It takes a village: bringing safe water to every home in Changunarayan Municipality

Self-Help Groups

Renuka Nepal, from Changunarayan, has always been an ambitious woman. As a homemaker and farmer, she is fortunate to have a family that is supportive of everything she wants to do. But she sees that not many women in her community are so lucky. Renuka is a member of a Self-Help Group. She joined them because she wants to encourage other women, especially in WASH (water and sanitation). The Self-Help group is a community-based initiative where women come together to discuss and address communal issues. They found that many members struggle with the lack of safe water and started working on solutions to this issue.

In Changunarayan, there are many problems related to water access. The rapidly growing municipality falters to serve its increasing population with water. ‘Not every household receives an equal amount of water. The water that is available, is sometimes contaminated, causing people to get ill,’ she explains.

The water issues affect women differently than men: ‘While things have improved recently, many women still face restrictions to their freedom. And very few women are able to participate in the decision-making processes. Especially in the water sector. In my community, women handle all water-related tasks. While by law a water committee should be at least one-third made up by women, most women that work in the water sector are only there as a token representative , they have very little say.’

Hardware and awareness

Barat BD Khadka, the chairperson of the local Water User Committee, agrees that social stigmas make it difficult to get women active in the water sector. But he also acknowledges that due to their traditional tasks, they should be included in solving water issues. ‘Women understand the challenges related to water better than men, we need their involvement if we want to make any change.’

Recently, most of the Water User Committee’s activities have been focussed on expanding existing water infrastructure to service the growing population, including a new water tank and pipelines. However, Barat recognises that awareness training is just as important as hardware to solve water issues. ‘It would be good to meet with the Self-Help Group, as they focus more on awareness training. I also want the community to be able to contact me any time they have water issues.’

A foot in the door of the local government

The Water User Committee is an important link between the community and the local government. Bharat frequently meets with government officials to discuss the problems in Changunarayan. But while he is able to meet with them, he has been unable to convince them to visit the community themselves. He explains: ‘I have urged them to come see our problems for themselves, but due to their busy schedules, they haven’t been able to.’

Within the government, the Planning Unit is responsible for all WASH-related activities. Constant monitoring is necessary to stay on top of all the water issues. Anup Lamichhane is the Chief of the Planning Unit and frequently collaborates with the Water using Committees. ‘The WUC’s in Changunarayan have an important function since they can oversee all the water systems. Collaborating with them is crucial.’

Meanwhile, the Self-Help Group also tries to get a foot in the door of the local government. ‘Recently, we had our first meeting with the Ward Chairperson at the Municipality Office Hall,’ Renuka Nepal explains proudly. ‘Meeting with them has given us the confidence to advocate for more female representation at the municipality level as well.’

A mini lab

Testing the water helps to prevent water-borne infections and diseases. But not even the municipality has the resources to test all water continuously. Until WASH coordinator Surendra Lamichhane came across a smart solution while browsing the internet for WASH News. He read about a Mini Lab to test water quality that had been set up in another municipality. Immediately, it became his dream to have one for his own municipality.

‘I knew that if we had such a mini lab, the residents will be able to test the quality of drinking water themselves,’ he explains, ‘I discussed the idea with ENPHO (Simavi’s partner in the Sarwacha programme ed.) and they told me that they would implement it as part of the Sarwacha programme. My dream was coming true!’

The Mini Lab that was set up is very accessible for the community. People can get their water tested there for a very low fee. The aim with the mini lab is to provide a service, not generate profit. Therefore, the price differs. Households can test it for a reduced fee compared to schools and Water User Committees. The most economically disadvantaged citizens are even able to test water for free. This way everyone should have access to water testing.

Involving the private sector

The community and municipality are not the only ones who are taking on the task of ensuring water safety. Many businesses collaborate with them to provide products that ensure water safety. One of these is Soorya Trade Concern, specializes in safe water and sanitation products, aiming to reduce waterborne diseases. Its Managing Director Suraj Karki has worked in the WASH sector for 14 years and knows how important it is to bring awareness about safe water. He sees a role for the private sector in this, together with other actors.

‘My company provides a range of water purification and sanitation products to provide the community with products to ensure clean water and prevent infection. But behavioral change is key because many people take water safety for granted. While private companies lack large-scale promotional budgets, they can collaborate with communities, schools, and NGOs to educate and create long-term demand for safe water.’

An all-encompassing solution

In the Sarwacha Programme, Simavi and Dopper are working with local partners, ENPHO and Biruwa. The aim is to collaborate with communities and schools by empowering people to test water quality, enabling them to identify contamination and advocate for improvements to water user committees and municipalities. Creating a municipality that is completely water-safe is a complex task, and the programme involves Self-Help Groups, Water User Committees, the government and the private sector to work together on all-encompassing solutions.

For Renuka Nepal, safe water is the beginning of ensuring women and marginalised people have access to their rights. ‘I will continue to encourage women to speak up for their rights and have their voices heard. Everyone should have equal access to water. I will not stop until they do.’