Shaba refugee water supply project

The International Association for Rural Development (AIDR), a PVO, will implement the project by providing TA and training to enable the Zairian Department of Agriculture"s Rural Hydraulics Division (RHD) to construct and/or renovate water systems in 500 villages. AIDR will help the RHD to establish and train 6 local brigades, including a specialized borehole drilling team. These personnel will cap springs in 500 villages, rehabilitate 140 existing dug wells, and drill 430 new tubewells; simple, sturdy pumps of UNICEF design will be provided for both dug and drilled wells. To avoid water contamination, the capped springs will be used for bathing, laundry, and manioc leaching, and well water solely for drinking and cooking. In addition, 5 solar-powered and 5 hydraulic ram systems will be installed at missionary-run medical and educational complexes, and the large rural town of Musumba will be provided with a 16-km piped gravity-flow system. The total population to be served by the project is approximately 200,000. Early in the project a study will be undertaken to develop a structure for ensuring local participation in installation and maintenance of the water systems; it is expected that each RHD brigade will include a local sociologist who will organize villagers for project activities and assist them in forming committees which will be responsible for routine system maintenance. The RHD will receive 156 person-months of long-term and 15 person-months of short-term TA. Cooperative Agreement Amendment of 11/4/88 increases funding, fixes the PACD at 9/30/90, and revises project description. Revised outputs are to: (1) drill 310 boreholes in villages of at least 200 people, and provide hand pumps which can be maintained by local personnel (to be trained during the project) using, to the extent possible, spare parts produced in Zaire; (2) cap 475 springs near villages as principal water supply points; (3) improve existing water systems for health facilities and schools; (4) study the feasibility of providing piped water systems in major rural population centers not served by REGIDESO (the urban water supply parastatal); (5) study the feasibility of installing pilot village water systems in places where health infrastructure exists; and (6) install gravity systems for drinking water in 6 rural communities. The revised project will benefit a total of 240,000 people. (PD-BBO-233)