38 HEALTH AND SANITATION
Sticky Situations receives grant for next phase of WASSUP Diepsloot
Sticky Situations, one of the hosts of the Community Plumbing Challenge( CPC) 2016 in Diepsloot, Johannesburg, South Africa, has been awarded a grant of approximately R500 000 to develop the next phase of the Water, Amenities and Sanitation Services Upgrade Programme( WASSUP) Diepsloot.
By Mike Flenniken, IAPMO
The South African CPC 2016 team.
Sticky Situations has facilitated the inception, training, and growth of this community-led co-operative in Diepsloot ever since Global Studio initiated the programme, in collaboration with local government officials, in Johannesburg in 2007.
The Direct Aid Programme( DAP) of the Australian government’ s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in South Africa approved the grant. The DAP supports non-profit organisations working in local communities on activities that support sustainable and equitable development, including education and skills, human rights, disability inclusiveness, and women’ s social and economic empowerment.
The application outlined plans for a new workshop and training facility on the site of the Diepsloot Housing Authority office in the sprawling neighbourhood of Extension 1, combined with the renovation of an adjacent public toilet and washroom, as well as repairs and maintenance for 25 of the 643 communal toilet facilities in the surrounding area. These projects will be supported by the ongoing development of formally accredited, on-thejob training opportunities for local apprentice plumbers and other tradespeople, which will increase the WASSUP team’ s capacity and encourage further collaboration with municipal authorities and industry partners, which can be replicated in other, similar locations.
Australian High Commission representatives Stacy Walker( first secretary) and Sarah Dippenaar( senior research and programme officer) were welcomed to Diepsloot during the Community Plumbing Challenge event in July 2016, and presented with a tour of upgrade sites across the township. Following this, the Australian CPC team was invited to meet with the Australian High Commissioner to South Africa, Adam McCarthy, in Pretoria.
Sticky Situations facilitator Jennifer van den Bussche, an Australian who has lived in South Africa for the past decade, is responsible for this latest, successful funding application on behalf of WASSUP.“ Adequate communal sanitation is a constant challenge for our Johannesburg communities and local government,” she said.“ A great deal of time, energy and effort goes into applying for funding support across public and private sectors, as well as to international bodies for our ongoing endeavours. In this case, I am extremely proud that my home country will now be contributing to this ongoing, holistic programme that looks to improve sanitation conditions as well as work towards professional training for future careers.”
Seán Kearney, an international project manager for IAPMO who helped write the grant, said plans are under way for a CPC 2016 follow-up project, designed to dovetail with the opening of the new WASSUP base and rollout of the DAP-supported sanitation works and plumbing training in Diepsloot.
March 2017 Volume 23 I Number 1 www. plumbingafrica. co. za