World Vision's Water Health Life initiative works with local communitites in developing countries to find practical solutions to water, sanitation and hygiene challenges. In many African communities, we're already noticing exciting health improvements.
The Likimse Clean Water Project in southern Ethiopia is a wonderful example of how World Vision is directly helping at-risk communities. Now complete, the project has brought fresh, clean water to 64,000 people. Water pipelines, capped springs, several more water collection points, new toilets and training locals to maintain their safe water supply have all contributed to a significant increase in the health and productivity of this community.
Elsewhere, there's still much work to be done. World Vision currently has a number of water and sanitation projects underway in various African countries including Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. All involve simple yet long-term solutions for the communities concerned.
Protecting a spring
This involves digging a deep pit where water emerges from underground, then filling it with stones to filter out unwanted matter. A pipe channels the water, using a strong wire sieve as a filter. A concrete retaining wall around the pipe creates a holding tank for the pit and protects it from contaminants. Finally, a protective hedge is planted around the water point to stop animals from contaminating it.
Protecting a spring significantly reduces the spread of water-borne diseases.
Drilling a borehole
A drilling machine bores deep into the ground to reach a sustained water layer. A hand or foot-operated pump at surface level draws water up through a pipe.
Drilling a borehole enables the whole community to collect clean water easily. It also frees up time for children to go to school because they no longer need to walk long distances to collect water, which is also often contaminated.
Sinking a shallow well
Some communities depend on underground water sources which usually take the form of traditional wells or open sources. Shallow wells are equipped with a hand pump then covered to prevent surface contamination, mosquitos breeding and evaporation so the water supply won’t dry up.
Sinking a shallow well and capping it prevents water contamination and prevents children falling in.
Building toilets
Some communities use shallow hand-dug pits as toilets which means when it rains, human waste is washed into open water sources causing contamination and disease.
A pit latrine is a very deep pit in the ground which is secured to prevent caving. It's covered with boards and an opening, then a bench with a hole is positioned above this opening as a toilet seat. A cubicle is built around the bench.
Building pit latrines greatly improves sanitation and reduces the spread of diseases like Hepatitis A. They last for years.
Constructing rainwater tanks
Spouts are attached to the top of tanks to collect rainwater. The top is covered and the spouts are fitted with filters to prevent contamination.
Constructing rainwater tanks ensures clean drinking water for the community, particularly in areas where there's no reliable water source and in times of drought. It also reduces the need for children to walk long distances to collect water from contaminated sources.
Training the community
All World Vision's Water Health Life projects are about improving the quality of life in poorer communities. Implementing changes is the first step. Ensuring these changes are sustained in the long term is 100% dependent on community education in:
health and hygiene practices to reduce the spread of illness
the importance of clean water and its connection to good health/survival
basic sanitation and personal hygiene for children
ongoing maintenance and operation of boreholes, pumps, wells, tanks and toilets
The results of our completed Water Health Life projects speak for themselves. Finally, these communities are beginning to experience long-term sustainability with clean water and better health. And the cycle of poverty begins to break.