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Cultural Sensitivity
| Pump Aid was founded by people who belong to and understand the community in which they are working. A deep understanding of traditional Shona culture has allowed the team to work closely with others in the community to develop a programme that is sensitive to the cultural context in which it operates. Many other projects have failed due to ignorance about the cultural considerations of development. Pump Aid on the other hand, has set new standards for working with poor rural communities in a way that is sensitive to traditional values. | ||
| The approach used by Pump Aid is demand driven and employs fully participatory techniques such as appreciative enquiry, workshops, demonstration days, public meetings and semi-stuctured interviews. Contact is made with the community at all levels from the grass-roots right up to community leaders and government agencies. |
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| In a new area, the programme is seeded through the building of demonstration pumps at carefully selected sites. These seeding sites are usually at schools since this ensures that a large number of people will get to see the pump. People in the surrounding villages will then apply for assistance from Pump Aid when they have had time to see the benefits of an Elephant Pump. | ||
| When a letter of application is received, a member of Pump Aid will conduct a thorough investigation at the proposed site looking at a whole range of related considerations. These include: topography, water levels and their history, reinfiltration rates, existing water supplies, potential beneficiary numbers, the socio-economic context and the potential benefits should a pump be built. | ||
| A large number of potential sites are visited and a priority short-list and construction schedule is drawn up. The community is then required to assist and participate in the construction of the pump. Community contributions include: sand and stones for building, hand made bricks for the pump housing and labour to assist in tasks during the building process. |
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| With traditional hospitality, the community will also provide Pump Aid builders with food when they have any to spare. A high degree of beneficiary involvement leads to a strong sense of ownership once the pump is built and also an understanding of how the pump works. This empowers the beneficiaries to undertake maintenance and any repairs as and when they are needed. | ||
Pump Aid is a Registered Charity (No. 1077889)
Pump Aid is a Company Limted by Guarantee with company number 03661446
Site last updated on Sun Jul 15 21:25:49 PDT 2007 Comments to webmaster@pumpaid.org
Pump Aid is a Company Limted by Guarantee with company number 03661446
Site last updated on Sun Jul 15 21:25:49 PDT 2007 Comments to webmaster@pumpaid.org