Integrated Water and Sanitation Program (IWSP)

Since 1980’s the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church Development Commission (EKHCDC) has been recognized amongst institutions for implementing clean water development projects. Also EKHCDC contributes to food security in drought prone areas of the country.

In General, the water and sanitation program aims to improve the quality of life through improved and sustained access to safe water supply, knowledge and practices of sanitation and hygiene among the rural community, and skills to maintain and manage potable water sources and functional water points. 

IWSP, being one of the oldest programs in the organization, undertakes different activities to access marginalized groups of people to potable water in different parts of the country. It drills wells (both boreholes and shallow ones), facilitates use of bio-sand filter to treat water naturally, and develops gravitational schemes to access neighborhoods and villages to potable and tapped water points. As its part of service, the program educates its beneficiaries on hygiene and sanitation, water point maintenance and management, and monitoring and material contributions with aim to sustain the benefits. IWSP has been operational since 1980s, targeting poor (mostly) rural communities. The Program works to improve the health and food security conditions of beneficiary households.

Major activities include mobilization and organization of communities, drilling of shallow and deep water wells, large scale gravity scheme projects, spot spring construction, Bio-Sand filter production and distribution, hygiene and sanitation education, training and capacity building, monitoring and evaluation, provision of operation and maintenance tools to the community and government WASH staffs.

Or they are presented as follows:

  • Installing water line
  • Train on hygiene and sanitation
  • Bio-sand filter construction
  • Training on maintenance and mitigation
  • Latrine design and construction
  • Drilling shallow water wells fitting them with hand pumps,
  • Developing large scale gravity schemes,
  • Production and installation of bio-sand filters,
  • Carrying out consultation services and researches
  • Bio sand filter training
  • Basic WASH education
  • DEWT training
  • Water quality test training
  • House hold water treatment and safe storage
  • Latrine design and construction
  • Hand pump maintenance installation
  • House hold water treatment and safe storage seminar
  • Experience sharing
  • Developing District WASH action plan
  • Conducting Home to home visit

As the strategy, IWSP works with the district-based government line offices, The line offices actively work with the EKHCDC’s IWSP include Water, Health, Education, Women Affairs, Agriculture, Finance and Economic Development, and Administration. IWSP designs and runs trainings participating implementers of WaSH at the community level. On the other hand, IWSP has been introducing the PHAST[1] methodology to promote hygiene and health, which is now being complemented by the CLTSH approach (that is a framework for organizing communities), is a tool being used for sanitary measures at the community level.

Major activities include mobilization and organization of communities, drilling of shallow and deep water wells, implementing large scale gravity scheme projects, spot spring construction, Bio-Sand Filter production and distribution, hygiene and sanitation education, training and capacity building, monitoring and evaluation, provision of tools for operation and maintenance by the community and government WASH staffs. IWSP works with the district-based government line offices, including: Water, Health, Education, Women Affairs, Agriculture, Finance and Economic Development, and Administration. IWSP designs and runs trainings participating implementers of WASH at the community level.

As a result, over the years, IWSP contributed significantly to potable water access and improving sanitation measures in the regions such as Oromia, SNNPRS, Amhara, etc., staring from 2006. The aspect of behavioral change in the field of hygiene and sanitation has been recognized by IWPS as an important factor for enhancing project impact and hence overall sustainability. Thus, construction of sand-plats demonstrated at house hold levels, beyond kebele or village levels (EKHC Water, Health and Environment Journal: Vol.o1.No.01, 2012).