Trust Each Other

ISSUE:
We are working on reducing the problems affecting women related to water scarcity; a lack of knowledge about savings; poverty; lack of understanding regarding basic issues like banking functions; lack of family planning and birth control; property mismanagement; and environmental degradation. Without water close by, women travel a long distance to get it. They then return home late, make meals hastily, and most often, they are unhealthy. Men decide to find food outside the home and sometimes return with HIV/AIDS from infidelity. Children are often recruited by their parents to collect water and are either late for school or miss it. Thus, the issue of lack of access to water impacts the community in different ways: children do not go to school on time from spending time collecting water; sexual abuse occurs against women and girls on the way to collect water when they have to walk long distances early in morning or later evening; separation and conflict between couples occurs (which leads to infidelity); girls drop out of school; Water scarcity makes completing home tasks impossible to do on time; and it pushes some to become domestic water servers for money.

MISSION:
To reduce a variety of societal problems associated with water scarcity including water borne diseases, school drop-outs, domestic violence, the spread of HIV, and undesired pregnancies.

THEORY OF CHANGE:

• We believe that by providing clean water and carrying out sensitizations that teach community members about the importance of using clean water, they will change their mindsets about caring for water treatment usage and thus the community's health will be improved.
• We believe that by providing training on gender-based violence and reproductive health, it will make couples better understand the causes and triggers of violence and they will change their behavior related to the values of women and learn to share responsibilities.
• We believe that by constructing a water hut nearby, it will diminish the rate of school drop outs.
• We also believe that there will be a reduction in undesired pregnancies among teenage girls.
• We believe that by carrying out community sensitizations about the benefits of healthy, balanced meals and HIV tests, we can help reduce the transmission rate of HIV/AIDS since everyone will know his/her health status.

SOLUTION:
Our venture will build a water hut and water tank that will serve around 3500 people living in 8 villages. We will train 30 couples on gender-based violence, teach 50 couples how to use birth control and provide free water to 80 individuals (or 15 households) of the most vulnerable people that include child-headed households and handicapped women. Additionally, we will pay school fees for the most vulnerable 50 students who come from poor families and also cover health insurance costs to the neediest of the 8 villages. We also plan to offer health sensitizations to 150 primary students every 3 months. We will partner with primary school administrators and local leaders to allow us to provide a monthly workshop on HIV testing on Umuganda (National Service Day) to approximately 3500 inhabitants from all villages.

12-MONTH GOALS:

• After 1 year, an increase in households that share domestic tasks between men and women by 70%.
• After 1 year, the number of children returning to school on time will increase by 10%.
• After 1 year, violence will decrease by 20%.
• After 1 year, there will be a reduction of new HIV/AIDS cases by 20%.
• Within 2 years, there will be a reduction in unwanted pregnancies by 25%.