What does it mean to work? A study of Health Development Committees and Community engagement in WASH interventions in rural Sierra Leone
Authors
Garbutt, George Michael ; Jakovlev, Aleksandr
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2016
Submitted on
2016-06-10
Pages
112
Abstract
Dette speciale undersøger, hvad det betyder at “arbejde” for Health Development Committees (HDC’er) og hvordan landdistriktsfællesskaber engagerer sig i vand-, sanitet- og hygiejneinterventioner (WASH) i Nongowa Chiefdom, Kenema-distriktet, Sierra Leone. Studiet indgår i et igangværende program i 21 landsbyer ledet af Ingeniører Uden Grænser Danmark (EWB-DK) og Ingeniører Uden Grænser Sierra Leone (EWB-SL), som omfatter brønde og pumper, Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), samt træning i pumpeservice og hygiejne. HDC’er på 12 medlemmer blev oprettet for at fastholde praksisser og formidle viden lokalt. En midtvejsevaluering havde betegnet nogle HDC’er som “stærke” og andre som “svage” uden klare kriterier; dette speciale søger derfor at forstå, hvad der former HDC’ernes arbejde og fællesskabernes deltagelse. På baggrund af en måneds feltarbejde i marts 2016, gennemført sammen med EWB-SL’s Community Mobilizers og med besøg hos centrale aktører som Kenema District Council og Ministry of Water Resources, anvender projektet en techno-antropologisk tilgang med etnografiske interviews og observationer. Analysen er inspireret af Actor-Network Theory og beskriver arbejdet udført af HDC’er og Community Mobilizers, samt hvordan pumper, vandkvalitetstest og politik “arbejder” i interventionerne. Resultaterne viser, at arbejde i ét led former arbejde i andre, og at HDC’ers “styrke” eller “svaghed” fremstår som et resultat af, hvordan mange menneskelige og ikke-menneskelige praksisser samles og koordineres. Specialets konkrete bidrag er et kort over praksisser, som kan bruges til at navigere i og justere arbejdsformer på tværs af HDC’er, NGO’er, lokale myndigheder og forskere, og som kan informere bredere udviklingsdiskussioner om, hvad vi ønsker skal fungere i WASH-indsatser.
This thesis examines what it means to “work” for Health Development Committees (HDCs) and how rural communities engage with Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) interventions in Nongowa Chiefdom, Kenema District, Sierra Leone. The study is embedded in an ongoing program across 21 villages led by Engineers Without Borders Denmark (EWB-DK) and Engineers Without Borders Sierra Leone (EWB-SL), involving wells and pumps, Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), and training in pump maintenance and hygiene. Twelve-member HDCs were established to sustain practices and disseminate information. A mid-term evaluation had labeled some HDCs “strong” and others “weak” without clear criteria; this research therefore seeks to understand what shapes HDC performance and community engagement. Based on a one-month field study in March 2016 conducted with EWB-SL Community Mobilizers and visits to key stakeholders such as the Kenema District Council and the Ministry of Water Resources, the project uses a techno-anthropological approach with ethnographic interviews and observations. Inspired by Actor-Network Theory, the analysis describes the work of HDCs and Community Mobilizers and how pumps, water quality testing, and policy also “work” within the interventions. Findings indicate that work in one site shapes work in others, and that HDC “strength” or “weakness” emerges from how many human and non-human practices are assembled and coordinated. The thesis contributes a map of practices that can be used to navigate and adjust work across HDCs, NGOs, local authorities, and researchers, and to inform broader development debates about what we want to make work in WASH interventions.
[This summary has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project (PDF)]
Keywords
ANT ; Sierra Leone ; WASH ; Ethnography ; Africa
Documents
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Garbutt, George Michael:
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