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The Communication Initiative
After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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The Colour of Change: Innovation, Motivation and Sustainability in Hygiene and Sanitation Work

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This report is a case study of the Ethiopian Achefer Woreda Water Supply, Hygiene, and Sanitation programme, implemented by the Organisation for Rehabilitation and Development in Amhara (ORDA), and supported by WaterAid (WAE). The report is based on a 4-day visit to the project by a joint WAE-ORDA team in December 2006, 4 months before the project was due to be handed over to the community. The report suggests that certain elements might have helped to make Achefer a success: the unique combination of circumstances and approaches in terms of the ORDA/WAE partnership and the project’ position in relation to other work in the region; the small, grassroots staffing model; and the holistic nature of the project components.

Although the report states that it is not an in-depth evaluation, and rather sets out to highlight processes, reflection on the successes of these processes provide insight into the impact of these processes on the community. According to the report, base-line surveys, participatory evaluation exercises, and mid-term reviews since the project’s initiation in 2004 suggest that Achefer was a success story, outperforming many of its project targets.

According to the report, an integrated approach to hygiene and sanitation promotion was key to the successes of the project. The project team believes that community acceptance has been the single most critical strength of the project, which they attribute to the inclusion of traditional coffee ceremonies to bring people together and establish a sense of trust. The project team believes another innovation was the filming of the successes of the community hygiene and promotion work to be shown on the project television set. The short films document the challenges people have overcome, and record positive changes in order to motivate and inspire others in the project area. In addition, the use of flags, sweets and other incentives were used to encourage latrine building primarily, but also hand-washing systems, and compound cleanliness.

The following are some of the components of the project which contributed to it's success:

  • Active community participation - Achefer community members and woreda officials state that people became motivated to participate because of the practical steps taken by the project (coffee ceremonies, school clubs, incentives, house-to-house visits, horticulture, village-to-village exchange visits) – and that the project staff kept their promises.
  • Coffee ceremony, television, and experience sharing: A budget for promotional resources for community hygiene and sanitation related meetings can be money well spent. Creating regular coffee ceremony gatherings with music, films of experiences from other villages, award ceremonies using flags and gardening tools, and poetry readings - as well as trainings - has created a positive atmosphere in which to learn and share information in Achefer. However, the report states that the film equipment (video camera, television, generator) is costly, the issues can become repetitive, and people can become passive observers. The ceremony works best when it complements house-to-house visits - bringing people together and reinforcing learning.
  • A committed promotion team - Good hygiene and sanitation promotion for the present and the long term relies on a committed, communicative, and collaborative team that extends from the grassroots - Village Hygiene Communicators (VHC), water committees and water point guards - to paid professionals such as Hygiene Promoters (HP) and Health Extension Workers (HEW), project staff, woreda water and health related staff and school teachers, and to the community administrators and officials such as members of kebele (administrative area) committees.
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    Source

    WaterAid website on November 6 2008.