DUSHANBE, June 22, 2013, Asia-Plus – An awareness raising campaign is expected to be launched in the villages of Balkhi and Barakat, Roudaki district on June 24, according to Tajikistan Water Supply and Sanitation (TajWSS) Project.
Awareness raising activities play a crucial role in the sustainability of rural water supply projects. The effective operation of drinking water systems depends on the active participation of the local community, therefore it is essential to engage and commit the community through different mechanisms; including informational campaigns.
The purpose of this informational campaign is to raise awareness within the community concerning the importance of water conservation, sanitation of drinking water system, paying for the delivery and maintenance of the drinking water system, personal sanitation and hygiene issues and the overall promotion of the TajWSS Project activities. The public awareness campaign is designed to raise basic awareness and promote discussion through focal groups on key drinking water issues that impact on their own community.
The public awareness campaign reportedly includes: talks and explanatory discussions in focus groups to promote water conservation and sanitation, the importance of paying for the drinking water system and, personal sanitation hygiene; distribution of brochures and use of posters on water saving and personal hygiene; the use of UV lighting to demonstrate contamination issues and the spread of bacteria; presentation (and distribution) of cartoons in Tajik language promoting water saving and advantages of paying for drinking water services; and theatre performance for visual illustrations of daily tips and methods of saving water and the necessity for personal hygiene to reduce waterborne diseases.
TajWSS Project is funded by the Government of Switzerland through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by OXFAM in Tajikistan in partnership with the Ministry of Land Reclamation and Water Resources and UNDP.
