Mahazina Water System
inauguration: March 18, 2024 🎉

PROJECT OUTLINE

 

Rationale :

 

Since 2009 Madagascar has experienced serious political tension and social unrest. The current President (who took office in January 2019)and his government have made a good start in tackling some of Madagascar’s many problems. Nevertheless, according to the World Bank  82% of the population of 28 million live in extreme poverty on an income of less than US$1 a day (92% live on less than US1.5 a day). And a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report states that Madagascar is the third poorest country on earth in terms of food insecurity and school attendance - after only Afghanistan and Haiti. 

 

Conditions for the population of the hamlets of Andafiatsimo are typical of those in rural areas in that they have never had access to clean, safe drinking water or proper sanitation. The majority of people in these particularly poor and deprived farming communities live in harsh and primitive conditions and make their living from working the land and cattle raising. 

 

The first water installation in the village was made by FIKRIFAMA in 1998 and the infrastructure is now in a very poor state. Only 2 standpipes out of the 13 installed at that time are currently working due to the water leak in the reservoir. Many pipes are broken and need to be replaced. It takes up to 48 hours for the reservoir to be filled up and the villagers have to wait every two days to get water from the 2 working standpipes. The other alternative for them to get their daily need of water is to go to the Commune which is located 3 kilometres away. 

 

Traditionally collecting water is the responsibility of women and girl children.  – an exhausting and time-consuming task carried out several times a day, reducing the time women have to take care of their families and supplement the family income, and preventing girls from attending school. 

 

Reliable access to safe, clean water would allow women to engage in more productive activities and increase their families’ income; and more girl children would be freed from this arduous task and able to go to school. Collecting water has a significant impact on families with babies and small children whose water needs are considerable. And even the elderly, men and women, have to collect their own water. 

 

The villagers are aware of the need to boil water before consumption, but charcoal, the fuel most used for cooking, is too expensive for the majority to afford; and collecting firewood becomes increasingly difficult and threatening to the already fragile environment – contributing to deforestation.  Several women told MDF that for many years they had collected water up to seven times a day. They live in hope that finance can be found to give them easier access to safe, clean water all year round, and have appealed to MDF for support..

 

 

Main Inputs:

 

The project has been visited and evaluated on site with local community leaders. The population has agreed to cooperate and work alongside MDF’s construction team in the successful completion of this project by providing unskilled labour free of charge – to dig trenches for the pipes and supply locally available building materials, such as sand, gravel and stones.   

 

From experience local participation encourages ownership and pride in what the community has created,  and gives MDF and its supporters the assurance needed to be reasonably satisfied the system will be well maintained after completion. 

 

Community leaders have given a solemn undertaking to set up a maintenance committee for each standpipe. On completion members of the management committee will receive training from MDF’s team on how to maintain and repair the installation, and put in place a modest and affordable payment system to cover the cost of repairs and maintenance. 

 

When finance becomes available MDF will advance only half the total project cost to allow work to begin. The second half will be paid only on receipt of a satisfactory, illustrated report, including receipted bills, showing that work is progressing. Monitoring visits will also be carried out as necessary. MDF will manage the finances and the project throughout - thus applying rigorous financial and quality controls

 

 

Main Outputs:

 

Providing clean water to the hamlets that make up Andafiatsimo will contribute to improving health and sanitation in the community, reduce the incidence of life-threatening illness caused by water-borne diseases,  relieve the women in particular of the onerous task of collecting water several times a day and give them time to pursue more productive activities,  and allow more girls to be educated just like their brothers  - thus contributing to the alleviation of poverty.