Ha Giang: Handover of 5 safe water supply models for school students

joined with the Institute of Population, Health and Development (PHAD) to hold a ceremony to handover 5 models of supplying fresh and drinking water to 5 schools in the province.

This is one of series of activities of the project “Strengthening access to clean water and sanitation for schools and people in Ha Giang province”. The project is a local initiative under the master project “Vietnamese local activities for health and environment, or Local Works in brief” sponsored by U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) and run the Institute of Population, Health and Development (PHAD).

Attending the handover ceremony were the representatives of relevant local mandated authorities, HG PUSTA, USAID, PHAD, Econik Group Joint-stock Company and Luu Gia Vietnam Group Joint-stock Company, the contractor - TEKCOM Joint-stock Company, educators, parents’ associations and the schoolstudents.

Handover memorandum signing at Yen Cuong Ethnic Minority Semi-boarding High School

At the ceremony, PHAD and HG PUSTA hand-overed 05 model of semi-industrial clean water and drinking water to 05 schools including Sung La pre-school, Sa Phin semi-boarding Primary and Secondary School (Dong Van district); Bac Me district Ethnic Minority Boarding School, Yen Cuong Ethnic Minority Semi-boarding High School (Yen Cuong commune, Bac Me district); Ha Giang Provincial College of Engineering and Technology.

These are the first five models of clean and drinking water for schools invested in Ha Giang province implemented on the principle of reciprocity (with the contribution of local resources): The sponsor supports 80% of investment fund for procurement, installation of equipment system and technical support for project implementation; localities (schools) shall reciprocate 20% of investment fund for infrastructure construction and installation, and making fence to protect the equipment system. The project has met the demand for clean water and direct drinking water (school drinking water) to more than 3,240 students and staff as well as teachers of the above 5 schools.

Thanks to the project of supplying clean water and school drinking water, the daily demand for drinking water of students in schools increase from 0.5 to 1.0 liter per day, the amount of clean water used for daily activities (washing vegetable and rice and cooking rice) in school reaches 2.0 liters per day, the model is suitable for self-management form of the schools.

At the handover ceremony, representatives of the sponsor, HG PUSTA and the above schools signed that minutes of handing over, receiving the management and exploitation as well as use of the equipment system; the schools have also committed that after receiving the equipment system, they will assign the management and operation responsibility of the system to the Project Management Unit of school’s clean and drinking water supply system according to the Regulations on Operational Management approved by competent authorities; promptly direct the overcoming of incidents occurred during operation and use of equipment system in order to ensure the school’s clean water and drinking water system to operate effectively and sustainably; at the same time taking responsibility for directing relevant departments of such school to account and monitor as well as manage the system into public property of such school; periodically performing  maintenance and equipment replacement in accordance with current technical process to ensure efficient and long-lasting operation of the equipment system.

The PUSTA was assigned the responsibility to continue monitoring and updating information, and supervise the operation and management of the school’s clean water and school drinking water system; provide technical consultancy, give schools information about the agencies dealing with technical problems arising during the operation; propose specific solutions to the HG Provincial People’s Committee so as to replicate the model of clean water and school drinking water to other schools, and localities in Ha Giang province with difficulty in accessing clean water sources in coming years.