Case Study Of Banjah Village Environmental Sciences Essay

Water is indispensable to adult male, animate beings and works and without H2O, life on Earth would non be. It is the 2nd resource, which is really of import and abundant apart from air Wagner and Lanoix ( 1961:9 ) . From the really beginning of human civilisation, people have chose to settle near to H2O beginnings, along rivers, beside lakes or near natural springs. Indeed, where people live, some H2O is usually available for imbibing, domestic usage and perchance for irrigating animate beings.

When the member authorities of the United Nations proclaimed the 1980s to be the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade ( the Water Decade ) , they were reacting to an pressing demand. An estimated 30,000 people were deceasing every twenty-four hours, many of them attributed to a deficiency of safe imbibing H2O or equal sanitation installations. The state of affairs of H2O supply in the universe particularly in rural countries is far from being satisfactory. In 1980, the World Health Organization estimated that more than 70 % of the universe 's rural population was without entre to a safe and equal H2O supply: some 1.150million villagers ( China 's statistics non included ) were imbibing H2O which was a menace to their wellness ( IRC1998: 7 ) . Besides, more than one billion people lack entree to a safe supply of imbibing H2O. Water related diseases become taking cause of decease in the universe. It takes the lives of more than 14.000 people each twenty-four hours as it is responsible for 80 % of all illness in the universe.

In developing states, adult females and immature misss spend more than 200million hours walking to the nearest H2O beginning merely to acquire adequate H2O for their households. Besides, statistics show that merely 60 % of the African population has entree to safe H2O supplies. More so, in Cameroon more than one million people presently lack entree to safe imbibing H2O and three billion deficiency entree to basic sewerage systems. Although SNEC was created in Cameroon in the sixtiess after the independency, its activities are largely been limited to the supply of drinkable H2O to urban and urban periphery, populating the rural countries at their ain clemencies and with limited finance to pay for drinkable H2O supply.

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Drinkable H2O scarceness being a worldwide crisis besides threatens the population of Banjah community. Banjah is one of the small towns which make up the Bamenda cardinal subdivision in the North West Region of Cameroon. It is situated about 5km North West of Bamenda town. This little Anglophone small town of about 2000 people made the scarceness of drinkable H2O their preoccupation. The Anglophone Cameroon by and large has had a strong tradition of ego reliant community development. During the colonial period, the British provided basic comfortss to their settlements for small cost. The supply of drinkable H2O for British Southern Cameroonians was under the Public Works Department ( PWD ) a authorities bureau. And H2O was fundamentally free compared to those in Gallic Cameroon. After reunion, the assets of PWD associating to H2O were transferred to a new bureau SNEC. With SNEC, the awards stated increasing. So with the cognition that H2O is supposed to be less dearly-won or even free and with the spirit of community development inborn in most Anglophone countries, the Banjah people decided to come up with a autonomous H2O undertaking which was partially realized in 1992.

Before the realisation of the strategy, the villagers fetched H2O from rivers springs and watercourses, which ran for long distances before making the small town. These beginnings besides crisscross farming areas, croping lands and colonies. This resulted to really high rates of taint. More so, the villagers traveled for stopping point to 3km to bring H2O and H2O borne diseases were rampant. Water jobs were doing great social jobs. Besides, the absence of drinkable H2O retarded other development undertakings.

With the partially realisation of the H2O supply strategy, the above jobs have non been wholly eradicated, alternatively, new 1s have been created. The H2O strategy faces the job of irregular supplies. There is misdirection of financess. The spread nature of colonies and the rugged terrain are besides major jobs. Lack of local trained forces for the operation and care of the strategy increases the jobs. Finally, the deficiency of adult females engagement in the direction of the strategy besides causes a great job since they are the greatest donees.

All these jobs leave the villagers no option but to be given to their old available H2O beginnings. Therefore, conveying back if non, all the jobs faced by the community before the realisation of the undertaking. These jobs inspired the research worker to seek reply to this chief research inquiry: How effectual is the Banjah Water supply undertaking? To reply this inquiry this research has been divided into four subdivisions.

The first subdivision assesses the state of affairs of drinkable H2O before the realisation of the H2O undertaking. It besides looks at H2O supply process and how the support for the H2O undertaking was carried out. The following subdivision looks at the different histrions involved in the H2O supply strategy. It besides analyses the schemes and direction used for the success of the undertaking. The following is the socio economic impacts of the H2O supply strategy to the Banjah community in peculiar and others in general. Then we look at the jobs faced in the direction of the H2O supply strategy. The last subdivision concludes by sketching future chances in relation to the present tendencies in the development of the strategy. This prospects if carried out will convey the undertaking to a successful terminal.

METHODOLOGY

The Banjah Water supply undertaking covers a comparatively little country but with a hard terrain. It has diverse activities every bit good as people with every bit diverse positions. Like other rural countries in Cameroon, it is ill served with communicating installations. All of these will ask a multi- attack in roll uping informations. The methodological analysis therefore will be divided into two parts ; informations aggregation and information analysis.

Data and Information Collection

The information for the survey will be collected from primary and secondary beginnings.

Acquisition of Secondary informations

Much has been written on community H2O supply strategy, direction and impacts. In this visible radiation, informations will be collected from both published and unpublished secondary beginnings. They will include paperss and relevant web sites on the Internet. These paperss will include text editions, thesiss thesis, diaries, periodicals and magazines. These paperss and statistics will be gotten from libraries, NGOs and Rural and Urban Councils

Acquisition of Primary Data

This will affect fieldwork. Fieldwork constitutes a major beginning of informations in this type of research. That is field trips, interviews, direct observations and questionnaires.

The first stage of the field trip will get down with a pilot study during which the matrix will be located and demarcated the layout of the terrain appreciated and some measurings concluded.

The 2nd stage will affect transect work to demo the spacial distribution of the H2O web.

Semi structured interviews and treatments will be conducted officially with traditional heads, members of the small town traditional council, members of the H2O direction commission, caputs of adult females associations and house hold caputs. Informal interviews and treatments will be done on Lord's daies after church services, market yearss and flushing when most of the villagers have retired place. These semi structured interviews and treatments will take to historical function. It will affect the function of the H2O related phenomena before and after the realisation of the strategy.

Direct observations

This is really of import in roll uping and analysing informations. It involves the drawing of maps to demo the spacial distribution of phenomenon. For illustration the spacial distribution of the H2O web, the proposed strategy etc. Photographs will besides be taken to demo the spacial arrangement of certain phenomenon utilizing the direct field observation method. The H2O jobs will hence be assessed straight.

Questionnaires

Last, questionnaires were administered utilizing graded random study technique to respondents for general replies. The different quarters represented the different strata. In each strata families were indiscriminately selected. The family caput became the chief source or other representatives in the instance of the absent of the family caput. For the 200 questionnaires 40 were administered to each of the five quarters. For these 200 questionnaires administered 154 were decently answered. That is 77 % . These greatly helped the research worker to analyse the H2O supply strategy and its direction in the community. This is shown on the tabular array below.

After roll uping these informations, they are traveling to be sorted classified analysed and interpreted. The information will be analyzed utilizing descriptive statistic methods. Tables, per centum and charts will be used.

Hundreds of 1000000s of people in rural communities struggle for drinkable H2O supplies. Like most rural communities, the people of Banjah small town one time depended merely on traditional H2O beginnings for endurance. The clip to turn to the annihilating effects of increasing H2O scarceness and worsening H2O quality around the Banjah small town eventually came. This chapter hence tries to analyze the state of affairs of drinkable H2O before the strategy was realized, provide process and the support.

Field study reveals that life was similar snake pit to the villagers before the strategy. Drinking H2O was gotten from watercourses, rivers and springs, which ran, for long distances before making the small town. Apart from H2O collected from the rain the other beginnings were extremely polluted. This resulted to H2O borne diseases. Villagers took the hurting to go for stat mis to roll up this contaminated H2O. Water scarceness caused social jobs and a host of other jobs.

Water beginnings before the strategy

The population of Banjah community had legion beginnings of H2O before the strategy. Field observation and sampling revealed the distribution beginnings as seen below.

The above consequences revealed that most people got H2O chiefly from rainwater ( during the rainy season ) , watercourses and springs. The per centums of the population that collected H2O from these different beginnings range from 34 % for rainwater, 32 % for watercourse to 27 % for springs. These beginnings were accompanied by many jobs.

The above findings on the different H2O beginnings are similar with Faniran ( 1987 ) who highlighted that the chief beginnings of H2O before the installing of the Lagos Water Scheme were pools watercourses, springs, pools, Wellss, lakes and rivers. He went farther to explicate that these beginnings which were polluted led to the high rate of H2O borne diseases. These besides go in line with this research and below are some of the job faced by the villagers before the realisation of the strategy.

Problems of Potable Water Before the Realisation of the Scheme

Water bringing before the 1990s in Banjah small town was a great domestic load. Much clip and energy was spent to cover long distances to bring H2O from the different beginnings apart from rainwater. The tabular array below reveals walking distance from the H2O beginning, measure of H2O fetched per twenty-four hours and clip spent for the intent.

The tabular array shows that an norm of 700m was covered by each family to roll up an norm of 100- 125litres of H2O. Women and kids every forenoon had to acquire up at the cleft of morning walking in the really cold status on narrow and hazardous way merely to roll up adequate H2O for their families. With the hazardous way some people after transporting the H2O and about making the house normally slipped off non merely pouring the H2O but besides interrupting their hard earned containers.

Besides during the dry season when most of the H2O beginnings were drying up longer clip was spent. This is because, the villagers had to go longer distances to bring H2O. Apart from these long distances, adult females and kids frequently have to wait in bend to roll up H2O. Some traditional beginnings frequently dry out for several months each twelvemonth and it could take up to an hr to make full a pail as they waited for the H2O to easy filtrate through the land to their containers. To avoid such long delaies many H2O aggregators got up every bit early as they could to acquire to the H2O beginning before the queuing started. There was besides serious contending as they queued up.

This activity was really palling and clip consuming, small clip was left for other activities that could bring forth income. The villagers described this distance as being painful. The calamity was that, holding spent so much clip and attempt in making a beginning of H2O, the H2O itself was frequently soiled, contaminated and a wellness jeopardy.

Health Problems

Water related wellness jobs were rampant in the community before the supply of drinkable H2O. These jobs were straight and indirectly related to the absent of drinkable H2O. Indirectly, acquiring up early to acquire H2O was raging. Besides the early forenoon cold characterized in the country during the dry season caused catarrh, cough, dry tegument and many other related diseases.

Directly, these beginnings of H2O were extremely contaminated. They were normally polluted by domestic waste disposal, farm fertilisers, treading by animate beings, the usage of H2O for stooling up watercourse, rinsing of apparels and still utilizing the H2O for imbibing downstream. Field surveies besides revealed that most frequently, the H2O had gustatory sensation, atoms settled at the underside of the container when kept overnight and some even stained garments. All these showed how polluted the H2O was. These led to a high incidence of H2O related diseases as shown on the tabular array below.

From the tabular array above, it can be seen that there was a high incidence of diseases before the installing of the H2O. Harmonizing to the sampled population, the sum of 132 people was ill of H2O borne diseases. Diarrhea had the highest prevalence of 36 % . Apart of these H2O borne diseases, there were besides H2O washed diseases like itchs, and H2O related vectors which caused malaria and filarial all transmitted by mosquitoes. The heavy containers caused backache, retarded growing and joint strivings. The sick wellness of the labour force earnestly affected the development of the community. The general sanitation in the small town was a muss.

Societal Problems

The absent of drinkable H2O can be detriment to the society. Before the strategy was realised there were a series of social jobs. Most hubbies bartered their married woman for non cooking and transporting H2O on clip. Most work forces did non care under which fortunes H2O was provided, all they needed was that things should be done and available on clip. School kids had to transport H2O before traveling to school. The long queuing particularly during the dry season made these kids to either travel tardily to school or non to travel at all.

More so, normally there was serious contending amongst the villagers as they struggled to transport foremost. This caused hostility. Children were besides beaten for interrupting H2O containers. It was a hapless scene.

Accepting the presence of a job is the beginning of the solution. After sing all these jobs something needed to be done. The villagers so took on their enterprise to supply drinkable H2O for the community.

Supply Procedure

With all these H2O crises faced in the community, something had to be done to turn to the status and it had to be done fast. The people decided to build a autonomous community H2O undertaking. The whole process can mostly be seen on a diagram as below demoing the assorted stages.

• Operation & A ;
• Maintenance and Management
• Designation
• Initiation
• Preparation For Upkeep
• Planning
• Monitoring & A ; Evaluation
• Construction

Initiation

After placing the job the following phase was the induction. Field study shows that adult females and kids are the primary groups roll uping H2O. Therefore, they are the 1s who understand the hurting of supplying clean H2O. It is for this ground that the adult females after all the hurting and agony took upon the enterprise to suggest the thought of a drinkable H2O supply strategy.

The above tabular array shows that the adult females group of the small town introduced the enterprise. Those who responded otherwise were either nescient or had nil to offer.

Taking this enterprise, the adult females met with the Chief and Elders of the small town. They were directed to an administration that provide aid to community undertakings were they got of import advice on the supply of inexpensive and drinkable H2O to the community. They country was surveyed and the cost deliberated upon. They so decided to seek for assistance from different givers to add to what they had. It should be noted that there were processs and conditions which the villagers had to follow and carry through before they got any external aid.

Support

Undertakings like rural H2O supplies can non be carried without assistance from the villagers themselves. The people of Banjah though willing to lend for the realisation of the H2O supply strategy, had limited agencies of bring forthing income for the installing of the H2O undertaking. Therefore, they had to seek aid from International and Local Non Governmental Organizations ( NGO 's ) , to guarantee the success of the undertaking.

The three stages of the undertaking were completed in 1992, 1994, and 1996 severally. Financial, proficient and material support were gotten from the Swiss Association for Development and Cooperation ( HELVETAS ) , African Development Foundation ( ADF ) , European Union and of class the Department of Community Development in Banjah. The fiscal parts can be seen on the tabular array below.

Actors, Stratergies and Management of the Water Project

The success of a community H2O supply can non be done by the community entirely. There must be other histrions involved. These include internal histrions which are made up of the people in the community and the external histrions which include people or organisations outside the community. These histrions in one manner or the other helped in the realisation of the Banjah H2O undertaking. Field surveies revealed how involved these different histrions were and are still involved in the supply and direction process of the undertaking.

Operation

For a undertaking to be successful at that place must be effectual operation and care. The Banjah H2O strategy maps under the umbrella of the Banjah Water Project Committee. The H2O strategy was divided into three stages. The first stage involved placing the spring beginning and taking the right engineering. The tabular array below shows the appropriate engineering options for the community H2O supply and why the piped supply was choose for the community.

The piped engineering was chosen after discoursing with the field technician ( from HELVETAS ) and the community.

`` This is because the H2O can easy be distributed in pipes to want points sing the topography of the small town '' ( explained the commission president of the strategy )

The 2nd stage involved the aggregation of hard currency. This stage was really boring because it was non easy converting the villagers to lend. Several meetings were held in this visible radiation. The 3rd stage was the supply of local stuffs. Woman and kids carried sand and the work forces and young person carried rocks to the undertaking sites. This was done one-fourth by one-fourth under the supervising of the undertaking commission and one-fourth caputs. The 4th stage was the building work proper. These involved the building of the catchment country and storage armored combat vehicle, excavation of the trenches and laying of the pipes. A 2.5km pipe was laid from the catchment country to the storage armored combat vehicle.

The undertaking covers a distance of 6.2km long and consists of 30 individual base lights-outs and 2 dual base lights-outs. There are four chief control valve Chamberss along the line and a little valve chamber attached to each base pat. There are besides several private base lights-outs in different families.

Maintenance and Management

The Banjah Water Scheme has a care commission. This commission is supposed to guarantee sustainable direction of the strategy. The maps of the executive members who make up the care commission can be summarized as follows:

Community Participation

Most local populations are normally actively involved in the decision-making concerning developments or in their execution. They do n't merely supply information for the realisation of the strategy but besides take part in the effectual running of the strategy. The Banjah Community whole-heartedly participated to the success of the installing of the pipe borne H2O. The community participated through support and building of the H2O strategy. From field survey, more than 90 % of those who visited the catchment country went at that place for community work.

The community of Banjah started take parting at the beginning of the building of the H2O strategy. The people were willing to make whatever they were asked to make. Much work was done at the catchment country. It included amongst others glade of study way, proviso of study nog, transporting of rock, sand and other building stuffs. The community was besides responsible for excavation of the spring beginning for the catchment and besides trenches that channel the H2O to the remainder of the small town. Each of the quarters involved in the undertaking had community work leaders who did the organisation of the work at the one-fourth degree.

Community labour was estimated to be approximately 3,000,000FCFA. The community besides participated financially. Womans had to pay a amount of 2000FCFA, work forces 5000FCFA and kids above 18years 1000FCFA while those below 18years paid 500FCFA. The natives outside the small town were non excluded. They contributed massively towards the development of the strategy. Fund raising parties were held in most of the subdivisions all over the state to raise financess for the strategy.

Women Involvement

In Banjah in peculiar and most other rural communities, adult females and kids are the primary groups of roll uping H2O. Therefore, they are the 1s who suffer most from the jobs associated to the proviso of H2O. The field study shows that adult females were those who brought the thought of drinkable what supply in the small town.

As seen above, 74 % of the families interviewed revealed that adult females were those who brought the thought of drinkable H2O supply. They did non merely conveying the thought but besides helped in the executing of the undertaking. They were involved in transporting rocks and sand. They besides contributed financially by lending 2000FCFA each. Besides, some adult females participate in cleaning some of the public lights-outs and place installed lights-outs around.

But it should be noted that on the other manus work forces are those who provide more financially and materially and are greatly involved in determination devising. It is a commiseration that many of them have small cognition about the agonies and load in supplying the household with H2O every twenty-four hours. Moreso, adult females are marginalized when comparing the possible function of the adult females with the existent engagement in the assorted phases of planning, building, care and rating. Womans are non really much involved. This explains why merely one adult female is a member of the executive board. Notwithstanding this the community at big extremely participates in the development of the undertaking.

The above goes in line with the universe acme held in Rio de Janerio in June 1992 where they explained that experiences in many developing states during and since the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade ( 1981 1990 ) shows that even the best tally H2O bureaus can non successfully implement, operate and keep a web of widely spread H2O systems without the full engagement and committedness of the users. There must be therefore the full engagement of a community in the realisation of any development undertaking, since they are the donees.

The Socio Economic Impacts of the Banjah Water Supply Scheme

Positive Impacts

Water is an of import accelerator necessary for speed uping both economic and societal developments. Therefore H2O scarceness is one of the most of import environmental restraints of development, peculiarly in countries that face limited H2O in footings of quality and measure. The installing of pipe borne H2O in Banjah has resulted to some impacts. Summarily, there is the decrease of the incidence of H2O borne diseases, decrease of H2O fetching as a domestic load, sweetening of other development plans, step of poorness relief and others that are explained below.

Decrease in Water Borne Diseases

The criterions of Cameroon imbibing H2O, corresponds with that of France, which is laid down in article one of the edict of 10th August 1961, of the `` Conseil Superieur d'hygien publique '' and the edict of 28th February 1962 and 7th September 1967 ( Helvetas Manual, 1985 ) . These correspond to the international criterion, which says H2O should be colorless, tasteless, odorless and has no hazardous bacterium. The general safety of H2O is determined by its physical, chemical and bacteriological quality. It should hold sourness ( PH ) of measures which will do the H2O soft ( foams easy ) and the H2O should hold fix free carbondioxide. The tabular array below shows the study on chemical analysis of tap H2O in Banjah small town.

Faecal coliform count in H2O samples taken from rural systems should ne'er transcend 10 bacteriums per 100 milliliter, and no more than 25 % of samples should incorporate fecal coliforms. The H2O trial consequences shows that the Banjah H2O has less than 10 bacteriums per 100ml. The nowadays of the few bacteriums are as a consequence of some common dirt bacteriums which are frequently present sometimes but with really small hazard of fecal pollution. Besides, it should be noted that protected springs provide H2O free from fecal taint. Therefore these explain why the H2O is fit for imbibing.

Banjah H2O as seen above is colourless, odourless, tasteless, non acidic, soft and with less bacterium content. The H2O can hence be termed mineral H2O. This high criterion of H2O has reduced the incidence of H2O borne diseases, though non wholly eradicated. This can be seen by comparing the distribution of diseases before and after the strategy. The tabular arraies below compare the distribution of diseases before and after the realisation of the strategy.

A comparism of these tabular arraies shows that the incidence of H2O borne diseases has reduced. Harmonizing to the sampled population, the sum of 132 people was ill of H2O borne diseases before, and after the installing of the strategy it reduced to 31. This decrease is as a consequence of the good quality H2O. But the inquiry still remains why have n't these diseases been wholly eradicated? This will be analysed in the pages in front.

Decrease in the Burden of Fetching Water

Womans and kids are responsible for about all the activities in the rural surroundings in which Banjah is portion. With the coming of the H2O strategy, the load of transporting H2O has been reduced. They have much clip now for their household activities and instruction. The below statistics show the clip served by one individual for a twelvemonth when mensurating the decrease in the load of taking H2O. To cipher the entire figure of hours saved on the norm, we take a day-to-day figure and express as an one-year sum.

Average clip saved per trip = 35mins

Average clip saved per twenty-four hours = 1.06 ten 35= 37.1mins

= 0.62hours

Average clip saved for 1 twelvemonth by a individual = 0.62 ten 365hours = 226.3 hours.

The figures indicated above gives the sum of clip the each individual will salvage in other to transport out other of import economic activities.

With the above clip saved, adult females now are more productive and efficient in the public presentation of their domestic duties. They besides have clip for other more productive income bring forthing activities like ; agriculture, and selling the green goods, retailing, selling palm vino tapped by their hubbies. The income generated from these activities help in bettering kids 's nutrition, wellness, sanitation and instruction.

The installing of the H2O strategy in Banjah has besides helped the adult females or made adult females better on their general sanitation. It has besides helped them to conserve their privateness, since they do non hold to take a bath in the watercourse or rivers as earlier. The Banjah adult females now have leisure clip to rest, visit relations and friends and besides join associations. They can freely oversee the kids, go toing meetings and other socio- political assemblage. These adult females besides have clip to organize autonomous enterprise groups which can better their criterions of life and cut down poorness. This is done through the instruction of the adult females on improved agriculture methods ( for illustration usage of fertilisers and other farm inputs ) , sanitation, nutrition and they are besides educated on HIV and household planning pattern to guarantee their well being. Some of them have decided to utilize the clip saved by increasing their farm sizes and thereby passing more clip on the farm.

Micro - Irrigation Schemes

Agribusiness is the anchor of the Banjah people. From the field study, 80 % of the sampled population are engaged in agricultural activities. Water being really of import for agribusiness makes the installing of the pipe borne H2O really utile to the Banjah people. During the dry season when there is no rain, the installed H2O is used for watering small- graduated table farms and gardens. Most people who works veggies like huckleberry, tomatoes, onions and lettuce including harvests like murphies make usage of the H2O. Field study reveals that Banjah small town is the highest manufacturer of huckleberry normally known as `` jamajama '' . It is cultivated non merely during the rainy season as before but all twelvemonth unit of ammunition because of the presence of abundant H2O for irrigation. Peoples come in from far and near to purchase this vegetable and it is the highest income generator particularly during the dry season when it is scarce in other parts of the state.

This strategy is besides used by cattle rearers. Most Banjah people like many others in the grassfield are cattle rearers. The H2O is used to maintain the animate beings fresh and healthy during the dry season when there is limited grass to feed the animate beings and besides the drying up of H2O points. It is besides used to turn hye during the prohibitionist season which some cowss feed on.

The Banjah drinkable H2O is besides used for angling. There are angling pools in the small town. These fish pools do non merely generate income but serve as a beginning of protein which is really scarce to come by.

Rural Infrastructure

The rural substructure of Banjah portrays a typical African rural country scene. The small town suffers from a major job of unequal rural substructure. These include educational installations, communicating web, drinkable H2O, wellness centre, agricultural extension services, commercial installations and worst of all rural electrification.

Houses in this small town are constructed with local stuffs like clay, bamboo and grass ( thatched ) . Very few people use cement blocks to build. Other stuffs used are zinc and processed wood.

More than half of the people use clay blocks, locally produced to build. The chief route runs from Bamenda town through the small town to Bambili. There are minor roads and footpaths criss-crossing the other distant countries of the small town. There are two chief spiritual groups, which have been portrayed by the presence of Christian churches and a mosque. There is merely a primary school and a local market that operates one time a hebdomad.

From the field study it was noticed much has truly improved as concerns substructure since the installing of the strategy. Some of the sampled population greatly agreed on this point. Peoples now have extra H2O nearer to build their ain houses. This has increased the figure of houses in the small town. Most frequently, houses are being constructed utilizing local stuff and by the proprietors. Since they have entree to a nearby pat, they mould blocks and build their houses at a lower cost. At first, they had to transport H2O from distant beginnings, this was really boring and really expensive ; fewer houses were hence constructed before the installing of the strategy.

The installing of the strategy has besides enhanced other development undertakings. One of the major developments is the building of a wellness Centre although non yet completed because of abuse of financess. Recently, the route was graded and there are chances of tarring the route and supplying electricity to the villagers.

Negative Impacts

The Banjah H2O strategy has been successful to an extent. This is because the small towns still face some negative impacts caused by the strategy. These impacts were gotten from interviews and direct field observation has been expatiated below.

Destruction of colonies, farming areas and flora

Colonies, flora and farming areas were destroyed in the cause of the installing of the pipes. Most of these pipes had to crisscross colony, flora and farming areas. All these things were destroyed without compensation as a consequence of the installing of the strategy. Field observation showed that some pipes passed through some people 's compounds. This mean that these people can non transport out any other development undertaking like constructing a house be house because the pipes will be destroyed. Besides its hazardous edifice a house because what if the pipes has a escape or is being broken the house will be wholly destroyed.

The catchment country and land decrease

The land around the catchment country has been restricted from graze and other agriculture activities. This is to avoid pollution of the catchment. It should be noted that this has led to the decrease of farming areas and croping land particularly since this topographic point usage to be one of the really fertile lands of the small town. The limited land is now doing farmer-grazier struggles in some other parts of the small town.

Outgo

Last, the installing of the strategy led to excessively much outgo, which to an extent has increased poorness. Although fiscal, stuff and proficient assistance were gotten from Non Governmental Organizations, the villagers besides had to lend. With their meager incomes, some were forced to pay certain dues. More so, they are still supposed to pay one-year dues of 1000FCFA for work forces and 500FCFA for adult females.

Problems Faced in the Management of the Scheme

Topography

The survey country falls within the Western Highlandss of Cameroon, which implies that the underlying stones of Banjah are old granite and gneiss of the Precambrian epoch covered by basalt ( Neba 1999 ) . The part is fundamentally composed of drops. This vicinity depicts a rugged highland terrain made up of hills that are separated from each other by deep v-shaped and U-shaped vales depending on the incline. The alleviation of this country can be divided into two: the low and upland countries.

The Lowlandss are found around the Southern Western and Central parts of Banjah, with an mean tallness of 700m. The Highlandss on the other manus cover the Northern and Eastern parts of the survey country. The height scopes from about 1800-2200m above sea degree. This physical terrain has greatly affected the distribution of drinkable H2O.

Field observation shows that the site and state of affairs of the catchment is a great hinderance to the distribution of drinkable H2O as a consequence of the topography. The catchment is situated at a tallness of 1826meters above sea degree. There are other countries of more than 2000meters. This has made it impossible for drinkable H2O to make the really high countries. Much money is needed to widen the pipes to these countries. The catchment, located at the South West of the small town means that some pipes has to crisscross the survey country to ingestion countries. Besides, with the stony landscape some of the pipes have been broken hence sloping out much H2O. Some quarters are left without H2O. There is therefore the demand to supply much finance to better on the quality of pipes to direct H2O to the destitute topographic points.

The varied landscape made up of undulating programs and high extremums, some which are higher than the catchment necessitated really high hydraulic profile or force per unit area to guarantee efficient H2O distribution. However, such a venture is rather expensive and may non be low-cost by the villagers or the dwellers of Banjah. This explains why many a clip particularly during the dry season a good bulk of lights-outs in Banjah does non flux and why quarters such as Ntoh with high lift have non yet benefited from the strategy.

Socio economic

The economic system of Banjah like other rural countries is characterized by subsistence agribusiness. More than 85 % of the population is involved in subsistence agribusiness. There are other economic activities like the operation of proviso shops, off-licenses, merchandising of palm vino and local maize beer. The merchandising of firewood besides brings in much income. With their meager income they are faced with many duties like educating their kids and supplying day-to-day staff of life for the household. Therefore paying their annual dues is really hard and at times some people can non afford to pay for old ages.

Besides the fiscal restraints of the community and their avidity to supply H2O within sensible distances for the people have made some families to put in base lights-outs around the compound. Most of such lights-outs are below acceptable criterions. They do non hold good basins round them but few rocks to back up the containers. As a consequence, there is a chance that H2O from such environment fortunes become contaminated earlier ingestion as soiled H2O splashes into the containers in the class of roll uping the H2O.

Negligence

Most of the environing countries have been extremely neglected. Direct field observation shows that catchment country, the armored combat vehicle and some lights-outs have become soiled and shaggy due to negligence. This is because as explained above, the villagers are either non able or are non willing to pay their annual dues. Therefore, those who are supposed to take attention of these armored combat vehicles, catchments countries and lights-outs are non sufficiently motivated. This therefore consequences to carelessness. Besides most of the house installed lights-outs do non hold good drainage systems. This consequences to messy and unhealthy milieus. Dead H2O is a good genteelness environment for vectors conveying diseases like malaria which is really common in Banjah small town.

Population distribution

There are a important alteration in the population of Banjah small town from the 1976 and 1987 nose count, the population of Banjah was 984 dwellers. In 1987, the population rose to 1824 that is 840 new dwellers or 86.8 % addition. It was projected that by the twelvemonth 2000, the population of Banjah was supposed to hold reached 3648 dwellers.

The ratio of public lights-outs to the population in the community is really low. There are about 32 public lights-outs in the small town to a population of more than 33648 people. Besides, the population is extremely dispersed. The community hence finds it really hard to turn up lights-outs and rather expensive to associate all the colonies with pipe borne H2O. There is overcrowding around these few lights-outs which consequences to contending particularly amongst kids. Some of these battles to bring H2O lead to hostility amongst villagers, which retard advancement. Besides, non all the countries have entree to drinkable H2O during the dry season. There is therefore the demand for rationing. Most people faced with these jobs tend to bring H2O from the contaminated beginnings. Therefore partially explains why the incidence of H2O borne diseases can non be wholly eradicated.

Management forces

Like most community undertakings, people are elected from the community to pull off its activities. They form the nucleus of the undertaking. The Banjah rural H2O supply has this forces but with unequal direction accomplishments and trained technicians. Most of these people are voluntary workers with other professions. This means they have other businesss. They hence have limited clip for the personal businesss of the strategy. These restraints in work force ( labor ) have resulted to inadequate direction and bringing of required services to the people.

Besides, field study revealed that, due to the work load and inability of the community to back up lasting workers as a consequence of fiscal restraints, these have given rise to inadequate records of the strategy such as figure of people, with private installings. Such records are critical because they aid in the anticipation and undertaking of future demands and fiscal budgeting sing the strategy.

Caretaker

These are the field workers who are supposed to be familiar with their work. They are expected to often describe to the direction commission, on the state of affairs in the field, with the origin of the undertaking. Normally, at the get downing a villager was trained to execute this responsibility, but soon, other people have been co-opted in his topographic point. They are short of the needed accomplishments. As such there exists some carelessness to execute their responsibility coupled with deficiency of experience. At times escape can travel for hebdomads through pipe and lose caputs of public standpipes before they are discovered and repaired.

Communication job

Field oppugning and observation besides showed that the people are nescient on how the undertaking operates and their program of work for the twelvemonth. All they know is that they have to lend for the operations. Because of this believe there is misappropriate of their financess, by those in charge therefore weakening the people 's involvement in full engagement on the activities of the H2O undertaking. They are hence non willing to pay their annual dues. The people believe that the money will non be judiciously used. This therefore makes it impossible for the undertaking to be smoothly tally.

All is non yet lost since there is still hope for the community to be wholly served with drinkable H2O. Field study revealed the following sing the future chances of drinkable H2O in the Banjah community.

The nowadayss of raffia thenar and the cutting down of all eucalyptus around the present catchment country makes the handiness of drinkable H2O promising. This is because H2O will be available to the community at all seasons if non to the whole small town but to portion of the small town. The raffia thenar shop H2O which is released during periods of deficit, this guarantees changeless supply to some parts of the small town.

Besides, the wiring of the country around the catchment country prevents the country from being polluted by either fertilisers from farming or croping around the catchment country. Finally, there is a great chance to recognize another strategy. This will hopefully function the Ntoh one-fourth and its milieus where there is no drinkable H2O supply at all.

A Short Description of the Micro undertaking

The deficiency of drinkable H2O in some parts of Banjah as a consequence of the rugged topography of the small town, poorness and long distance to drinkable H2O beginning has lead to high rate of H2O born diseases, hapless wellness and decrease in population. This undertaking will therefore aimed at relieving poorness and fosterage development through the supply of drinkable H2O to the Banjah castle and the Ntoh one-fourth as a whole besides reenforcing the flow rate of the bing supply.

Aims: Short term: To provide drinkable H2O to the community.

Long term: To better wellness conditions, increase agricultural production and accelerate development.

In order to raise financess for the undertaking, letters of entreaty will be send to project related Non Governmental Organization and many other givers. The cost estimation will hence be forwarded to the Ministry of Water and Energy which has a budget given for funding rural H2O supply strategies in Cameroon. With Cameroon making the Highly Indebted Country Initiative ( HIPIC ) degree, budgets are now allocated to transport out development undertakings in rural communities. So the Banjah people are looking frontward to derive aid from the State and of class other givers. A successful realisation of the above chances, will lend a great trade to the success of the Banjah Water undertaking.

Mentions

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