Putting children first in the planning of water services

Putting children first in the planning of water services

In South Africa, as elsewhere on the African continent, large numbers of children are responsible for fetching water for the household’s needs. As many as five million children in our country undertake this chore regularly.

In the case of about 200 000 children, the task is so time-consuming and burdensome, that it takes on the features of child labour. It interferes with schooling, is physically painful and makes children feel ashamed and inferior.

The remarks of learners from Malokela village in Limpopo province reflect this situation.

• “Sometimes you are so late that you find yourself coming to school without washing. We girls are not comfortable coming to school without washing.”
• “We hate the task of fetching water because it is taking a lot of time and in that way we can’t study or do our homework properly.”

Setting priorities

South Africa has an ongoing programme of extending piped water to rural communities. The challenge, from the child labour perspective, was to find a way to ensure that the impact of water carrying on children became a major consideration when deciding which areas to prioritise for water supply. The aim was to bring relief as quickly as possible to children suffering the greatest burden.

The programme Towards the Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour (TECL) worked closely with the national Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) to develop a tool to guide the prioritisation of water provision, using the adverse impact of water carrying on children as a key criterion. The decisions on which communities will benefit do not rest with the national Department; they are taken by district municipalities and metropolitan councils.

The tool was developed through a pilot project in two rural municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal: Ugu and Nongomo. Every effort was made to engage local officials and councillors in the process and to ensure that the community understood the goals of the project. Community members were aware that fetching water was harming their children and supported the project in various ways.

Confronting the problem

Step one of the project was to measure and document the impact that hauling water over long distances had on children. A survey of children who were intensively involved in this activity revealed that:

• Their education was adversely affected. A full 73% reported having insufficient time to study, while 65% said they arrived at school late and 60% complained of being tired in class.
• Their health was possibly also harmed. Many children reported frequent bouts of flu and persistent coughs and fatigue. They also mentioned illnesses that are frequently or exclusively water borne: diarrhoea, worms and bilharzia.
• Their self-esteem and morale suffered. In focus group discussions they related how ashamed they felt when they arrived at school unwashed and untidy.

Developing a tool

Following this research, the tool for determining which areas to prioritise for piped water provision was developed and then put to the test in a local municipality. The intention is to make any changes that the test run indicates are needed. After this it will be integrated into the national framework and will be put into use across the country.

Assisting the children

While the tool was being developed, consultation was taking place on how to improve the situation of children whose lives were overshadowed by the burden of supplying the family’s water. Some of the solutions would also apply to children engaged in other forms of work – for example, children caring for sick parents or minding younger siblings all day.

Educators and school committees were asked for ideas on how to facilitate school attendance and achieve better performance by affected children. Other forms of direct assistance might include access to appropriate health services and social services.

A local trust is responsible for providing direct assistance to the children and it works closely with teachers, churches, health workers and social workers in the communities.

This assistance should be well developed by the end of the project in October 2007.

The pilot project to reduce excessive water carrying by children has been particularly successful in terms of mainstreaming child labour concerns. DWAF has assumed full ownership of the model developed and has the authority to ensure that it is applied nationally.