COBIHESA has 3 core programmes; WASHE, Youth, and Organisational capacity building.
The WASHE- water, sanitation, hygiene and environment programme employs an integrated approach in targeted vulnerable groups through training of community facilitators, establishment of demonstration facilities for good practices, and collaborating with technical partners in service delivery to reduce some of the critical unmet needs.
The youth programme targets the specific needs of young people, in and out of school. Currently, we work with 14 schools -4 in Rufiji district and 10 in Lindi region.
The organisational capacity building programme is responsible for building the capacity of the organisation, staff, volunteers and collaborating CBOs and FBOs, and promotion of networks and partnerships to achieve the organisation's vision and mission.
Some our projects include:
1.0 Dissemination of best practice information for water and sanitation improvement at community level in Rufiji district (2005-2007).
The project, implemented from 2005 - 2007, involved training of 200 actors at village level on water, hygiene and sanitation promotion. They included water and sanitation committee members, village health committee members, school teachers and village government leaders. Over 12,000 copies of IEC materials were produced and distributed, 2 school model clubs established, and water safety, hygiene and sanitation promoted resulting in control of cholera epidemics which had become repetitive in the districts.
The project was implemented in collaboration with Rufiji district water and sanitation team with support from the National Rural Water and Sanitation Programme, Ministry of Water.
2.0 Community sensitisation and dissemination of best practice information for improvement of water , sanitation and environmental health in Lindi coastal zone(2008-2010).
The project was implemented in Kilwa district and Lindi town council , Lindi region with support of ReCoMaP/ Indian Ocean Commission, through European Commission funding.
The project objective of dissemination of best practice information to 100,000 residents in the coastal zone was achieved through training and backstopping of 80 community facilitators, 33 sensitisation meetings, a radio programme on TBC Lindi FM, development and dissemination of assorted reader friendly IEC materials including a booklet on cholera prevention and 3 hygiene posters,14 school clubs, and 5 demonstration facilities.
The project has resulted in increased awareness on key environmental health components ,particularly solid waste management, and safer sanitation involving construction of latrines and effective use. Lindi town and beaches are much more cleaner than in 2008, open defecation has reduced by about 50%, and solid waste management has been prioritised in both Lindi and Kilwa district council plans.
Links:
http://recomap-ioc.org/fileadmin/template/main-en/Newsletter/News-of-the-Coast-no10pdf
http://recomap-ioc.org/fileadmin/template/main-en/Newsletter/News-of-the-Coast-no-11-std-pdf
3.0 Translation and Adaptation of the Community Guide on Environmental Health in Kiswahili (2009- 2010).
The work involved translation, adaptation, printing , promotion and distribution of the Guide to endusers in Tanzania and East Africa as a whole. The Kiswahili package comprises of 4 separate modules:
Module 1: Community mobilisation on environmental health.
Module 2:Protecting natural resources for all.
Module 3:Solid waste management.
Module 4: Sanitation.
The translation and adaptation of the original guide for Kiswahili users was implemented with a seed grant from Hesperian Foundation, the publishers of another internationally reknown community handbook Where There is No Doctor.
Links:
http://www.hesperian.org/mm/5/merchant.mvc
4.0 Dissemination of health information to vulnerable groups:We have developed a variety of health information materials on common problems including cholera, HIV and Aids, reproductive health and environmental health. These resources are used by trained community facilitators in their grassroot level activities in different districts including Lindi, Kilwa, Rufiji, Kibaha and the refugee communities by our partner-UCJE. COBIHESA has also partnered with Hesperian Health Guides in the development of the Swahili hub on the Hesperian HealthWiki. The HeathWiki in Swahili provides free and reader friendly resources adapted from Hesperian's reputable guides including the New Where There is No Doctor and Health Actions For Women. Visit the Swahili hub at:
http://hesperian.org/books-and-resources/resources-in-swahili/