LIBERIA: WASH Consortium breaks ground for EU Water Facility Project
By: WASH R&E “Media” Network – The Liberia WASH Consortium has broken grounds for a 3.3 Million euro Improved Sanitation and Hygiene Project in White Flowers Community, West Point Township, Montserrado County.
West Point is an over populated municipality of the Liberian capital, Monrovia with a population of almost close to hundred thousand inhabitants.
White Flowers Community Residents and guests at the ground-breaking program
Interim Project Manager, David Watako providing detail
EU, Lib. WASH Consortium, Oxfam and Local Partner Representatives
Banner depicting activities of the EU Water Facility Project
The Project is funded by the European Union (EU) Water Facility. The 3.3 million euro Project seeks to directly support 50,000 men, women and children to access appropriate sanitation facilities and hygiene messages and 250,000 will benefit from solid waste and drainage improvements.
The Project targets population in four slum communities in Monrovia to have increase sanitation coverage and improve hygiene practices.
The four communities include; Clara Town, Logan Town, New Kru Town and West Point.
It also focuses on market vendors and institutions (schools and health centers).
The Project is also taking into consideration building the capacity of local partners in the provision of sanitation management.
Two hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants in urban and peri-urban Monrovia are expected to benefit from solid waste and drainage improvement.
As part of the project, 200 tiger worm latrines will be constructed in households, rehabilitation and construction of 35 communal latrines in institutions and communities.
Drainage clearage, community based recycling and reuse of solid waste, social mobilization and dissemination of key sanitation and hygiene messages will also form part of the Project.
The Project also seeks to achieve in the training of 25 community based enterprises (CBEs) on waste segregation, collection and disposal, training of WASH Committees and School WASH Clubs.
The dissemination of the Liberia Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Technical Guidelines and strategies will also play an integral part of the Project.
The Project will significantly contribute to government’s WASH Strategic Sector Plan 2013-2017 with the focus of reducing morbidity and mortality related to poor sanitation and hygiene in urban and peri-Monrovia.
About 300 hundred beneficiaries, 100 females, 50 children and 150 males from White Flowers Community in the Township of West Point are amongst the first to benefit from the start of the Project.
The Project which is expected to run from 2014 to January 2017 will be implemented by the Association of Evangelicals of Liberia (AEL), Liberians United for Rescue Action (LURA), and the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC), under the Liberia WASH Consortium Members-Concern World Wide and Oxfam, and Partners.
Speaking at the ceremony, European Union Representative, Giorgio Kirchmayr said the European Union was happy for such Project and the selection that was made by the Liberia WASH Consortium.
He reminded beneficiaries that the Project was tax-payers’ money, challenging them to take ownership of the Project.
Also speaking at the program, Oxfam Liberia Acting Country Director, Prashan Khati, described as very important the full implementation of the Project and the participation of the residents and beneficiaries.
Mr. Khati however noted that the Consortium and its local partners will work very hard to ensure the Project is implemented appropriately.
For his part, the Interim Manager of the Project, David Watako, said the Project will take into consideration the full participation of the White Flowers Community.
According to Mr. Watako, if the community participates fully in the Project it will go a long way in achieving the objective.
For her part, the Commissioner of the Township of West Point, Miata Flowers thanked the European Union for such Project describing it as timely.
Commissioner Flowers assured the EU and Liberia WASH Consortium that residents of the community will work with implementing partners to ensure the success of the Project.
The Liberia WASH Consortium was set up in 2007 as a response to poor Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) access, lack of harmonization and coordination in the sector, insufficient national policy frameworks and weak sector governance in Liberia.
The Liberia WASH Consortium now consists of 6 members: Action Contra la Faim (ACF), Concern Worldwide, Oxfam, Tearfund, WaterAid and Population Services International (PSI).
The Consortium also has associate members and local CSO partners including the WASH CSO Network, Youth & Disable Network and the WASH Reporters & Editor Network of Liberia (WASH R&E).
The official ground breaking ceremony for the for EU Water Facility Project brought together Members of the Liberia WASH Consortium (LWC), WASH Sector Partners, EU Delegation, Members of Local and International Organizations, West Point Township Authority and residents and other well wishers.
