ZWASH: Effective, Empowering, Sustainable

by | Oct 3, 2012 | World Vision, Zambia 2012, ZWASH

While the WaterAfrica travel team was in Zambia this summer we spent time with key members of World Vision’s ZWASH (Zambia Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) program. As they shared their time with us they also shared their experiences and insights regarding the ZWASH program.

On a long, bumpy ride out to the field one day, Joyce Mweemba Sendoi, who oversees World Vision’s Sanitation and Hygiene programs in Zambia, graciously answered our questions with helpful information and illustrations. As Joyce described the current approach of the ZWASH program she said, “We are working for sustainability. We need to help the villages prepare so we ensure that the water, when they get it, complements everything. If we find that a community is not ready in terms of what we need before water arrives we won’t drill the borehole.” She further described the ways World Vision comes alongside the community to help them move into water readiness.
 
So what does World Vision expect from a village before drilling a borehole? 

Each household in the village must construct things from locally sourced materials.
1. A Latrine
2. A tip-tap (handwashing station)
3. A Rubbish pit (hole in the ground to collect garbage – periodically they burn the garbage)
4. A bathing shelter (a structure to provide privacy for bathing)
5. A dish-drying rack (this gets clean dishes up off the ground and away from animals) 

World Vision magnifies the impact of these elements with effective training programs. Using culturally sensitive, successful methods, the ZWASH team educates and trains villagers to train each other on how to build these elements AND why each element is important. Our WaterAfrica travel team was able to see many of these training programs in action and we got to speak with many community members who were carrying the WASH message to their neighbors. 

To demonstrate just how effective the training methods are, and how the sanitation and hygiene messages spread among villages, World Vision took us to Hamasunse Village where we saw the WASH message had clearly taken hold even before the Village had been targeted by World Vision’s program.

Here’s our video report from that visit:

We were impressed by the effective ZWASH training program. It is obviously empowering. These women had not had any direct interaction with World Vision, yet they heard about the Sanitation and Hygiene elements that would make a dramatic difference in their health. They figured out how to implement them with resourceful creativity and determination. There is no doubt when these women get clean Water it will fully complement their Sanitation and Hygiene practices in a way that will be sustainable and spark further life-changing opportunities.

While we visited the women at Hamasunse Village Bill Savage, WaterAfrica Co-founder and President, took a moment to reflect:

The ZWASH program is effective, empowering and sustainable. 
Your donations are doing much more than providing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.  They are changing the way the villagers see themselves.  They now have the power and hope to improve their lives.

Your donations enable the ZWASH program to continue producing life-changing results. The need is great. World Vision will be drilling water for these women of Hamasunse Village very soon, but many others just like them are still in need.

You Can Help Change Lives! Donate Here.

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