Kibera Integrated Water, Sanitation & Waste Management Project (K-WATSAN)
Project Details
Project Duration
8 Months (2007)
Target Location
Soweto East Kibera
Population
71.000
Partner/Donor
UN-HABITAT/World Bank Cities Alliance and the Government of Kenya
Project purpose
To contribute towards improving the livelihoods of the urban poor in Soweto East, by supporting small-scale community based initiatives in water, sanitation and waste management.
Project Description/Context
Kibera is one of largest informal settlement in Sub-Sahara Africa. Like all other slums in Kenya, Soweto East struggles with challenges in water and sanitation. Life in Soweto village is quite difficult by any standard. On average, as many as 1,200 people live on one square hectare, sometimes in shacks as small as 3m by 3m. Consequently, basic necessities such as clean water supply, adequate sanitation and drainage are extremely scant or non-existent and people live in cramped, dirty conditions.
Access to water in this settlement is through water vendors which gives way to exploitation of the dwellers by the water vendors and does not provide a sustainable water supply. Characteristically, water kiosks sell water at three or more times the tariff charged by NCWSC. These kiosks are the only source of water for the poor residents despite the high prices and poor quality of water caused by use of sub-standard pipelines. Nearly all these connections are illegal, leading to huge revenue losses. Besides, the connections are mainly done by puncture of the water lines leading to serious interruptions of water supply to other residential areas.
Given these awful conditions, problems created by poor environmental sanitation have become acute and water borne/water related diseases such as diarrhea and epidemics such as cholera and typhoid occur with great frequency. Maji Na Ufanisi, UN Habitat and GoK seek to improve water and sanitation conditions in Soweto East through the K-WATSAN Project:
Outputs
- 8 Sanitation Blocks (consisting of latrines, water storage tanks + kiosks and bathrooms) are nearing completion within Soweto.
- Improved drainage for both storm and wastewater through masonry lined drains
- Improved environment through monthly community clean ups
- Trainings on hygiene and water handling carried out in all areas
Beyond construction of facilities, lives have changed for the better: Interpersonal relationships, personal and environmental hygiene, and income levels have improved.
This project has reached over 700 house holds which is an estimated equivalent of 2800 beneficiaries directly.
Lessons learnt
- To successfully achieve any goal, it is imperative to involve target communities in the planning, implementation and management of the project.
- It is possible to work within the informal settlements with tangible results despite the common assumption that it cannot be done. K-Watsan’s success has proved this by acting as an entry point for other organizations in Soweto East e.g. Cooperatives and Kenya Power and Lighting Company.
- Residents of this area are pushed to commercial sex business by circumstances and not by choice.This has significantly reduced in this area as most members are engaged in construction and other community activities which take up most of the day.
- Both CSO’s and the government can work cohesively with the communities to realize and achieve great feats.