The overall development need being addressed is a regional food shortage, resulting in large-scale starvation and malnutrition. The specific challenge we are working on is irrigation and water management for sustainable agricultural development. The construction of the dam will accomplish many things, most notably Water and Sanitation. But for the purposes of this proposal, the focus will be addressing Economic and Community Development. One of our goals is to strengthen the development of local entrepreneurs and community leaders, and to develop opportunities for decent and productive work. We want to partner with them in creating measurable and enduring economic improvement in the lives of Swazi people, both in the immediate community and in the nation as a whole. By employing the benefitting community, we are providing not only jobs for as many as 600 people (ultimately supporting our surrounding community of 3,600 people) but we are also providing training for jobs and trade skills as well.
Many of the workers on the farm, to this point, are women. There are many reasons for this. One, in Swaziland at the moment, there are few men who work. Many of them have died due to AIDS related diseases. There is an entire generation of people that is missing due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, leaving few people with work skills. When mothers and fathers die, often times their children are left with aunts, and grandmothers to raise them. There are many mothers, aunts, and grandmothers raising 8 to 10 or more children. As a result, many of the workers on Project Canaan are women. It is imperative that their development as local entrepreneurs, community leaders, and bread winners in these impoverished communities is strengthened. They have been given an opportunity for decent productive work that, due to the dam, will increase dramatically.
Project funds will be used for the construction of the dam itself.
Approved
This project is "Approved". This means the application has been approved by The Rotary Foundation, and the project is ready for implementation.
Project listed for the 2013-14 Rotary Year.
The TRF Grant application number is #25988.
Proposed Financing
Existing Contributions Towards This Project
Date
Cash
DDF
Total
North Fulton (6900)
20-Sep-12
$80,000
$40,000
$120,000
Amount Requested from The Rotary Foundation
$40,000
$40,000
$80,000
Total
$200,000
Project Supporting Documents
There are no documents yet for this project. Go to the administration page to upload documents.
Project Photos
History Log Entries
20-Sep-12
System Entry
Creation of project page.
3-Jul-13
System Entry
Project is now "Fully Pledged".
10-Jun-14
System Entry
Application Sent to The Rotary Foundation through Member Access.
10-Jun-14
System Entry
Application approved by The Rotary Foundation.
19-Aug-14
by Beth Blaisdell
The area for the dam has been completely cleared. Currently a trench running perpendicular to the wall of the dam is being dug, inlaid with cement to hold a pipe that will drain the water from a small dam constructed upstream from this new dam. Water is accumulating where the dam is to be built and needs to dryer out. The pipe will be completely incased in cement.
3-Nov-14
by Beth Blaisdell
The earth work is completed on the dam. The instillation of gabion baskets and pipes in the spillway should be installed over the next two weeks. The dry side of the dam needs to be planted with grass and the wet side needs to have rocks placed so the waves won’t erode the bank.
The site has been selected for the pump house, construction will start shortly. The final container holding the irrigation equipment has been shipped and will arrive shortly. I have received the original documents, working on the clearance documents to bring in the equipment duty and tax free.
Once the pump house is completed, the container has arrived and electricity has been installed, technicians from Irrico will arrive to hook everything up.
26-Jan-15
by Beth Blaisdell
The dam is full!!! The foundation for the pump house has been completed and it will be completed in approximately 3 weeks. All parts for the irrigation system have arrived and will be installed by the irrigation specialists. They will arrive (from Kenya) in April (end of the rainy season).
2-Apr-15
by Beth Blaisdell
The construction of the pump house is complete, we are waiting on the overhead power line to be installed so electricity can be wired into the building. We have been waiting for this for four weeks now and have been assured that it will happen as soon as Mormond Electrical can schedule it in. Once done Irrico will send the technicians down to hook everything up. The Dam is full.
16-Jun-15
by Beth Blaisdell
The technician arrived from Kenya on June 8th and has been busy installing the equipment into the pump house and the pipe that will connect the Dam/Pump house to the reservoir.
The 100 kva transformer should arrive tomorrow so that the electricity can be hooked up to the pump house. Everything should be tested and should work by the end of the week. Were very close to finishing this project. (I will add photos too)
16-Sep-15
by Beth Blaisdell
The Dam is now complete and functioning as it was designed. The paperwork is now being compiled by Rotary in Swaziland and in North Fulton County so that a final report can be submitted to Rotary International. A team of Rotarians from North Fulton Rotary (led by John Bach) are planning to visit Swaziland early in November to see the project and how it is impacting the community.
3-Dec-15
by Beth Blaisdell
The Dam is operational, the spill way has a large rock that may impede the flow of water during heavy rain fall, solutions on how to remove it are currently under discussion. We are very close to reconciling the entire project and are currently hosting Fredrick Muyodi who is representing Rotary International, Fredrick is auditing the project from Dec. 3 - 5th.
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