SonSet Solutions is part of the Accord Network, an association of 100-plus organizations serving people in over 100 countries. Cody Hall, our Community Development Team leader, had the privilege of co-presenting our work with a long-standing partner organization, Water Mission, at the Accord Network’s annual conference.
The presentation was called, SonSetLink® and MAP: How Actionable Data Changes the Game. MAP (Water Missions’ Monitoring and Alerting Platform) is a custom dashboard used by Water Mission to display water data collected by SonSetLink. The presentation highlighted three, key ways SonSetLink data, made visible and uniquely actionable by MAP, changes the game.
First, real-time data shows if water is flowing or not. SonSetLink allows Water Mission to see how much water each system has provided to the community it serves. If the data shows less than normal water flow, or worse, no flow at all, Water Mission can call someone on the ground in the community to check on the system.
Second, having SonSetLink on site leads to fewer site visits because problems can be resolved by phone. Many of these locations are hours away. It is expensive to send a field technician to a remote site. If the issue can be resolved with a phone call to a community member, travel costs are reduced, and trust is built between Water Mission and the community.
Third, trustworthy data drives sustainability at all levels: in the community, at Water Mission, and for the donors involved. Donors want to see that the projects they fund are performing as expected. To drive sustainability, many communities sell the water that their projects produce. The funds go into a community account that is used for preventative maintenance and repairs. The water data is correlated with funds received, so the community stays on track with a healthy maintenance account.
In cooperation with other gospel-focused water ministries, SonSetLink is changing the way we think about water.
By Cody Hall, December 2022