Enabling local champions to tackle water woes at poor rural villages in China

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“Most of the villagers have been manually transporting water for their entire lives. Some of them walk up to 5 kilometers per trip to collect water. To them, to be able to obtain water by just turning on the tap is a miracle. With access to a regular and permanent water source, the lives of these villagers will turn for the better.” -Student Village Officer, Chongqing Municipality

Lien AID continues with a revolutionary collaboration with the China Association of Poverty Alleviation and Development (CAPAD) in combating water woes in rural China. This is an ambitious program that is pioneering a holistic and comprehensive approach to identify and empower local champions in implementing appropriate water intervention projects in poor rural villages.

As part of a three-days training, Lien AID, CAPAD and the Chongqing Poverty Alleviation and Development co-organized a seminar for close to 50 Student Village Officers (SVOs) / 大学生村官 selected from the southwestern region of Chongqing, Guizhou, Yunnan and Hubei provinces. The training sessions were tailored to train the SVOs in project management, as well as create a platform for exposure of water issues for the SVOs; after which a ‘call for proposals’ will determine projects to be seeded for implementation subsequently.

Attendees included representatives from Lien AID; CAPAD; Chongqing Poverty Alleviation and Development; Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute (NEWRI), Nanyang Technological University; experts from the China Center Control for Disease and Prevention; as well as the SVOs.

“Educating the SVOs is a vital step in ensuring proper implementation and follow-through of projects. Passion alone will not solve the problem; knowledge plays a huge role in contributing to a sustainable project with long-term benefits for the communities. We are hopeful that with commitment and support from the SVOs, local governments and communities, combined with proper know-how, we will witness a phenomenal change amongst the rural communities in time to come.” -Huang Zhu Shao, Vice Director (CAPAD)

This multi-year program aims to reach out to 100 poverty-stricken villages from 2012 to 2016, benefiting an estimated 100,000 beneficiaries (poor villagers); and will enhance the water and sanitation knowledge of 100 SVOs.

Projects selection will focus on Provinces with a large number of poverty-stricken villages such as Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Chongqing, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shannxi, Shanxi and Sichuan.

Thirteen projects have been completed in Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia, Chongqing and Guizhou, with 9 others slated to be completed by end 2013. The program aims to select and implement up to 25 water projects at poverty-stricken villages annually, over the subsequent years.

To find out more about our work in China, take a look at Where We Work – China.

Four rural villages in Chongqing Province have new lease of life

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In the dead of winter or the height of summer, people from the rural villages of Chongqing Province walk long distances, traverse risky terrain and brave the natural elements everyday to collect and carry home fresh water on their backs. During the annual drought season, these difficulties are made worse with the number of fresh water sources dwindling and consequent distances necessary to travel increasing.

For these villagers, collecting water was a dangerous yet necessary task. Zhang Qiong, a 35-year-old housewife from Shi An Village knows this all too well. When Ms. Zhang was 12, her father died when collecting water for the family. “My father was carrying the buckets when he fell in and drowned. He may have slipped or fainted because of the summer heat.”

Through a collaboration between Lien AID and the China Association of Poverty Alleviation and Development (CAPAD), communities living in four rural villages including Shi An now benefit from an improved access to safe water. A total of eight water storage tanks were built, with one village also equipped with a filtration tank and five decompression tanks for further water treatment. Water distribution systems were also erected, with all homes now able to receive piped water. Good hygiene practices were also shared with these communities.

Strong community involvement and commitment is fundamental in ensuring the sustainability of the water project. For Shi An Village, 27-year-old Zhong Enkui played a key role in bringing improved access to safe water for the community. He is a college graduate who is working as a Student Village Officer (“SVO”) at Shi An focusing on improving the livelihood of these villagers. He attended the SVO training programme run by CAPAD, which focuses on how to alleviate poverty through activities linked to economic development.

As part of the training programme, Lien AID provided lessons on water and sanitation project management to the SVOs. It then gets trainees to suggest projects. Suitable ones are carried out, with Lien AID providing part of the funding. “I knew the problems in Shi An village, but I did not know of the possible solutions. The training sessions gave me new ideas.” Additionally, the Chinese authorities and villagers also provided some funds needed for the project.

With the completion of the projects at these four villages, an estimated 4,582 villagers are now able to access clean water from their homes and Lien AID continues to train SVOs and initiate new projects at poverty-stricken villages in China.

“Water is essential to life. Without clean drinking water, one can’t survive, let alone work,” said Ms. Zhang. “So if you don’t even have water, what’s there to talk about for economic progress and development?”

To find out more about our programme in China, take a look at our Village Water Management Programme.

No more a pipe dream : Water project pipes clean water to rural village in Northern China

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With water piped directly to my home, I can spend this winter in ease, knowing that I no longer have to take the 45 minute walk to the public well to draw water,” says Zhao Xiao Qiu.

Winters in China, especially in the Northern provinces average temperatures between -10 to -30 degrees Celsius and yet many villagers have to walk several kilometres to the nearest water source in order to carry water home for drinking and cooking. The situation is now alleviated through the completion of a clean water project initiated by Lien AID and its local partners.

The project completion, commemorated on 21 May 2013, is part of Lien AID’s on-going effort to improve water and sanitation conditions in rural villages and schools. It involved piping water from underground wells  to one village and one primary school, resulting in the rural community obtaining sustained access to clean water throughout the year.

On top of the ‘hardware solution’, health and hygiene training to raise awareness of the importance of drinking clean water as well as proper hygiene practices, water conservation, protection of water sources and the environment were also carried out. This is part of a larger effort to catalyse behavioural change, and to ensure that rural communities are able to enjoy the benefits brought about by the project in the long run.

The project is estimated to have benefited more than 1,800 villagers, including over 300 students at a local primary school.

Eight local champions selected in efforts to pipe clean water into homes in rural China

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In rural China, hours spent trekking to the nearest water source only yields villagers as much water as he can carry home. During the annual drought, this worsens as villagers are forced to ration whatever little water they manage to collect from increasingly parched water sources.

In its second instalment, a revolutionary collaboration between Lien AID and the China Association of Poverty Alleviation and Development (CAPAD) continues to combat water woes in rural China, selecting an additional 8 Student Village Officers (SVOs) /大学生村官 to implement appropriate water projects in their poverty-stricken villages. The program ensures the sustainability of these projects through its holistic approach of identifying, equipping and empowering local champions with knowledge and skills to tackle the water and sanitation crisis in rural China.

The 8 Student Village Officers (SVOs)/ 大学生村官 will receive training and guidance, empowering them to carry out water projects that aim to store and pipe clean water into homes in their villages across the Chongqing and Guizhou Provinces.

A sustained water supply will boost agricultural and poultry-rearing activities, potentially increasing incomes of beneficiaries in these villages. Water storage facilities also ensure that these communities are well-equipped to ride out the annual drought when it hits. Health and hygiene training to raise awareness of the importance of drinking clean water, water conservation, protection of water sources and the environment will also be carried out, in an effort to catalyze behavioural change.

The projects are currently underway, and are scheduled to complete by end July 2013. The improved access to clean water will benefit an estimated 9, 164 villagers.

CAPAD is an NGO registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and is endorsed by the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development. One of its key programs is “Supporting the development of SVOs at poverty stricken villages or “支持贫困村大学生村官成长工程“. The program started in 2010/11, and conducts training on poverty alleviation for SVOs who have been assigned to work in poverty stricken villages across China.

Lien AID and the China Association of Poverty Alleviation and Development in Collaboration to Empower Local Champions in Improving Water Conditions at Poor Rural Villages

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‘With water, I see hope for my village. The township and county governments are very supportive of plans for the village to embark in greenhouse farming and cultivation of herbs for sales.’ – Student Village Officer from Gansu Province.

Lien AID continues with a revolutionary collaboration with the China Association of Poverty Alleviation and Development (CAPAD) in combating water woes in rural China. This is an ambitious programme that is pioneering a holistic and comprehensive approach to identify and empower local champions in implementing appropriate water intervention projects in poor rural villages.

On 28 November 2012, as part of a two week training, organized by CAPAD for over 500 selected Student Village Officers (SVOs)/ 大学生村官 from 14 provinces, Lien AID held a water forum aimed at creating exposure of water issues for the SVOs, wherein projects will be seeded for implementation.

Attendees included representatives from Lien AID; CAPAD; Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University; experts from the China Center Control for Disease and Prevention; experts in the water and sanitation fields; as well as the SVOs.

CAPAD is a premier government-linked NGO which aims to educate and facilitate SVOs based in poverty stricken villages to conduct effective poverty alleviation activities.  Every year, more than 1,000 SVOs across China are selected by the respective provincial poverty alleviation departments to attend the prestigious training sessions.

To find out more about our work in China, take a look at Where We Work – China.