THE Environmental Health Division of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services has completed a week training of trainers workshop on caretaker training for government and NGO Rural Water Sanitation and Hygiene (RWASH) technical workers.
The workshop was organised by the National RWASH Program from July 3rd to July 7th and attended by 16 provincial health workers, six technical community helpers working for Rural Development Programme and nine NGO technical field workers – all representing the nine provinces.
It included two days of practice training in villages in Guadalcanal Province.
A statement from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services said the main aim of the course was to teach the trainees how to run a community based caretaker training course.
It said the caretaker training was designed to teach community caretakers how to maintain their water systems.
It focused on four different types of water systems – gravity piped systems, hand dug wells and boreholes with hand pumps and rainwater catchment tanks.
There are two types of community caretakers for gravity systems – male system caretakers (6-8 men) who walk up the mountain to the dam to flush out the dam after heavy rains and to repair pipe breaks; and female tapstand caretakers, one woman for each tapstand who keep an eye on the tap, replace washers and taps, and clean the tapstand apron and area around the tapstand.
Many of the trainees learned about the handpump for the first time – an upgraded form of handpump, Solmark 5, which has been developed by the Village Technology Trust for boreholes and hand dug wells.
Participants practised how to take this pump apart, replace parts, and then reassemble the handpump.
Getting to know this handpump was one of the highlights of the workshop – and many of the trainees wanted to return home with a handpump so they could use it in their own provinces.
The statement said on the 4th and 5th day of the five day workshop participants divided into three teams and each team went to a village to conduct caretaker training.
The villages included New Kolina, New Birao, and Namoraoni, which are located in Guadalcanal Province east of Honiara.
The statement said male caretakers were trained on how to maintain the upper part of the gravity system and the training included a walk to the dam to assess any faults at the dam and along the pipeline, and skill training on how to repair broken pipe.
Female tapstand caretakers were trained on how to replace washers and taps and how to clean and maintain the tapstand area.
Training was also provided on how to assemble and disassemble the Solmark 5 handpump.
The trainers also showed participants how to do water quality testing – using a testing kit.
Water samples were taken at the source and tapstands in each village and the samples were then analysed using the testing equipment.
“Many villagers appreciated the idea that they could test the quality of their drinking water.
“The communities loved the training and really appreciated the new skills they received.
“For example many people in the community wanted to learn how to repair the pipeline, replace a washer and the tap, and pull out the handpump and fix it – and the caretakers and communities expressed strong interest in using the new skills to maintain their systems,” the statement said.
It said the new trainers also benefited.
“Some were shy at first but soon developed the confidence to teach sessions and give demonstrations on tap, pipe, and pump repair – and they quickly learned how to organise skill practice by the caretakers, giving them feedback and lots of encouragement.
“The training was not just theoretical – the practice sessions were also used to make repairs and make improvements to the water supply.
“For example in one village participants cleaned out the gutter on one rainwater catchment tank, improving water flow and quality.
“So this activity gives communities a fresh kick-start for doing their own maintenance and the satisfaction of seeing their system working again.
“Everyone found this process very exciting.
“The villagers loved the training which included lots of practical training plus songs and drama to keep everyone interested,” the statement said.
WASH Community Engagement Coordinator, Jennimer Ngoli said there is need to build on this momentum.
“Now we need to build on this momentum to create a strong system for community maintenance – caretaker training (to get communities fired up about maintenance and the skills to do it), tools to do the work, and followup coaching and monitoring to support the community caretakers in using their new skills.
“We are also motivating communities to collect their own funds so they can pay for spare parts to repair their systems.”
The program has had good results, creating a pool of skilled caretaker trainers in every province and in all the WASH NGOs – ADRA, Caritas, Live & Learn, RDP, Red Cross, World Vision, and Village Technology Trust – and a new tested training course for caretakers.
The course was held at the Environmental Health conference hall.
