Social Entrepreneurship the Nuba Water Research Paper

Western sanitation facilities, for example, are expected to be white, clean, and indoors. In the United States, for example, we expect every home to have its own faucet and running water. In Sudan, however, the expectations for design and infrastructure are different. By working directly in local communities and employing residents to help with every phase of planning and construction, the NWP is able to capture local design features. Many water projects in the Sudan are outdoors, since many residents are transient or housed in temporary homes. Water taps are more likely to be centrally located so that surrounding homes can share access. Women, notorious for being the primary water-gatherers in Africa, may in fact benefit from the social nature of shared access to water; gathering with ones neighbors in the daily ritual of fetching water may provide critical community cohesion. Thus, while design is not an explicit piece of the NWP's work, their approach to the challenge does incorporate elements of design.

Given the civil strife in the Sudan, the NWP has taken a brave step to participate in local community development. The organization clearly states that it will not affiliate itself with any government or religious entity, thereby solidifying its commitment to empowering local Sudanese to guide and participate in their own future.This model, based on a "bottom-up" approach to poverty alleviation, is appealing because it avoids the stigma and un-sustainable nature of one-way charity. That is, if a group wanted to provide clean water to the Nuba Mountains, they might be tempted to fly in a group of western engineers to build a sanitation system. But when those engineers left the Sudan, nobody in the community would have the skills to maintain or repair the system, and nobody would feel a vested interest in its success. By including, educating, and empowering the community, NWP has done a lot more than provide water. It has provided hope.

The NWP is so successful because it doesn't try to do everything. It is a small, locally-based organization with a strong personal history in the region it is trying to serve. Rather than seeking to provide social services across the board, the NWP focuses its limited resources on just one area for development: clean water. In so doing, it communicates its respect for the local community, and its trust that once basic water and sanitation facilities are available, other challenges facing this impoverished community will become more manageable......