE projects focus on digging water wells, building latrines, and providing hygiene and health training. Communities name water management committees, dig the wells and latrines, and provide many of the local materials for construction, while CARE provides technical and health training and assistance in organizing the committees, the pump, and other support. Once the system is operational, the community sustains and maintains it. This has worked extremely well and CARE has assisted with the completion of many hundreds of wells. Before working with a community, a geological survey is conducted to determine whether a hand dug well can be built.