On Saturday, I was asked to run a workshop on project design and management for community water boards in the Cayo District. It was well-attended, although it became a serious discussion of the problems with community control. Such issue as how to deal with people that do not pay water bills, what to do when people want money for projects that might not benefit the community, and strategic planning were the hot topics. There was discussion about how if communities don't manage water the private companies will take over and then revenue goes to profit rather than community services. When I was in Nicaragua in January, we met with the national commission that is focused ona new law dedicated to keeping profit out of water. During this workshop and all I do in Belize, language becomes an interesting issue in a country where commonly spoken languages are English, Kriol, Spanish, and various Maya languages: I was asked to run the session in Spanish with one person translating for a small group into English; suddenly the Spanish group is speaking English and the English group is speaking Kriol. My head was spinning but I think communication went well. Our goal is to help villages with community development.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Community Control of Water
On Saturday, I was asked to run a workshop on project design and management for community water boards in the Cayo District. It was well-attended, although it became a serious discussion of the problems with community control. Such issue as how to deal with people that do not pay water bills, what to do when people want money for projects that might not benefit the community, and strategic planning were the hot topics. There was discussion about how if communities don't manage water the private companies will take over and then revenue goes to profit rather than community services. When I was in Nicaragua in January, we met with the national commission that is focused ona new law dedicated to keeping profit out of water. During this workshop and all I do in Belize, language becomes an interesting issue in a country where commonly spoken languages are English, Kriol, Spanish, and various Maya languages: I was asked to run the session in Spanish with one person translating for a small group into English; suddenly the Spanish group is speaking English and the English group is speaking Kriol. My head was spinning but I think communication went well. Our goal is to help villages with community development.
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