Humanity Unites Brilliance

 

Call for Nominations

The African Women and Water Conference

Building Relationships and Self Reliance to Support Technology Transfer

Nairobi, Kenya

10-14 March 2008

Organized by:

A Single Drop, Crabgrass, GROOTS-Kenya, Women’s Earth Alliance

In partnership with:

The Green Belt Movement

We are seeking African women who are working for water security and environmental justice in their communities. We welcome environmental advocates, organizers and entrepreneurs to apply to participate in the African Women and Water Conference, to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, 10-14 March, 2008.

The Purpose of the Women and Water Conference

Throughout history, women have played a central role as stewards of water. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), “women are most often the collectors, users and managers of water in the household as well as farmers of crops. Women and children provide nearly all the water for the household in rural areas.” In urban areas, women are often in charge of accessing clean water and ensuring sanitation for their families. Women hold the knowledge around quality, location, reliability and storage of local water resources.[1]

When water sources are contaminated or unavailable, women and children can be hit the hardest. They may be required to expend more labor collecting, storing, and protecting their water source, which can leave them with little or no time for other activities, like getting an education. The UN estimates that in some parts of Africa, women and children spend eight hours a day collecting water.[2] Water-related diseases are also a common challenge to women, who are often responsible for caring for sick ones and have to step in for those who are ill and unable to work.

For some 30 years, international and UN global conferences have repeatedly recognized that effective sustainable water resources management depends on engaging women at all levels of decision-making and implementation. It is now recognized that the exclusion of women from the planning of water supply and sanitation schemes is a major cause of their high rate of failure.

However, women have often been denied their human right to water and are continually excluded from key decision-making roles, which has led to environmental destruction, deterioration of human health, and the feminization of poverty. More than half of the 1.2 billion people who do not have access to water are women and girls.

According to the FAO, often the technologies that are available to women do not meet their needs, such as pumps that have handles they cannot reach or public wells that are in an inappropriate place.[3] The African Women and Water Conference creates the space for women to exchange technologies and best practices that are both practical and attainable.

The Women and Water Conference is a 5-day gathering that empowers women with the tools to carry out an income-generating water service project from start to finish.  This conference is holistic, in that it will not only share effective and proven technologies, but valuable organizational skills to help women build business plans, develop programs, perform needs assessments, implement projects, and create strategic partnerships to ensure environmental, financial and social sustainability. The conference curriculum will include theory, practical (hands-on) technology transfer, project development, implementation, and organizational workshops.  Local African women who have launched successful projects relating to water resources and community organizing, will be both the facilitators and trainers of the conference. All content will be designed based on local customs and gender needs. Each woman will leave the conference with the skills and support to successfully launch her own water service project from start to finish.

By joining voices, women grassroots environmental leaders can become even more effective and influential in promoting the ideas and practices of water security and environmental stewardship. In so doing, women attendees will pioneer a global movement from this emergent powerbase that extends far beyond regional borders. 

Who Should Apply

The women chosen will meet specific criteria.  The organization(s) with which the teams of women are affiliated must have an established working infrastructure and have already implemented a successful project in their community. The women must be proven leaders in their community and have experience in addressing local water issues. 

Through an application process, two women will be selected to represent each organization. Each team will work in partnership to develop their project during the course of the conference.  Several technologies will be available for the women groups to select and focus on during the conference. Ongoing collaboration and support among these groups will be facilitated after the conference is over.

Eleven organizations from East Africa (22 women), and two organizations from each of the regions of South Africa and West Africa (8 women) will be chosen to participate.

Conference Structure

During our 5-day conference, participants will choose workshops from the following theme areas: 

Theme: Technology Transfer
The technologies and techniques that we choose will specifically address water quality and some can also be livelihood opportunities.

·         Solar cooking and pasteurization

·         Household water treatment options (ex. Biosand water filter)

·         Rainwater harvesting

·         Integrated water resource management

The participants will:

·         Learn the theory behind the technology

·         Participate in hands-on training

·         Practice marketing scenarios for introducing the technologies into their community

Theme: Project Development

·         How to carry out needs assessments in your community

·         How to plan and manage a project from concept to implementation and keep it sustainable

·         Identifying and using local assets in management strategy

·         How to delegate and coordinate leadership and committees

·         How to build strategic partnerships (public and private) for community initiatives

·         How to prepare grant proposals

·         Participatory action planning

Theme: Livelihood and Self-reliance

·         How to create women’s collectives

·         How to design a business plan

o       Budgeting, cost recovery, and income-generation

o       Fundraising Strategies

·         How to design effective promotion and marketing

Theme: Information-Sharing and Best Practices

·         Sharing successes and failures

·         Creating demand-driven projects (listening to the community)

·         Using effective and proven Information Education Communication (IEC) materials for community outreach

Nominations for Participants

Please nominate two women who meet the following criteria:

·           Active in grassroots advocacy, entrepreneurship, and/or community organizing around issues of environmental justice and/or sustainability (Grassroots refers to community-based activism, where positive change is created through citizen participation in the issues that affect them)

·           Recognized by her peers as a leader in her community around local water issues

·           Speaks English fluently

·           Has initiative to start or expand a water program

·           Excellent communication skills

·           Has shown leadership in setting up and operating successful programs

·           Good literacy skills for writing proposals, reports, keeping records, accounting

·           Willing and able to travel to Nairobi, Kenya in March 2008 and has a passport that is valid through October, 2008.

We encourage participants to seek funding to cover as much of the costs of participating in the conference as they can. The conference will cost approximately $800 USD per participant, plus the cost of round trip transportation to Nairobi. We suggest participants look into possible funding sources like NGOs, government agencies, churches etc.). If funding is a problem for the participant,  please let us know. 

Language

We ask that your nominee be fluent in English.

Selection Process

We are focused on ensuring that various regions with similar water-related issues are represented in the conference. To ensure that the conference enjoys a broad and balanced representation, we will select women who will contribute different perspectives in approaching these water issues. Decisions will be made by the organizing team.

 

Other ways to get involved

If you do not have someone to nominate for our Women and Water Conference but would like to get involved in other ways, please consider the following opportunities to contribute:

1. Send a financial contribution for the project by mail to:

Crabgrass

691 Minna Street

San Francisco, CA 94103 USA

or online at: https://www.africanwomenandwater.org 

2. Host a houseparty to raise funds for our women participants. See https://www.africanwomenandwater.orgfor more details

3. Donate your time and skills by joining one of our planning committees

4. If you know of a woman who should be connected to Women and Water Conferences but is not able to attend, please email her contacts and your contacts to womenandwater@gmail.com. Please include a brief summary of her work. Thank you!

For more information about any of these options, please email womenandwater@gmail.com

 

Joint Application

If you or your organization would like to nominate a team of two women, please fill out the form below jointly with your nominees and send to womenandwater@gmail.com or 300 Broadway, Suite 28  San Francisco, CA 94133- USA.  Please make the subject of your email: Women and Water Conference, ATTN: Women’s Earth Alliance. 

All nominations must be received by midnight of 30 October 2007.

To be completed by the Nominator

As the nominator, please provide your own contact information:

Name:

Postal Address:

City:                          State/Province:

Zip Code/ Country Code

Country                     

Organization/Affiliation (if any):

Email Address:

1. Please briefly describe the nominees' work in water issues/environmental sustainability qualifying them to attend the Women and Water Conference.

 

2. In what ways do your nominees fulfill the criteria listed above?

 

3. What is your relationship to the nominees? Why do you believe they should represent thier region at the Women and Water Conference? What impact have they had in her community?

4. Have the nominees worked together in the past? If so, in what capacity?

4.  Would you or your organization be able to assist the nominees in computer access such as: ___internet or ____Skype conference calls?

 

To be completed by the Nominees:

 As Nominees, please each provide your contact information and answer the questions below together:

Name:

Postal Address:

City:                          State/Province:

Zip Code/ Country Code

Country                     

Organization/Affiliation (if any):

Email Address:

 

1. Briefly describe your work in water issues/environmental sustainability.

 

2. In what ways have you taken leadership in your community? In what ways do you support other women working alongside you?

 

3. What tools or programs or technologies do you envision as needed to strengthen the efforts of grassroots women working to protect water resources?

 

4. Please let us know if you will be able to fund all or part of your costs in Nairobi (US$800-- includes meals and housing).

 

 

**The information you provide in this next section will guide us in designing the content of the conference to best serve the participants. **

WATER

1. Do you have your own well, or a village well?  Is it shallow or deep?

2. Do you carry water from a river, spring or lake? How far away? Do animals also use this source?

3. Does your local government provide water through pipe to household? Does it cost money? How much?

 

4. Do you and/or your community harvest rain water?

5. Does a private company sell you water that comes through a pipe? Or is it sold in containers delivered to your household?

6. Do you purchase your water from water vendors who sell water on the street?

 

7. About how much water per person do you have access to a day? 

Under 20 liters? Over 20 liters?

8. Is your water safe to drink?

9. Do you have to treat your water?  If so, how do you treat it?  (Boiling, Sodis, filter, etc.)

10.  What are the most pressing water issues in your area? Rate them in importance: 1 (most) to 5 (least)
Access to fresh water __

Access to clean water __
Water quality __

(check all that apply)

____pollution

____biological contaminants

____chemical contaminants

____other

Water quantity __

(check all that apply)

            ____drought conditions

            ____water source over 1km away

            ____expensive

            ____other

Lack of sanitation facilities __
Other (please state) __

11.  Does your community need access to methods for cleaning water for drinking? Explain

SEWAGE
1.  Does your community have public or private toilets? Are they safe to use?

2.  Is sewage deposited/flowing? Does sewage exist close to the water source?
3.  Is your sewage treated? How?
4.  Does your community need information on treating sewage?

COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
1.  Who are the decision-makers in your community around water?

2.  Have you ever organized a community project involving water?

3.  Have you ever done fund-raising for a project?

CULTURE
1.  We will be sharing stories and songs about water from our cultures - do you have music or stories to share?