Improved Access to and Control over Water and Sanitation Facilities for Marginalized Women in Mutare The WATSAN facilities in the peri-urban areas of Mutare are overwhelmed as a result of unplanned ‘operation restore order’ carried out by the government in 2006, which resulted in an abrupt drift of large numbers of people from urban to already over populated peri-urban areas that have a rural set-up, due to loss of shelter and sources of livelihood. The operation demolished illegal squatters’ homesteads with no planned alternative homestead destination for the forced emigrates from Mutare town. The majority of former squatters resolved to inhabit the peri-urban area of Mutare town resulting in an abrupt population boom in the peri-urban (-40km from the town boundary) of Mutare town.   (Mutare urban population size + 150 000 people and Mutare peri-urban is population size is now +184 205 people). Improving sanitation services and water supply systems to the peri-urban poor of Mutare is an urgent priority that can have major positive impacts on gender, healthy, human dignity, economic productivity and the environment. This requires investment in local capacity development, improved operation and maintenance, establishment of new infrastructure, rehabilitation of existing infrastructures while mainstreaming cross cutting issues such as gender, HIV and AIDS, and livelihoods in all these interventions. 

The overall purpose of the programme is to increase access to potable water and appropriate sanitation facilities for marginalised women, men and children of Gombakomba and Chishakwe peri urban wards of Mutare. The target number of households is 3,500 (over 11,000 females, 10,000 males). 

Specifically the programme will have the following outputs:

•Water infrastructure improved  

1.Protection of 5 natural spring for improved access to portable water for 390 households (1217 women and girls, 1123 men and boys) and livestock, where each spring would serve about 400 people in line with government standards. Water will be abstracted from the spring through gravity flow into a collector tank where beneficiaries will fetch water using their containers, system which is not new to all stakeholders.

2.Drilling and installation of 2 new boreholes: One bush pump borehole to improve access to clean and safe water for human consumption by reducing distances travelled from 1.5km to less than 500meters to the water point for 200 households (625 women and girls, 575 men and boys) in Chitakatira village. An electric powered borehole to be drilled and installed at Chishakwe Primary school to serve also the secondary school as well, thus, a total of 1360 school children (755 girls and 605 boys) and 41 teachers households (28 males and 13 females) would benefit. 

3.Rehabilitation of 10 existing dysfunctional boreholes for improved access to safe water for 1053 households (3285 women and girls, 3033 men and boys). These water points were pre-determined and are government standards where less than 500 people utilize a borehole pump as the water point.

4.Establishment of water tanks at 2 schools as reservoirs for hand washing and drinking for 2,400 children (1,250 girls, 1,150 boys) and resident 60 teachers’ families (182 women and girls, 178 men and boys) during load shedding when piped water is not running. Establishment of a water tank at Chishakwe Clinic for clients water use, the health centre has a catchment of over 10000 people (about 6000 females and 4000 males) in Chishakwe ward 15 and Gombakomba ward 06.      

5.Sanitation infrastructure improved through construction of a total of 25 multi-compartment government approved Blair Ventilated Improved Pit Latrines (BVIPs) for 2 schools without adequate facilities (1150 girls, 1400 boys), Chishakwe Clinic and assisting a total of 25 ultra poor households (80 women and girls, 70 men and boys) who defecate on the open to construct BVIPs.

6.Public Health and Hygiene education to 500 Lead Household heads ( 300 women and 200 men) for communities through training of 28 Village Health Workers (50% women)  who will facilitate the formation of 14 community health clubs for spearheading the dissemination of health and hygiene information across the community (12,067 women and girls, 9,029 men and boys). 9 teachers  (6 female, 3 male) will also be trained in Children’s Health and Sanitation Training (CHAST) so that they take the lead as school health masters facilitating the formation of 9 school health and hygiene clubs (100 girls, 80 boys).

7.Empowerment of women and revival of community management systems through establishment of 25 water point committees (200 women, 120 men), training of 52 village pump minders (28 women, 24 men) and 52 latrine builders training (28 women, 24 men). Women and men will also be trained in entrepreneurship and participate in self IGAs to boost own household incomes.

8.Gender mainstreaming in all institutional arrangements will be informed by a gender audit. Gender awareness campaigns and trainings will be facilitated among all stakeholders to impart knowledge and skills to mainstream gender in their work. Through the provision of access and adequate water closer to women’s homestead, the project will also reduces women and girl child’s risk to being sexually attacked as they would not fetch water during the night and more water would be available throughout the day time. 

9.HIV and AIDS considerations: The programme will take into consideration the needs and requirements of people living with HIV and other affected groups, such as children, the elderly, and those with disabilities or chronic illnesses.150 households (425 females, 400 males) affected by HIV/AIDS derived from a register of the public health centre would be availed with the provision of horticultural inputs for the establishment of nutritional gardens for health harvest. Seed, fertiliser, and pesticides input voucher of US$15.00 would be availed by the programme and the beneficiaries would ought to top it up to US$30.00 as cash share own contribution. Producers of horticultural produce are asked for more than a 10% contribution as they will benefit significantly from crop sales expected to attain a monthly income of US$60/household on a 500m2 plot. 

10.Knowledge  management / Learning: the programme will focus on learning to ensure technologies piloted and good practices are documented and shared through photography, published journal paper review, reports and discussion at all levels (from communities to authorities at national/international audiences). Photovoice will be engaged to pilot use of photography and digital media. Households would benefit on the provision of safe water and equity access to water, through improved public health & hygiene education, consolidated by adopted good practises of freshwater & wetlands ecosystem protection and periodic water quality monitoring beyond the programme. Community based management systems will be relevant in ensuring protection and sustainable utilisation of water resources/sources with continuous monitoring of the catchment and water quality at large and beyond. 

The action will be implemented over 24 months for the period February 2013 to January 2015.