WATCH: USAID Safe Water Project – Pause and Reflect Session
Governor Bong Lacson together with other stakeholders attended the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Safe Water Project “Pause and Reflect Session” held at Seda Hotel in Bacolod City, earlier today.
The governor thanked USAID for their commitment to the shared goal of a water-secure future and improved well-being of households in water-stressed communities in the province.
The partnership between USAID and the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental commits Safe Water technical assistance in preparing the Provincial Integrated Water Security Plan (PIWSP), which is a local water security roadmap that espouses the development principles and strategies of the Philippine Water Supply and Sanitation Master Plan.
The PIWSP is anchored on Safe Water’s integrated and inclusive water security framework which focuses on water supply and sanitation services.
According to Safe Water, it can help Negros Occidental achieve water security through increased access to resilient water supply and sanitation services, improved water resources management, and strengthened water sector governance.
USAID and Negros Occidental have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in November last year, that aimed at strengthening the water security in the province.
Through the Safe Water project, USAID will be providing technical assistance to help communities in the province gain reliable access to clean water.Gov. Lacson said that the Pause and Reflect Method conducted is an invaluable tool to learn from feedback, to identify the best practices and the not so effective ones, and to build a team approach and build the team morale to increase the likelihood of success.
“Thank you and I hope that this activity will allow us to celebrate our victories, evaluate what we have accomplished, learn from our oversights and proceed to the direction we have set,” said Gov. Lacson.
Present in the activity were Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator, Atty. Rayfrando Diaz, USAID SW Project Group Chief of Party, Alma Porcuincula, Deputy Chief of Party Jim Oprecio, Resource Mobilization Specialist, Doreen Erfe, Water Resource Management Specialist Bien Dolom, Resilient Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist, Ariel Lapus; Jojo Fajardo, Site Technical Manager – Negros; and Justin Briones, Water Resource Management Officer, among others.*
