By the end of 2012 there were over 600 projects from all over the world online on the Akvo Really Simple Reporting platform. These projects were implemented by hundreds of our partners who to date have posted more than 2100 updates on their progress. We see lots of different styles of updates; some have text or pictures, others video. But what they all have in common is that they show us what’s happening on the ground.

Akvo RSR makes it possible for organisations in the field to tell the stories of their projects as they take place. Every project has it‚Äôs own page which sets the scene: the who, what, why, how and where of the project. Updates continue the narrative, sharing the work quickly and easily to colleagues, donors and anyone else who’s interested.

We decided to feature three of our favourite sets of project updates posted in December 2012 in this blog and reward the updaters with our brand new Akvo RSR training kit. Amongst lots of exciting stuff, the kit contains the newest Akvo RSR training manual which doubles up as a rather lovely (we think) poster, a 4 Gb USB stick with useful documents and some very nice postcards. We’re hoping the lucky recipients will mail us one back of course! We will hang it in our brand new office in Amsterdam.

Above: Training kits ready to send to our three lucky updaters. Photo credit Laura Roverts.

Water and sanitation financing project – Ghana

The first project we would like to highlight is focused on latrine sanitation and the reuse of waste water in Tamale, Ghana. Ibrahim Abdul-Ganiyu, working for Dutch WASH Alliance partner WUZDA, posted six updates during December describing the improvements made to sanitation facilities and the promotion of safe water.

Agricultural ICT project – Ethiopia

The second is a Connect4Change Consortium project in Ethiopia. Misrak Aklilu, working for one of the Consortium’s field partners called FC (Facilitator for Change), added two videos and some nice photos to inform others about the increasing integration of technology in agricultural activities. Using computers gives farmers access to product and market information that helps them sell their products for a good price at the right moment in the right place. They can also more easily share information and knowledge, create new partnerships and make good business decisions.

Water and latrine schools project – Uganda

Finally, we will send a training kit to William Mulindwak, working for MACERUDET in Uganda. Thanks to his updates (the project is outlined in Dutch), we learned that in the course of this water and sanitation project, school children have been trained to make baskets that can be sold to fund new watertanks and latrines for schools. This is especially beneficial for girls since they no longer need to walk for hours every day to collect water and are therefore are able to go to school.

Thank you once again for keeping us updated about the progress of your projects. We hope other people will also learn from your experiences and share their knowledge too.

Laura Roverts is Project Manager for Akvo