A non-profit organization providing water wells and sanitation systems to schools in Africa

So this is a simplified outline of how to form a water committee.

• The first step is to secure a location for the well, we prefer the land to be on school property as it will be secure and maintained.
• Make sure the land is donated where the well will be, establish whatever it needs to protect it from damage or vandalism (a fence, possibly a lock etc) if necessary.
• Organize a group of the 20 most prominent families in the community that will be using the water and have them agree to donate all of the clay bricks from the project.
• Form a water committee that would be responsible for the well. The water committee would be required to define and agree to observe a set of by-laws that would control how the well is maintained and operated.
• Every member of the water committee must agree to donate a small amount of money per month that will go towards maintenance and upkeep of the well (usually 50 -100 shillings) 50 UGS is the general price of 1 jerry can of water and the 20 most prominent families will easily be able to afford this (although they might claim that they can't at first). This is important, without this financial commitment the well will break and no one will fix it which will be a waste of money, effort and time. Under no circumstances will we put a well in a village without them first having established a strong water committee and without them having gathered up at least the first months worth of money.
• The water committee should have members of the local PTA, the school board, if there is a doctor that lives nearby, he or she should be involved, women must be represented.
• If the well does not require any repairs after the second year, the first years money can be spent as the water committee sees fit for the benefit of the community. We suggest mosquito nets, solar panels, livestock or something that will help the village out in the long term. This can happen every year, so long as the water committee leaves at least one years worth of money in the well fund.
• Everybody on the water committee must contribute money each month and everybody on the water committee must have an equal say in how this money is spent.
• Along with providing all of the clay bricks for the project the local community should supply all of the unskilled labor/ assistance to the drillers. They will also be required to provide a place for the drillers to stay and food for them while they are in the village.
• Once the well is in place and working, it will become the complete responsibility of the water committee to maintain it, clean it, oil it and deal with any repairs that it might need.
• Drop in the Bucket is here to help villagers help themselves, our goal is to unify and make them more self sufficient, we are not adopting a village where we agree to take care of it forever.