While 90% or more of the actual cost is provided by SuNica donors like you, each family in a community is required to purchase their water meter. The cost is about $40US and can be paid over a two-year period. This empowers community members to own the success of their water project. The reality is, we could raise funds for this so that they are free. When we have to buy-in to something, we are more likely to care for it over the long haul.
Alongside financial buy-in, the community must also put in some serious sweat equity to install the pipeworks alongside the SuNica Water Team. This brings the community together and allows them to truly own the reality of clean water for their community. Plus, since they have put in blood, sweat, and tears to build the water project, they are way more motivated to properly take care of it!
Lastly, each community creates a public works department. These are the folks who will manage the system, read meters, and issue and enforce the payment of water bills each month. We spend one full year preparing these leaders for the project before we even break ground. These elected officials will be responsible for maintaining the system after this two-year project is complete.
By doing community-wide projects that require buy-in and developing a leadership committee responsible for the management of the system, the community becomes better capable of handling the other challenges they’ll face in the future.
Our process of community buy-in is one of the things that makes SuNica water projects unique and sustainable! Buy-in empowers communities to be all in.
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