Clean Drinking Water for 1250 Villagers in Morocco

Participatory community movements found a contemporary impetus in post-World War II reconstruction of Europe and decolonization, primarily in Africa. The approach of locally managed change, however, was highly distrusted during these initial years, during which the dominant view was that central-level policy makers are in a better position than the people to make highly productive decisions regarding development projects.

The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, passed under the leadership of President John Kennedy, marked an attempt to de-link U.S. development assistance from the nation’s military, political, and economic interests. The Act emphasized “maximum participation” on the part of the people in their own development.

Subsequent decades have shown that market-based models for growth, while generating higher levels of economic activity, also created dependency in developing nations as their economies became increasingly structured to meet the consumption needs of other countries. The participatory approach, which at this time was widely considered an alternative to achieve improved livelihoods, became more desirable by thought leaders and communities that felt that their futures had become a reflection of outside nations’ priorities rather than their own autonomous ones.

By the 1990s, this people’s driven methodology for sustainable community development became mainstream. The focus shifted toward designing the interactive activities to be conducted in order to help local groups in analyzing their past, opportunities, and visions for a better reality that they seek.

Over the past decade, there have been more nations seeking ways to institutionalize the participatory method for development. Local and national charters, programs and frameworks to advance the liberation of women, freedoms for the advancement of civil society organizations, constitutions, and in legally codified requirements are all intended to ultimately be upheld by elected officials and the general public. For countries who are also becoming increasingly amenable to decentralized management systems, their tasks are shifting from creating national policies that enact participatory principles to one of fulfilling these statutory requirements.

Thus, from generations past of participatory activism being distrusted by the mainstream and its gradual growth due to dissatisfaction with market-based solutions imposed by wealthy countries, we have now reached a common understanding that public participation is a, if not the, primary factor of sustainable livelihoods. In most recent decades, participatory requirements have become embedded in institutions. In the decade to come, we face the awesome, grueling, and even existential challenge of finally fulfilling the participation of the people across localities and across nations of the world.

What will be vital in this regard is to constantly improve activities that enable people to act together toward goals that they have defined as a group. Those activities become conducive and efficacious when they are drawn from disciplines and contexts from around the world and adapted to specific situations.

The necessity is that communities gather to discuss their ideas and plans to reach consensus on projects related to agriculture, water, and other essentials of life. These plans are then backed by critical financial sources from all society sectors.

This timeline characterizes the past and present in broad terms. There were participatory pioneers in much earlier decades and centuries, and there are suppressants today, such as those nations that constrict civil organizations and bind women and girls to intolerable controls. These general trends and outlier experiences are informative so that we may be more precise in how we enact participatory movements in all places where they are needed.

Let us hope that the next ten years fulfill the participatory ideal that has been intensifying across all different outlets in order for their sustainable benefits, including prosperity, to be present in our lives.

Dr. Yossef is President of the High Atlas Foundation, which is an implementer of the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer Program in Morocco.

On the 19th of November each year, the United Nations celebrates the International Day of Toilets. This day is meant to raise awareness about the situation of 4.2 billion individuals who do not have access to hygiene services such as toilets and also showcase their crucial role in preventing fatal diseases caused by human feces. It also aims to take action against this phenomenon to prevent the world from facing a hygiene crisis and contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.

Having access to a toilet might seem simple, however for some, it is a luxury that can’t be afforded. Globally, 1 out of 3 individuals does not have access to a proper toilet. Either they cannot afford one or the environment that they are living in does not allow it; one of the main factors causing a lack of access to proper toiles is the number of people around the world who are living on the streets or in inappropriate houses.

This year, the celebration’s theme is “World Toilet Day 2020: Sustainable Sanitation and Climate Change” which tackles the impact of climate change on hygiene systems around the world. The effects of climate change, such as the rising sea level, floods, droughts, can cause damage to various aspects of the sanitation system, including pipes and purification systems. This can cause wastewater to contaminate underground water deposits, which may result in an enormous health crisis. As the climate change situation is getting worse by the day, its impact is making many hygiene systems vulnerable.

As COVID-19 threatens the lives of millions of people around the world, having a proper hygiene system such as clean toilets, hand-washing areas, and most importantly access to clean water, is crucial because it will help prevent the spread of COVID-19 among individuals and communities. Not having access to these important items will make the fight against the Coronavirus even harder than it is now.

Two out of five schools in the world were not equipped with basic devices for handwashing before the COVID-19 pandemic. These numbers prove that the sanitation systems situation is critical around the world, costing the lives of millions of people around the world, and it can’t be ignored any longer.

As an organization that is striving to enhance the lives of individuals, the High Atlas Foundation is contributing to the sustainable development goals by raising awareness about climate change among individuals of all ages and genders, providing access to clean water in schools where they and rural areas, and also planting trees all over Morocco through its various projects.

HAF has worked with local partners to build bathrooms and water systems for seven schools in Boujdour, two schools in Rhamna, and one school in each of the Al Haouz and Youssoufia provinces. This initiative had more than 180 student beneficiaries in each school and still aiming to help others students around the kingdom.

HAF also contributed to the fight against Coronavirus by providing hygiene products to vulnerable families while raising awareness about how to act during the pandemic. Committing to this cause, the High Atlas Foundation encourages each and every individual to take action for a better hygiene system for everyone.

The UN International Day of Toilets is an opportunity for us to reflect upon the situations of our fellow humans around the world and take the necessary measures to give back and provide this basic right of clean water to everyone.