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The key element for successful
community development programs is the development of a
sense of awareness and understanding among community
dwellers to retain social responsibility of initiatives
that carried out by NGOs such as WATO. All activities of
WATO have included a component of raising community
awareness among the community dwellers not only about
the activities undertaken by WATO, but also about the
direct impact and benefits of such programs to the
community.
WATO's community awareness work has been exemplified
during most of its community development project work.
Beginning with informal talks with community dwellers,
WATO organizes in every step a series of weekly meetings
at the community level highlighting WATO's planned
initiative in community development. Based on feedback
received from such meetings, WATO develops its plans and
implements follow-up meetings to retain awareness of the
community dwellers. A successful example of community
awareness campaigns is WATO's initiative during the
study of industrial pollution.
Realizing the importance of the results of the various
studies undertaken by WATO regarding chemical,
biological and microbiological tests and the extent of
industrial effluents in the water, along with the
microbial analysis of the water coupled with the health
monitoring and survey work on the Dhobikhola river, it
was vital that such information on the results that
depicted the detrimental impact of industrial pollution
on health be brought to the attention of the community
dwellers of the Dhobikhola area.
This was crucial not only to raise their awareness on
the existing situation, but also in line with WATO's
coordination efforts with local communities and in
empowering them with information to take up
responsibilities regarding the environmental condition
of their own community. As such, 3 rounds of awareness
programs were organized with the assistance of WATO's
health expert in different local communities,
highlighting the extent of the impact of industrial
pollution on their health. A total of 150 participants,
including community dwellers and representatives of
local ward offices participated in such programs. The
programs were very well-received by the local community
dwellers, who gave valuable input to WATO and its health
expert on the prevailing situation. Although people were
very much aware of the linkage between the general
pollution and impact on their health, there seemed
little knowledge or awareness on the extent of
industrial pollution in particular and its harmful
impact on public health. As such, feedback from the
community awareness programs showed the need to actual
assessment of the impact of industrial pollution on
public health needs by running seasonal and large scale
health camps. |
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