Organization: UNICEF, DRC Ministry of Health

Camp Banku, is a village located in the north east, approximately 300 km from the capital Kinshasa. Their Water and Sanitation Fund covers six communities in the area. All the communities have received ‘Healthy Village’ status as part of the UNICEF-Government of the DRC Village Assaini Programme which aims to ensure that all families have access to safe water, toilets and handwashing facilities.

In 2011, a Ministry of Health official came to the village in order to carry out a series of demonstrations which helped the people of Camp Banku make the link between unsafe water, sanitation and disease. The community then began planning how they were going to improve their situation.

The equipment has helped eliminate the heavy labour associated with manioc (a local crop) pounding – something which traditionally was carried out by women. Now, women for the six communities are able to process the crop quickly and effectively, allowing a surplus to be sold. The new school roof has also meant children are kept safe and dry when it rains.

The pooled fund supports the provision of spare parts and repairs. Esther helps manages the fund, collecting contributions (around USD 0.30 per household per month) and allocating them as required. Contributions are voluntary, and almost everyone contributes on time.

The process has been so successful over the past 3 years that excess funds have be used fix the school roof and purchase processing equipment for manioc.

Keywords: empowering communities, hygiene, sanitation.

Location: Democratic Republic of the Congo

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>> Healthy Village Programme leads to benefits beyond safe water and toilets in the DRC