Women Empowerment Centre

The project is part of a larger program to create a Women Empowerment Centre including vocational training, health care for women & girls, with no or little education. From a radius of 50 km, women & girls can acquire skills that will enable them to live productive lives. The centre will gives access to basic human services such as water, sanitation & medical care and will include demonstration projects and small workshops for e.g. manufacturing of bricks, bicycles and eco-toilets parts.

Goals overview

Capacity development of women by involving them as equal partners in their project. Provide 400 households & workers and the women’s centre with safe drinking water and sanitation by: Drilling of one Borehole and installation of a (2500 litres p/day) water purification installation. Construction of 3 demonstration eco toilets at the centre. Hygiene education and maintenance training for 8 women (train-the-trainer approach). 10 bicycles for transport for water and materials.

Current status

In the area hardly any safe drinking water is available and the sanitation situation is below standards. With the assistance of Cordaid 1 borehole was constructed, which supplies water for the workers and the manufacturing of bricks. Problems faced in the area include poor infrastructure and lack of a transport system. This could be solved through the introduction of road works and e.g. bicycles for moving both people and goods and water from one location to the other for effective service and delivery. At the moment the women have 2 bicycles (they know how to use them and they are popular).

Project plan

The project will create water facilities for 400 households and the Women Empowerment Centre by drilling an additional borehole and providing water purification. Three (separate) eco-dry-toilets will be built to be used by the women and men working at the centre. Visitors of the centre will get to know this kind of facilities. Hygiene education and transfer of experience will guarantee local knowledge dissemination and appropriate use. Training will be provided for a small group of women who will act as trainers for the local groups. A big problem in the area is transport: there are no roads and no public transport. Bicycles, already in use in the area, provide cheap, clean and easy means of transport for people, goods and water (to bring it home).

Other results:
1. The project presented here, is part of a larger program to create a Women Empowerment Centre including vocational training, health care for women and girls.
2. The Centre will. enable women and girls, with no or little education, to acquire skills that will enable them to earn an income, while at the same time offering the much needed basic human services such as water, sanitation and medical care.
3. The centre will include demonstration projects (e.g. sanitation) and small workshop for e.g. manufacturing of bricks, bicycles and eco-toilets parts.

Selection of the site and (choice of) the facilities has/will be done by the local women’s group. Maintenance of water facilities and sanitation will be done by local women, who will be trained by the local women’s group from the “train-the-trainer” sessions. Introduction of a user fee for the services (Euro 0,02 per gallon) is being considered. In the next phase, a bicycle workshop will be set up and women trained to maintain the bikes. Hygiene education and transfer of experience will guarantee local knowledge dissemination and appropriate use. The facilities as a whole will make it possible for women to come to the centre, get a vocational education and acquire work. The gender bureau of the county will monitor the project and keep the connection with the district government.