Introduction
In Uganda only 34% of the population currently have access to improved sanitation and this percentage is the same in both rural and urban areas, with government investment in the sector extremely limited. Access to improved sanitation facilities is listed in the Habitat Agenda as one of the five deprivations of slum dwellers.
Sanitation is a dirty word in most societies. Many people, including politicians, seem to prefer other more savory topics (WaterAid, 2009), noting that often sanitation programs are tacked on to water projects as an afterthought. However there is growing acknowledgement globally about the urgency with which to address sanitation conditions of the urban poor. This is largely because of the serious consequences that poor sanitation has on the overall health and well being of communities. In 2009 the United Nations declared access to proper sanitation as a human right. According to UNHCR (2009) improved sanitation is vital to human health, promotes gender equality, and generates economic benefits. It is also estimated that one tenth of the global disease burden could be prevented by improving water supply, sanitation, hygiene and management of water resources.
It’s against this backdrop that I have decided to analyze and highlight a story of change in the area of sanitation for the urban poor. By sharing the voices of one community and their actions towards improved sanitation, this essay aims to challenge the general perception that slum dwellers are passive, powerless and unable to initiate change
The Kinawataka Market Sanitation Project
Kinawataka is a settlement in the Nakawa region of Kampala situated roughly 6.3 km northeast of the Central Business District. The area is a mix of residential, commercial and industrial buildings. Kinawataka market, the site for the facility is located just off Kinawataka road. The market portrays the scene one would commonly see in many market areas in the city suburbs: vibrating with activity, full of females (mostly slum dwellers) trading vegetables, fruits, fish, grains etc. Kinawataka market is particularly crowded, prone to flooding, and largely under-served with basic utilities. Based on the 2011 enumeration in Nakawa division conducted by the division’s office of National Slum Dwellers Federation of Uganda (NSDFU), the suburb of Kinawataka had only 40% of the families residing there having access to sanitation. This finding birthed the idea of building a public sanitation facility.
The facility serves community members and visitors of the Kinawataka community market. It is intended to benefit at least 600 households, and on top is a recently completed community facility that the federation uses as an office.
Key arguments for the project
Collective deliberation
Community participation is about involving people who have common goals and interests, in taking decisions that will help them to overcome collective problems and improve the quality of their lives (Khosla, 2012).
This collective deliberation was evident from the inception stage of the project when the community in Kinawataka took it upon themselves to improve the living conditions of their area. This was then extended to involve the local council and the other partnerships through involvement of SDI, ACTogether and NSDFU. It is therefore a project by the people, for the people.
Innovative design and construction
The key considerations in the design of any communal sanitation units are; physical condition of users, safety, gender, sense of community, materials, and energy efficiency, aesthetics, functionality, and privacy considerations. The design for the sanitation unit for Kinawataka market meets most of these criteria. The presence of a disabled access toilet response to growing demand that public facilities be designed according to the principles of universal design. The separation of male and female sections of the facility is a privacy consideration and other functional issues such as adequate security, ventilation and lighting were properly addressed. Innovative use of locally made materials such as breeze blocks led to some vital cost reductions. The unit has 6 toilets (3 male and 3 female), 1 disabled access toilet, 1 urinal, 2 shower rooms, a water point, a small store, and the community hall.
Impact and opportunities
The project has gone a long way in restoring the sense of sense of community and public ownership in Kinawataka. It has showed what the community can do when they come together. Without doubt it has greatly improved the quality of the living and working place in this neighborhood, becoming a bench mark for the community in learning about good sanitation. As reported by ACTogether (2012) in its Sanitation Update, the project has also opened new ground for the redevelopments of the Kinawataka market. The Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development has extended technical support in this regard and formed a steering committee for re-development, involving the Federation and Nakawa municipality.
Sustainability
This project succeeded in meeting some sustainability goals in relation to financing and other social concerns. To use the toilet facility one is charged UGX 200 per use and UGX 500 to use the bathroom facilities. Water is also sold to the community at a fee of UGX 100 for a 20 liter can. Income generated from these charges contribute to the repayment of the loan obtained from SDI, which forms a revolving fund to fund other Federation projects. The Federation also mobilized and sensitized the community on savings in Nakawa, particularly in Kinawataka settlement. The saving groups in Nakawa participated in construction of the facility and are now involved in its management.
During the construction period construction and management skills were learnt by the community members involved, equipping them to do similar projects in the future. At one point in the project SDI also facilitated two members of the Project Management Committee to a learning trip to India where they learnt about the sanitation approach in a different geographical and cultural setting. This contributed to the success of the project and paved way for trialing new ideas in Uganda.
Challenges
There is no such thing as absolute success in a project of this nature. Although there are more positives, it is imperative to highlight some of the challenges that were faced in the journey to realizing the project and how they were overcome. Perhaps the greatest challenge is that the community in the market has been unable to raise the 20% contribution for SUUBI (Uganda’s urban poor fund). This halted the progress of the upper level of the project which was supposed to be financed in part with proceeds from the lower level. Management of the unit has also been a challenge for the Federation, but the community has instituted a number of new reforms to address this.
Conclusion
The Kinawataka project is one of a number of pilot projects that have been implemented in six different municipalities across the country, According to Bachmayer and Shermbrucker (2012), the units are beginning to demonstrate the capacity of communities to manage the construction and maintenance of waterborne public sanitation facilities (with flush toilets, showers, clean water access, opportunities for rainwater harvesting and often times a community space on the upper level).
It is a celebration of the power of slum communities to initiate and sustain change. Although the scope of the intervention is modest, in both physical and social terms, the potential to changing lives in Kinawataka is vast. As noted in UNHCR (2009) for every US $1 invested in improved sanitation, it shows an average of US $9 return in value in terms of avoided deaths, time and effort saved, more productivity due to less down time due to illness, as well as saved health costs.
References
Bachmayer. G, (2012), Kinawataka Market Facility, A report by Slum Dwellers International and National Slum Dwellers Federation of Uganda, Kampala
Bachmayer. G, Shermbrucker. N, (2014) Innovative communal sanitation models for the urban poor-Lessons from Uganda, SHARE, London
Fogg. A. N, (2008), The Blame Game: Water and Sanitation in Kampala’s Urban Slums, Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. Paper 98. Accessed on 16th Nov. 2014 at http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/98
Isunju. JB et al. (2013), Financing of sanitation services in the slums of Kampala and Dar es Salaam, Kampala
Khosla. R, (2012), Community Participation: Deconstructing the challenge. Center for Regional and Urban Excellence. Paper presented at the 2012 People Building Better Cities Conference in Bhopal, India
MLHUD, (2008), a Situation Analysis of Slums in Uganda and National Slum Upgrade Strategy and Action Plan, Kampala
SSWARS, 2008, Determination of the Toilet Coverage for Bwaise I Parish, Kampala
UNHCR, 2009, Walk for Water, Walk for Life, a publication for world water day 2009,
Wadada, W. (2012), Portable Toilets as a Strategy for Improving Sanitation in Kampala (A case of Bwaise), unpublished undergraduate dissertation, Makerere University
WaterAid, (Undated), Social marketing report: Usage and Attitudes of Sanitation facilities in Kawempe division, Kampala, WaterAid Uganda
WaterAid, Tearfund, (Undated), the Human Waste- A call for urgent action to combat the millions of deaths caused by poor sanitation, London
This essay was written by Benard Acellam for the 2014 Adequate Housing Essay Competition organised by Shelter and Settlements Alternative- Uganda Human Settlements Network.
