Why GLoWS shines a light on WASHCO problems in Ethiopia

Published on: 07/06/2013

In Ethiopia, rural WASH committees, or WASHCOs, receive support from Technical and Vocational Training Centres (TVETC). Staff from these centres often only have theoretical knowledge and little or no field experience. What that they have learned does not equip them to provide practical support to the WASHCOs.

The Guided Learning on Water and Sanitation (GLoWS) programme attempts to resolve this shortcoming by adopting a problem-based approach in which outside experts, working together with community members, identify key WASH problems and possible solutions. It mixes face-to-face, distance and on-the-job training and is supported by tailored training materials based on recent research findings.

GLoWS mixes face-to-face, distance and on-the-job training, and is supported by tailored training materials based on recent research findings.

GLoWS was developed by MetaMeta with support from Partners for Water, RiPPLE, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, SNV, Waste, RAIN Foundation and UNICEF. It was piloted and rolled out in 45 Woredas (districts) in the Southern Nations’ Nationalities’ and People’s Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia. It has also been implemented in Hararghe and Afar.

The four-month GLoWS course is now offered with TVETC accreditation and Bureau of Water Resources approval in collaboration with Zonal Water and Health Bureaus and Woreda Offices. Recently, 80 water sector experts from both government and the private sector in SNNPR successfully completed a GLoWS training course.

MetaMeta, RiPPLE and SNV are producing a series of GLoWS programme videos for TheWaterChannel. This includes a general video about the GLoWS methodology as it is being used in Ethiopia and short videos (GLoWSPROS) focusing on specific problems and potential solutions. The first GLoWSPROS video is on sanitation.