1) Community meetings

Community meetings and group discussions have been some of the tools used in mobilising and sensitising the beneficiary community towards ownership and sustainability of the water sources. The objectives with these workshops is to create a sense of ownership for the long term sustainability of the existing water points (boreholes, shallow wells and protected springs) and to improve sanitation and the general community hygiene level. A total of 570 community meetings and group discussions were carried out during the year 2003. An average of 8 meetings where held per month with an attendancy rate of between 60 - 80 participants. Within that year more than 40,000 people attended the community meetings. The health education sessions emphasis mainly on the positive effects of using safe water and the disadvantages of poor sanitation and hygiene practices.

2) Training workshops

Capacity building activities and community empowerment is one of the ways of assisting the beneficiaries to become more self-reliant and to be able to plan for their own interventions. In the last period of 2003-2004, IAS has carried out 14 trainings with volunteers from the different communities.

- 7 Water Source and Sanitation Committee (WSSC) trainings.
- 4 Pump Care Takers trainings.
- 3 Community Based Pump Mechanics (CBPM) trainings.