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FAQs
Questions:02. Where does WaterAid Ghana Work? 03. How does WaterAid Ghana Work? 04. What are the objectives of the WaterAid Ghana programme? 05. What are WaterAid Ghana's main activities? 06. Who are WaterAid Ghana's implementing partners? 07. Why doesn't WaterAid implement projects directly? 08. How does the Ghana programme ensure that projects are sustained at the community level? 09. How do I contact the Ghana programme office? 10. How can my community benefit from WaterAid Ghana support? 12. How do we know that our partners do not misuse funds? 13. Does WaterAid Ghana work with other organisations? 14. How does water and sanitation contribute to poverty reduction? 1. What is WaterAid?WaterAid is an international non-governmental organisation that works to help some of the poorest communities in Africa and Asia to provide themselves with a better quality of life through water, sanitation and hygiene promotion projects. Established by the UK Water Industries in 1981 as a charity, WaterAid has become a highly respected international organisation that helps over 500,000 people every year. At the moment, WaterAid operates in 17 countries in Africa and Asia. 2. Where does WaterAid Ghana Work?At the moment, WaterAid Ghana, through its eight partner NGO's, implements projects in the Greater Accra, Eastern, Ashanti, Volta, Western, Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions. Currently, our partners operate in more than 30 districts spread across these eight regions. 3. How does WaterAid Ghana Work?WaterAid works through local partner organisations to directly implement projects. These local partners, usually NGO's or local government departments and, sometimes, private companies, undertake the direct day-to-day management of projects. In return, WaterAid offers financial support, training and technical advice, as well as assistance in planning, budgeting and institutional development. WaterAid partners are recognized and respected locally. They have a wealth of essential skills and knowledge, ranging from speaking local dialects and knowing local customs to understanding how the government functions. They have well-established relationships with local authorities and strong links with the communities. This enables them to gain people's trust and confidence, as well as an ability to influence local and national decision-makers. By operating through these local partners, WaterAid is able to operate more cost effectively than it could alone. 4. What are the objectives of the WaterAid Ghana programme?The overall objective is to promote sustainable improvement in the quality of life of the rural poor. To attain this, WaterAid Ghana:
5. What are WaterAid Ghana's main activities?Water Supply Sanitation Improvement Hygiene Promotion Advocacy Gender Mainstreaming 6. Who are WaterAid Ghana's implementing partners?
7. Why doesn't WaterAid implement projects directly?This tradition is based on our beliefs that:
8. How does the Ghana programme ensure that projects are sustained at the community level?Our partners do everything to make the communities feel that they are the owners of the facilities supported.
9. How do I contact the Ghana programme office?Contact: The Country Representative 10. How can my community benefit from WaterAid Ghana support?WaterAid Ghana and partners currently operates the demand responsive approach where communities must show desire for water or sanitation facilities before we also respond by supporting them through the provision of funds, capacity building and technical support. This means that your community can benefit after they have written an application to any of our partners that is closest to your community. The partner will indicate to your community whether it will be able to support, when, and what commitments shall be required of your community. Note that our main focus is on deprived communities - rural or urban. Our partners will therefore have to be convinced that your community falls within what they classify as deprived. 11. How many people do WaterAid Ghana and partners reach with water, sanitation and hygiene promotion services per year?Together, we reach an average of 50,000 people with water, sanitation and hygiene promotion services every year since 1995. 12. How do we know that your partners do not misuse funds?
13. Does WaterAid Ghana work with other organisations?WaterAid Ghana pays particular attention to networking. This is because the organisation believes that no single organisation can ever solve the global water and sanitation problem. In Ghana, therefore, in addition to our eight partner NGO's, WaterAid works closely with the sector ministries, the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, academic institutions, research institutions, multinational development institutions like DANIDA, financial institutions like the Standard Chartered Bank and the Barclays Bank, business institutions like Guinness Ghana Limited. WaterAid Ghana and partners also contributed immensely to the formation of the Ghana Coalition of NGO's in Water and Sanitation both in deliberations and financial support. WaterAid Ghana is also a member of the Ghana Association of Private Voluntary Organisations in Development (GAPVOD) and the International NGO Forum (INGOs). WaterAid has also served as a learning institution where students from tertiary institutions come for internship programmes. Students have come from the University of Ghana, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and Wheaton College in Illinois USA. 14. How does water and sanitation contribute to poverty reduction?It takes good health to be productive. Water occupies about 70% of the human body, according to scientists. Therefore water is a major agent for disease transmission and, in fact, exerts tremendous control over our health. In poor countries, sources of drinking water are mostly contaminated. When people lack access to good sanitation and drink from unsafe water sources, what generally occurs is water and sanitation related diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, guinea worm, trachoma, malaria, hepatitis A, polio, typhoid, bilharzias, hookworm, tapeworm, dysentery etc. Our belief is that when someone is ill, the one cannot work effectively. The one is likely to be poor. Again, many people have to walk long distances and have to spend many hours looking for water. The time and energy they spend could better be used more productively had there been access of water closer to the home. More than 1.1 billion people across the world lack access to potable water and 2.4 million lack access to good sanitation. In Ghana, more than 50% of the rural dwellers lack access to good drinking water and only about 11% of them have access to good sanitation facilities. WaterAid therefore believes that the first step toward poverty reduction must be the provision of safe drinking water and good sanitation.
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