Since all our projects are carried out in collaboration with the Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), we provide technical training to them and their members. The goal is to empower the CBO's and their members to able to effectively manage and execute their stated mandates. Capacity building programs are extended to all our collaborating NGOs and cover various relevant fields including:
(1) Project Management
Success of any project depends on its management. So, if a community is trained on the above module, it will add to the success of any project it undertakes. And it is not only those of HWF, but also those of other agencies involved in community development. This is an important aspect of training that we address as we conduct our activitie
(2) Leadership / Fellowship Training
Often we have/hear of conflicts in projects or in communities. The main reason for this we believe is that the community that an NGO is attempting to help does not understand the aims, process and activities being carried out within it; it is not participatory and members of the community do not own it. HWF involves members through training on leadership, specifically the involvement of women in the leadership of our water projects. Our programs deliberately involve women in the leadership of health, water and sanitation projects. This is because women in Nyanza and in rural Kenya as a whole are the most affected. They are the ones who mostly take care of the sick and have to walk distances in search of water. Thus, it is essential to involve them in successful health and water projects.
(3) Basic Book Keeping
For the success of the kinds of projects we are doing, there are three important aspects which must be addressed. These are accountability, implementation and sustainability. If one of these fails, then the project will take too long and may fail in terms of sustainability. If these three aspects are addressed properly, then the communities understand how much cash they have received and how much they have spent and, finally how much they have saved, and what they can invest in the future. This aspect is often missed in community planning. When these three goals are achieved, communities focus on useful development.
(4) Empowerment of Rural Community
Most projects which try to help rural communities leave the community without the power to continue what they have initiated. It is essential to involve the community in planning, implementing, management, monitoring/evaluating, reporting and accountability from the outset. "Let the people do". If and when this is achieved, it helps those who own the project to continue after the NGO leaves the area. HWF empowers the people to continue after it leaves them by involving them at every stage of the project.
(5) Effort to develop Income Generating Activities
HWF identifies projects and activities which can generate income for communities and which they can take over and manage under their CBOs. Some like the Mosquito Nets Production for Malaria disease control are in the planning stage.
