Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development

1. Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development Stockholm, Sweden 8th-12th July 2012 THE QUEST FOR CLEAN WATER IN KENYA: SOCIAL WORKERS’ UNEASY ROLE By Pius MutukuMutie, PhD Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Social Work, University of Nairobi, Kenya

2. Introduction • Although access to clean water is not explicitly listed as one of the Millennium Development Goals, it is implied. It is indeed difficult to imagine how countries would eradicate extreme poverty and hunger or ensure environmental sustainability without addressing water needs. • By law, every water resource in Kenya is vested in the State and water resources are managed by a Water Resources Authority. Which is under the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. • According to Kenya’s Vision 2030 (2008), the government’s blueprint, only 57% of households have access to water that is ‘considered safe’. • In fact, only 50% of rural populations have access to clean water. Considering that 67% of Kenya’s population is rural, the issue of access to clean water therefore is critical. • Besides, only 20% of Kenya’s landmass receives adequate rainfall (0ver 1,000mm) with the rest (80%) being either arid or semi-arid.

3. Introduction cont. • The challenge in Kenya has actually been one of access to ‘just’ water and not necessarily ‘clean’ water. • There are many households in Kenya (particularly in the ASALs) whose nearest water source (a river, stream, well or a dam) is about 10 kilometres away. • Kenya aims to provide clean and potable water at less than 1 km in high potential areas and less than 5 km in Arid and Semi-arid Areas (ASALs). • By 2010 coverage was projected to be 85% urban & 75% rural. That has not been achieved.

4. Organizations involved in water provision in Kenya • Government: The Ministry of Water and Irrigation • Apart from government, other key players include: • World Bank, DANIDA, SIDA, USAID, DFID, WFP, UNICEF, Water.org, Oxfam, CARE World Vision, Child Fund, Catholic Relief Services and Lake Victoria Environmental Management Program (LVEMP) and the Nile Basin Initiative

5. Many players but still water problem persists-why? • Evaluation of water projects in Kenya nearly all the time raise one key concern-community participation. • If all the water projects implemented in Kenya were sustainable, access to clean water would be much higher than it is today. • The country is littered with stalled water projects, those that have completely collapsed and others that are not being used. In some cases, communities use ‘unsafe’ sources of water when safer sources are available. • In many water and sanitation projects, the critical aspects of community participation, need diagnosis, need prioritization, belief systems, attitudes, capacity building and sustainability are ignored. This partly explains the high number of stalled or collapsed water projects. • The other problem is duplication of services-where organizations offering the same services (e.g. water supply) are concentrated in some areas (e.g. a district/county).

6. Many players but still water problem persists-why? Cont. • To mobilize communities, many organizations rely on local administrators rather than social workers. • These issues raise a number of concerns-how are communities mobilized in water projects? Who mobilizes them? To what extent are social workers or community development workers actively involved in the provision of water to communities?

7. The uneasy role of social workers in water supply • The role of social workers in facilitating access to clean water is not clear cut. • Social workers in Kenya are rarely associated with water and sanitation. These two areas are largely seen as ‘technical’ and hardly ‘social’. • Worse still, many social workers do not perceive themselves as having a role in water supply. Most of them see their roles as anchored in the ‘traditional’ rehabilitative sectors where social protection is limited to counseling, child care, family welfare and social rehabilitation.

8. The uneasy role of social workers in water supply cont. • In government departments, social workers are deployed as medical social workers in hospitals (e.g. at Kenyatta National Hospital), children officers and social development officers (Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development), Probation officers (Ministry of Home Affairs), social welfare officers (Kenya Prisons Service) or simply as ‘social workers’ (Ministry of Local Government). • Although the Ministry of Water and Irrigation’s mandate is to provide water to communities (a social service), its staff is entirely technical (e.g. hydrologists, civil/structural engineers and water technicians). • Having no social workers at the ministry level means that social issues are not well articulated at the policy level. Since social workers work with ministry officials only as partners (NGOS, CBOs, etc), they have little influence on the policies made by the ministry. Their suggestions are often ignored.

9. The uneasy role of social workers in water supply cont • Belated proposals by social workers are seen as coming from outsiders who have little knowledge of a ‘technical’ ministry. Social workers are therefore ‘junior’ partners in the collaborative effort. • In the non-governmental sector, social workers have many roles including child development officer, ‘project/programme officer’, program assistant, project manager, ‘community development officer’, community development facilitator, community animator, ‘social worker’ (e.g. in a children’s home), monitoring and evaluation officers, food security specialist, etc • Even in the NGO sector, the role of social workers in the provision of water is hardly considered core compared to the technical staff. Some organizations employ social workers only after recommendations in an M&E report and usually when the project has faced relevance, efficiency and sustainability problems: “We have called you here to tell us where the problem is”-water engineer.

10. The uneasy role of social workers in water supply cont. • On a positive note though, some local organizations and bilateral ones (e.g. SIDA and DANIDA), recognize the need to integrate ‘hardware’ (technical) and ‘software’ (social dynamics) in water provision. • In these organisations, the technical aspects of water supply are blended with social development work and environmental conservation. • But, as long as the critical Ministry of Water and Irrigation has not embraced this approach, there is very little that other players can achieve. Many development partners eventually handover completed projects to communities and the government.

11. Why social workers play a marginal role • The perception of social work as rehabilitative and remedial-rather than developmental • Non-recognition of social work as a profession- both government and NGOs don’t recognize social workers as professionals-as playing a critical role in social service delivery. Government pays them lower than other professionals (Group J; while other professionals start at K; it was even worse before-H), being deployed to do non-social work assignments, etc. • Weak professional association-Kenya National Association of Social Workers (KNASW) is for all practical purposes moribund if not worse. That means that social workers don’t have a viable forum where they can meet and exchange ideas; no visibility of the profession, no regulation etc.

12. Why social workers play a marginal role • Specialization: Much of our social work training in Kenya is generalist, not specialized. • There are few social workers in Kenya with specialized training in areas that would be relevant in water and sanitation, e.g. project management or community development. • This is compounded by the fact that there are many training institutions offering sub-standard courses. In some cases, those who teach may have no background in social work.

13. Way forward • The Kenyan government, and indeed other governments, could consider having social workers as part of the Ministry of Water’s establishment. This would inject the much needed social dimensions in water supply. Social workers should not just be partners at the implementation level (as NGO employees) but at the level of policy formulation. • If this is not possible, then the potential ministry employees-hydrologists, civil engineers and water technicians should be exposed to social work or community development approaches. • Already, the Department of Sociology and Social Work, University of Nairobi offers service courses to students studying agriculture, public health and nursing on the understanding that once these students graduate, they need social skills in their work. • It is unfortunate that the same has not been done for those in the water sector or potential employees of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

14. Way forward cont. • Overall, there is need for social workers and government to do more. • While social work voices have been discernible on issues touching on gender inequality, domestic violence, food shortages and child neglect, they have not been as loud when it comes to access to clean water. • There is also need to ensure that emerging working environments for social workers are embraced in social work training and that curricula are harmonised.

15. THANK YOU!