Vision and Mission

Access to water is one of the greatest challenges facing humankind. Africa especially faces growing water scarcity with one in three people lacking safe drinking water. Their health and productivity are jeopardised by water-borne diseases and poor hygiene. Illness from drinking contaminated water is a major cause of infant mortality in developing countries: 1.8 million people, mostly children, die of diarrhoea every year (World Health Report 2004).

Procuring adequate water is a daily time- and energy-demanding struggle, particularly for women and children. The magnitude of this challenge will only increase in the face of population growth, conflict situations, rural to urban migration and the predicted effects of climate change.

Vision

RAIN envisions a world in which all people have access to a reliable source of water, thereby being empowered to improve their lives through better health, education and livelihood security.

Mission

RAIN aims to increase the access to water through developing capacity for the collection of rainwater, with a focus on regions where other means of water supply are not viable or available. RAIN projects use low-cost and simple technologies and are adapted to local conditions.

Summary of RAINs Multi Year Strategy Plan

Approach

In each country of operation, RAIN aims to establish a Rainwater Harvesting Capacity Centre (RHCC) which can coordinate and support RWH on a larger scale within the country. The RHCC will integrate rainwater harvesting in Integrated Water Resource Management plans and governmental water policies, will actively promote the potential of RWH as part of the solution to the increasing water stress and will coordinate field activities of its national network of implementing partner organisations. The RHCCs are the core part of the RAIN intervention model. RAIN progressively transfers programme activities to the RHCCs as they develop autonomy in their function. RAIN believes that this institutional model will support and ensure project quality, sustainability and widespread up scaling of RWH.

RAIN’s strength is to reach those people not served living in (often rural) areas where other means of water supply are not sufficient or feasible, so-called type3-areas. Within these areas groundwater is not accessible or potable (due to water quality issues) and other surface water (like springs) are not available or sufficient to meet basic water needs. RAIN believes that rainwater harvesting can be an effective solution for water supply in these areas. RAIN therefore focuses on establishing partnerships with local implementing organizations intervening in priority water-scarce areas.

RAIN invests considerable time in strengthening its RHCCs by trainings on (project) management, monitoring & evaluation and promotion & policy advocacy of RWH. The ImOs are strengthened by RAIN and the RHCCs on construction and design of different RWH techniques, maintenance of RWH structures, sharing experiences by knowledge exchange, user assessments, water quality monitoring and developing local water committees. RAIN strongly believes that local capacity is the key to large scale implementation of RWH and solving water problems in developing countries.

Sustainibilty in RAINs projects is assured by its participatory and bottom-up approach, which focuses on involvement of beneficiaries within the projects. Training and awareness sessions on subjects like management of water supply, hygiene practices and operation & maintenance of the RWH system form an integral part of RAINs projects. The involvement of beneficairies increases the sense of ownership and ensures the sustainability of the RWH project.

RAIN will broaden its approach to increase the positive benefits of rainwater harvesting (RWH) beyond the provision of clean drinking water through cost-effective storage of adequate water for multiple uses to support improved livelihoods and food security.

Since women and girls are primarily tasked with fetching water, RAIN involves women in planning, designing and managing RWH interventions. Women are well represented in the local water committees which manage the RWH structures. In Ethiopia, for example, six of the eight water committees established are represented by a majority of women. RAIN is working with its IMOs to further ensure that women’s water needs are understood and met through the projects by involving them in all stages of the project: from beneficiary selection through trainings to gender-aggregated water use assessments and evaluations. RAIN believes it can still improve this process and is therefore entering into partnerships with organisations working on gender issues.

Programme

Currently the RAIN programme is active in Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Ethiopia and Nepal. Since its foundation in 2003, RAIN has provided over 24,000 people with clean drinking water. To reach at least 100,000 people by 2012 will be a great challenge for RAIN. RAIN realises that this is an ambitious goal, but the need for clean and accessible water is acute and will only increase in the face of population growth, conflict situations, rural to urban migration and predicted effects of climate change.

The key to the success of the programme is its specific approach: straightforward and participatory. Five core principles illustrate the way RAIN works:

Focusing on field action

RAIN focuses on field implementation of rainwater harvesting structures by exploring, enhancing and optimising local rainwater harvesting technologies and establishing & strengthening local capacity. The projects are focused on low-cost and appropriate materials and technologies adapted to local conditions.

Selecting areas with optimal impact

RAIN initiates rainwater harvesting projects primarily in so-called 'type 3 areas'. Within these areas, people have no access to surface water, have low or no borehole or spring potential, and / or suffer from restrictions due to poor water quality. In these areas rainwater harvesting is often the only solution to water scarcity.

Ensuring sustainability

RAIN ensures sustainability within its projects through a demand driven, service oriented and participatory approach. All expertise is locally developed & strengthened and local ownership is the base of all projects.

Sharing experiences

To support its core skills and to increase the effectiveness of its approach, RAIN strongly emphasizes the exchange of knowledge and expertise. Dissemination of information ensures that expertise & best practices reach RAIN’s network and stakeholders. Contributing to broader programs, RHCCs facilitate the implementation and promotion of rainwater harvesting projects throughout the country.

Contributing to broader programs

The national capacity centres facilitate the implementation of rainwater harvesting projects throughout the country. Rainwater harvesting projects are best embedded in an integrated approach to managing water resources. The RHCC’s create alliances and partnerships to expand program impact and rainwater harvesting awareness.

Organisation

RAIN is organised in a way that reflects its focus on partnership: an international network supported by the Program Management Unit in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The Program Management Unit ensures:

• Identification and strengthening of partner organisations in each country programme;
• Stimulation of in-country innovation in developing a context-appropriate approach and technologies;
• Selection of regions and beneficiaries for which RWH has the greatest impact;
• Development of long-term sustainability and widespread uptake, e.g. through lobbying to establish RWH in (inter)national water policies and integrating RWH with alternative financial mechanisms such as microfinance;
• Monitoring and evaluation of programme work and impact;
• Access to information and expertise to support RWH initiatives.

The PMU consists of a dedicated team of 6: Ard Schoemaker (Programme Manager), Saskia Nijhof (Programme Officer Strategic Development & Partnerships), Lisette Hombergen (Fundraising & Communications Expert) and 3 Programme Officers: Robert Meerman, Basja Jantowski and Annelies Withofs.

The Program Management Unit works in close partnership with its RHCC and implementing partners.

History

RAIN was set up in December 2003 as a response to appeals for action on the ground at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in South Africa, September 2002. The roots of this appeal date back to June 1992, when Agenda 21 was adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action aimed at sustainable development, in which Chapter 18 deals with the protection of the quality and supply of freshwater resources. The rate of implementation of tangible projects however to meet the objectives lagged behind.

 

 

In September 2000, eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were formulated, based on the UN's Millennium Declaration. All 191 UN Member States have pledged to meet these goals, which are calling for a dramatic reduction in poverty and marked improvements in the health of the poor by 2015. MDG 7 states that the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation should be halved by 2015.

 

 

The full implementation of Agenda 21 and the MDGs was strongly reaffirmed at the WSSD in 2002. Many organisations underlined the need to mobilise international resources on a sustained and well-targeted basis in order to solve water-related problems Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has proved to provide a reliable decentralised supply of clean water, with collection and storage of rainwater involving relatively simple and affordable technology. In early recognition of this potential and in response to the water supply challenge (2002 Johannesburg WSSD), an alliance of Plan Netherlands and partners, together with AIDEnvironment, developed a RWH programme in June 2003. The programme evolved into the establishment of the Rainwater Harvesting Implementation Network (RAIN) which is registered as a Foundation under Dutch law.

Partners, Donors and Networks

Partners

RAIN is a network that continuously explores possibilities for partnerships to promote and expand rainwater harvesting on a global scale. RAIN has developed strategic partnerships and/or works closely with the following organisations:

Donors

Networks