POUL DUE JENSEN FOUNDATION WATER must change something. And we can make fast decisions, changing direction if needed. I know our contractor, ECM, appreciates that we can solve problems quickly and efficiently. We are not so strong when it comes to the technical specifications for our contractors, but we know we can always ask Nils. If he can’t provide an answer, he can always ask a specialist at Grundfos,” Helene explains. To her, the open and honest communication with the Foundation is extremely valuable: “In the second phase of our Togo project, we were drilling for water in four villages. Unfortunately, in the village of Gotha Kabiyé, we had negative drillings 4-5 times because there wasn’t enough groundwater underneath, so we brought it up at a Skype meeting, and together, we decided to move on to another village, Didomé. Here, we luckily had positive drillings very quickly. The people of Gotha Kabiyé were disappointed of course, but we can’t magically make water appear that isn’t there.” Due to the long-term commitment of PlanBørnefonden in this area in Togo, and the commitment of the Foundation to solve this issue, we hope to be able to return to Gotha Kabiyé in a future project with new technology that can help establish access to water in this village. From left: Espoir Datchidi (WASH advisor, Plan International Togo), Nils Thorup (Programme manager for Water, Poul Due Jensen Foundation), Helene Egebjerg (PlanBørnefonden Denmark), Nicolas Dadja Gnakpaou (Director, Direction Régionale de l’Hydraulique, Région des Plateaux) and Koffi Barbo (Project Field Responsible, Plan International Togo) discuss possible locations for water projects. Photo: PlanBørnefonden decided to move on to another village to establish access to safe water, and only continue our work with sanitation and hygiene in Kpégno Adja. Today, the authorities understand and accept our working methods, so they supported that decision, and helped select a different village.” No mixed messages At the governmental level, the local water chief points out that the close collaboration has a positive effect, not only on success of the water projects, but also in his daily monitoring and follow-up activities within the communities: “PlanBørnefonden’s projects support our follow-up activities. The fact that we stand together and deliver the same messages to the communities, proves to them that the policy of the Government and PlanBørnefonden’s requirements are aligned,” explains Nicolas Dadja Gnakpaou, Director, Direction Régionale de l’Hydraulique in Région des Plateaux. Nils Thorup adds that the promise to stay put – and delivering on that promise – has also completely changed the way the local water authorities receive the water projects in the Plateaux Region: “The authorities decide which villages we are allowed to approach. In one such village, Kpégno Adja, it turned out that the leaders were not motivated to mobilise the population to pay for water. So, in the steering group, we PlanBørnefonden Our partner BØRNEfonden and Plan International Denmark joined forces in 2018 as PlanBørnefonden under the umbrella of Plan International. The objective is to make a greater impact for vulnerable children and adolescents in West Africa. 23
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