Participation of women in water project to meet their domestic needs. A study of Bwaise community.

Abstract

Women are the managers of water but they are often isolated from decisions of water supply which is meant to benefit them. As a result of this the water projects are not owned by the women and the capacity of the water project to meet their domestic water needs is not achieved, thus leading to ineffectiveness of the project. The study investigated the level of participation of women in the Community Water Project facilitated by the KUPSIP and the extent to which their participation has influenced the water project to meeting their domestic water needs. It aimed at providing information on factors to consider in involving women in water projects in order to ensure that water projects implemented by development organizations benefit the women by meeting their domestic (household) water needs. The study took place in Bwaise community in kawempe division Kampala district. The study is based on in-depth interviews with 10 women and two key informants. It took on a descriptive case study using semi structured interviews with non-probability random technique for the study particularly a purposive and non-judgmental sampling technique. The findings of the study revealed that women were aware of the project, contribution of women to the water project, attendance of women and involvement of women in meetings. Adding on more to the findings include household hygiene and household health. It can be concluded that the water project has greatly contributed to improving the living standard of the community by increasing their access to water. However, it has not been able to establish effective strategies that will improve women’s participation in projects, which is necessary for gender equality in communities. Key recommendations of the study include; the need for development organizations to take practical measures to ensure women’s participation in planning and implementation. In addition, there is need to involve and train women more in technical and managerial aspects of project operation and also involve women in technical aspects of operation and maintenance as men. Gender specific indicators that will help to monitor and measure the quality of women participation should also be put in place.