CAWST

While the results of CAWST's efforts over the past ten years have been excellent, the scale of the water and sanitation problems in developing countries is many times greater—close to a billion people do not have adequate access to safe water. Further scale-up in projects and initiatives is needed.

CAWST is working towards a solution which will see several of its closest partners replicate the CAWST "model" of strategies and services through the creation of local Water Expertise and Training (WET) Centres.

The WET Centre Program has been created to address 2 primary needs:

1. A need to expand water supply, water treatment and sanitation services to people in developing countries; and
2. A need for in-country organizations capable of providing training and technical support to other organizations to stimulate widespread implementation of water and sanitation projects. CAWST's WET Centre Program will develop the capability of existing NGOs and agencies to become regional WET Centres.

Funding for the first three years of the WET Centre Program (Oct 2008 - Sep 2011) was provided by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Rotary Club of Calgary and Encana Corporation. CAWST is now entering the second phase of this Program with an additional funding contribution from CIDA.  Over the next three years (until Dec 2014), as part of the CIDA-funded Muskoka initiative, CAWST will expand from  three to eight WET Centres located in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Haiti, Laos, Nepal and Zambia.

CAWST is in the process of seeking additional funding to support not only the Muskoka program, but also development of three Latin American WET Centres, in Honduras, Bolivia and Peru.

WET Centres Objectives

Under CAWST's guidance, and adopting CAWST's transferable model of service delivery, these independent centres of expertise will have strengthened organizational and technical capacity.  They will provide leadership, training, technical consulting, educational resources and networking services to local NGOs, government agencies and community groups for the implementation of:

• Household Water Treatment (HWT)
• Sanitation
• Hygiene
• Domestic rainwater harvesting

As a result of this successful program, there will be improved maternal and child health and childhood development through improved water, sanitation and hygiene in areas where the WET Centres are operating.

WET Centres Program Key Activities

• Developing curriculum and materials that meet local conditions and needs;
• Delivering training which will result in the WET Centres having their own trainers in the delivery of workshops;
• Developing the technical capacity of the WET Centres to deliver water quality testing services;
• Organizing water awareness training for community groups, NGOs and government agencies and developing safe water literacy programs for schools, colleges and communities;
• Creating an action research program to evaluate technologies and implementation approaches; and
• Developing the capacity of the WET Centres to generate future resources and provide sustained services.

WET Centres' Program Partners: