Our partners
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| Women living in slums are often prioritised by our partner organisations |
| Credit: WaterAid / Juthika Howlader |
WaterAid has been working in Bangladesh since 1986 and has a total of 21 partner NGOs covering 19 districts in rural areas, three City Corporations and one Municipality in urban areas.
Apart from our local project partners, WaterAid Bangladesh also has 'networking partners' like the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD&C) with which it has continuous collaborative work or constructive engagement.
See a detailed map of where our partners work.
Our partners generally work in either rural or urban areas, although some work across both:
Rural partners
DAM-Dishari: Arid and plain land
The Decentralised Total Sanitation Project (Dishari) is a joint initiative of Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM), Plan Bangladesh, WaterAid Bangladesh and the World Bank for piloting an upazilla (sub-district) Total Sanitation model based on the experiences and learning of all partners. Objectives of the project are to motivate other stakeholders in the Advancing Sustainable Environmental Health (ASEH) approach through local government institutes (LGIs).
Through the Dishari project, the Total Sanitation programme is being implemented by local Union Parishads with the guidance of Upazila Parishads and participation of all stakeholders. The ultimate goal of the project is to improve quality of life, in terms of access to sanitation through increased capacity, for people living in poverty.
With the technical and financial assistance of WaterAid, Dishari has been implementing its programme to reach 938,457 people in 31 unions and municipalities across three Upazilas of the Jamalpur district since July 2005 within a geographical context of arid and plain land.
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Green Hill: Hilly context
Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), the only extensive hill area in Bangladesh, lies in the south-eastern part of the country bordering Myanmar in the south-east and the Indian state of Tripura in the north. The area of the CHT is about 13,184 sq km, approximately one-tenth of the total area of Bangladesh. The entire area is mostly hilly and inaccessible. It is divided into three individual districts - Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban. Acute scarcity of drinking water is the key feature in the hilly region and as a result there is high demand for safe drinking water.
WaterAid partnered with Green Hill, a local development organisation, in 1999. Eleven different indigenous communities as well as the Bangladeshi community, inhabit the CHT. The very different geography, culture, social practice and political unrest in the region compared to the rest of the country have sidelined it in terms of development. Since 1994 Green Hill has been working with and for under-privileged people here. Under the ASEH programme, Green Hill has been working in 25 unions of three hilly districts, covering a population of 156,289.
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MJSKS: Poverty prone
Mahideb Jubo Somaj Kallayan Somity (MJSKS) is a local voluntary organisation in Kurigram, a northern poverty-prone district of Bangladesh. WaterAid established a partnership with MJSKS on 21 December 2005 for implementation of water and sanitation projects in Rajarhat upazila.
The main objectives of the partnership is to develop a sustainable mechanism for achieving 100% sanitation. MJSKS signed Memorandums of Understanding with all Union Parisads (UPs) of the upazila and the project is being implemented with active involvement and support of UPs. Key WaterAid principles are being followed in the implementation of this project.
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NGO Forum: Haor and poverty prone
NGO Forum and WaterAid began collaboration to implement an ASEH project in 2004. The main objective of the project is to improve the health, quality of life and livelihoods of poor and disadvantaged rural communities through water and sanitation programmes.
The target areas of the project are Thakurgaon Sadar Upazila of Thakurgaon and Bajitpur Upazila of Kishorganj district, comprising a total of 30 unions (543,921 people). In both areas the environmental sanitation situation is poor. NGO Forum works through its sub-partners.
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RDRS: Poverty prone
As part of the expansion programme, WaterAid partnered with Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS) to implement water and sanitation programmes in the poverty-prone and low sanitation coverage district Nilphamari.
Out of six upazilas under Nilphamari District, other agencies have already started implementing water and sanitation programmes in four.
To avoid duplication, RDRS plans to work in 17 Unions of Kishoreganj and Dimla Upazilas, with a coverage of 468,857 people. The overall goal of the project is to achieve sustainable improvements in hygiene behaviour and reduction in exposure to water and environmental sanitation risks for poor rural communities in Kishorganj and Dimla Upazilas.
The project also aims to establish a coordination mechanism among the existing WSS service providers in the district to make it 100% sanitised.
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SJA: Hillocks
Sylhet Jubo Academy (SJA) is a voluntary development organisation established in 1991 and based in north-eastern Sylhet district. WaterAid Bangladesh partnered with SJA in September 2006 to implement ASEH. SJA will work in 6 unions of Jointapur Upazila in Sylhet district, covering 104,861 people.
Jointapur is located in the remotest border belt area in the north-east of the country. The area is under-served and overlooked by major development organisations due to its poor communications. In hilly areas, households are quite isolated. Most of the people in this area are tea garden labourers, and indigenous Khasia. Some are migrants from other districts.
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Shushilan: Coastal and saline geo-structure
Shushilan is a local NGO working with vulnerable community members, especially women, in the south-west coastal region of Bangladesh since 1991.
WaterAid partnered with Shushilan in November 2005. Shushilan designed a project called "Promoting Environmental Health through Sustainable Provision for Safe Water and Sanitation" to ensure safe water and sanitation for vulnerable communities in Shyamnagor and Asasuni Upazila through a community-led, demand-driven approach.
Shushilan will cover a total of 23 unions and municipalities in two upazila in south-western Bangladesh (642,151 population). It is the first opportunity for WaterAid to work in the context of coastal and saline geo-structures to address the unique challenges through piloting and promoting different approaches and technological options.
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Solidarity: Poverty and flood prone
Solidarity is also a Kurigram-based local NGO partnered with WaterAid to implement a project on sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene. This project will be implemented in two upazillas, Nageswari and Fulbari, under Kurigram district covering a population of 406,084.
Both Nageswari and Fulbari upazillas are flood and poverty-prone. They are surrounded by six rivers including Dudhkumor, Fulkumor and Dharla. In these areas the poorest and most vulnerable face severe challenges in terms of access to basic facilities and services.
The water supply and sanitation service is also poorer than in other areas. Solidarity will introduce a child-focused approach in project implementation for bringing sustainable behavioural changes in entire communities. WaterAid's strategy is to facilitate its three partner organisations working in the four upazilas of the district to make it 100% sanitised through effective coordination with another service provider (UNICEF), which is in the process of undertaking interventions in the five remaining upazilas of the district.
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UST: Flood-prone Chars
Unnayan Shahojogy Team (UST) has been working with WaterAid in Bangladesh since 1999. UST has been implementing ASEH since 2003 to ensure sustainable improvements in hygiene behaviour and reduction in exposure to water and environmental sanitation risks for rural people, especially those living in Char areas.
UST's coverage includes 1067,546 population in 40 unions and municipalities in seven upazilas in three riverside districts - Gaibandha, Shariatpur and Tangail - within a context of flood-prone Chars. Working in the area is particularly challenging because after every flood many activities must start again from zero.
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VARD: Hillocks and low-lying areas
Voluntary Association for Rural Development (VARD) is another new partner, and is based in Sylhet. WaterAid partnered with VARD in September 2006 for sustainable improvements in hygiene behaviour and reduction in exposure to water and environmental sanitation risks for whole, poor rural and urban communities in Goainghat and Companigonj upazilas under Sylhet district, covering 278,652 people.
The area is under-served in terms of sanitation coverage, and there is arsenic contamination in some areas. Part of the area is hilly and part is low-lying. The area is also poverty and flush-flood prone. Most people are tea garden labourers and/or tribal people. Road communication is poor.
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VERC: Barind area, plain land, coastal and char lands
The Village Education Resource Centre (VERC) is one of our oldest partners. The partnership was established in 1986. The two organisations collaborated on several projects in the field of water and sanitation. Initial projects were designed on the basis of the recommendations of a participatory impact study conducted in February 1998.
As an outcome of the Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA) study held in February 2000, a new approach was developed: empowering the community following participatory planning, implementation of total sanitation coverage with no subsidisation, followed by monitoring and evaluation.
The efforts have finally evolved as the "People Initiated 100% Sanitation Approach", better known as Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS). A new phase titled "Promoting 100% Sanitation, Hygiene Behaviour and Safe Water through Capacity Building of Community Institutions" started in October 2003.
The project is to bring eight upazilas and 75 Unions including seven Municipalities in different geographical areas (Barind area, plain land, coastal and char lands) covering 1.6 million people.
VERC is also working on an Arsenic Mitigation Pilot Project.
The organisation is so well managed that WaterAid has succesfully piloted a number of innovative new ideas jointly with VERC.
>> Read more about VERC's Community Led Total Sanitation
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Zibika: Poverty prone
Zibika is a local NGO based in the northern poverty-prone Kurigram district. Zibika has yet to fully cover the district at the desired level. As a result, poverty remains. The project will eventually be implemented to cover 175,837 people following an approach based on community empowerment.
There will be women's groups in each of the clusters of the project area to facilitate WSS interventions for the entire community. The project will cover the entire population of all eight unions of Sadar Upazilla in Kurigram district.
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Urban partners
The WaterAid partnership with Association for Realisation of Basic Needs (ARBAN) was established in 1997. The Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority's (DWASA) Initiative for Dhaka's Urban Poor ("for better livelihood and poverty reduction") has been implemented by ARBAN with four others NGOs since October 2003.
Towards achieving the ultimate goal of the programme, ARBAN has implemented different activities with local people.
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ASD: DWASA
Assistance for Slum Dwellers (ASD) has been implementing water, sanitation and hygiene promotion projects in the Mirpur area of Dhaka City under ASEH since October 2003, in collaboration with four other organisations.
ASD has been working in slum areas where the situation is alarming in terms of water, sanitation facilities and hygienic practices. The projects cover a population of just over 20,000 across 14 slums.
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DSK: DWASA, City and Chittagong City Corporation
Dushtha Shasthya Kendra (DSK) are active in both Dhaka and Chittagong. They run projects through five field offices, three in Dhaka and two in Chittagong.
DSK, through an innovative process, has provided community-managed safe water and sanitation services to 27 squatter and slum communities in Dhaka City. In Chittagong city, DSK has been working in 21 slums. The total population coverage will be just under 200,000.
DSK is pioneering working jointly with public utility services like DWASA. The organisation has also introduced a number of technological innovations like Vacu-tug in their urban sanitation programmes.
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Nabolok: Khulna slums
WaterAid partnered with Nabolok Parishad on 11 November 2005 for its ASEH Project for the period of November 2005 to March 2009.
Established in 1986 in Khulna, a south western Division of Bangladesh, Nabolok Parishad is a voluntary NGO. The main objective of the organisation is to undertake an extensive participatory sustainable development process through empowerment of the under-privileged, by supplementing and complementing government development initiatives in Nabolok.
Under the ASEH project, Nabolok covers 40,073 people living in 176 slums under seven wards of Khulna City Corporation.
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NGO Forum: Chittagong slums
With a view to improving the health, quality of life and livelihood, as well as the overall water and sanitation situation of poor and disadvantaged urban communities, NGO Forum for Drinking Water Supply & Sanitation has undertaken this collaborative initiative to implement ASEH projects since 2004.
The target areas of the project include 329 colonies of three Wards of Bakulia Thana in Chittagong, covering 47,000 people. The area was targeted as it is considered to be the most disadvantage area of the city.
As NGO Forum itself works through local partners, it has established partnerships with two local NGOs - Prottyashi and Sharan - to implement the ASEH-Urban project activities.
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PSTC: Peri-urban areas
Population Services and Training Center (PSTC) has been implementing community-based water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion projects in ten Dhaka slums since 1998, with technical and financial support from WaterAid.
The Non-ASEH project was completed in September 2003. The objectives were to reduce poverty, increase their empowerment and self-reliance, access to safe water, sanitation, hygiene and solid waste disposal facilities. During this process, PSTC gained practical experiences as well as confidence to implement larger scale water, sanitation and hygiene projects.
WaterAid partnered with PSTC again in October 2003 to implement community-based water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion activities for 261,990 people in 20 slums in five wards of Dhaka and 15 slums in seven wards in Chittagong.
>> Read more about PSTC's work reaching the poorest and most vulnerable
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Prodipon: Suburban slums
Prodipon has been working in Narayanganj, a suburban city near Dhaka, to create a water and environmental sanitation service delivery model for the slums. In addition, Prodipon has strong experience in solid waste management.
WaterAid's partnership with Prodipon began in 1998. The objective was to provide safe water supply to the poor slum dwellers, reduce expenditure on sickness caused by lack of environmental sanitation and use of contaminated water, and develop people's organisations to ensure the poorest of the poor could assert their right to a better livelihood.
Under the ASEH project, 22,214 people living in 17 slums in Narayanganj municipality and two adjacent unions will be covered.
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RHDS: DWASA
The partnership with Rural Health and Development Society (RHDS) was established in 2003. The objective of the project is to increase awareness among all communities of the benefits of sanitation, promote proper use of hygienic latrines by every family, and promote affordable and appropriate sanitation technology.
The RHDS coverage includes 13,248 people in 7 slums.
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Cross cutting partners
Phulki is supporting all ASEH partners in capacity building Child to Child (C2C) approaches. They offer:
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Staff members with training on child psychology
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Sessions explaining the Child to Child approach
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Advice on child leader selection and group formation, and child participation in water, sanitation and hygiene promotion programmes
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Session explaining the Steps of the Participation Ladder
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Information dissemination methods and techniques
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Action plan development for field level implementation
In addition, they also update participants on the latest environmental health issues, water and excreta-related diseases, hand washing, waste disposal, gender, equity and advocacy through C2C approaches.
Phulki is also involved in ASEH urban programme implementation in 11 slums in two wards, covering 20,544 people.
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Development Association for Self-Reliance, Communication, and Health (DASCOH) is working as an exclusive capacity-building partner for providing technical support to all sector stakes. DASCOH and WaterAid collaboration supports the ASEH implementing partners in building capacity among Community Based Organisation's.
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NGO's Arsenic Information & Support Unit (NAISU) started work in 42 arsenic contaminated areas of Bangladesh in October 2005.
It was established as a collaborative project between WaterAid and NGO Forum for disseminating arsenic-related information in an easy and understandable form to the relevant stakeholders, giving priority to the poor, un-served and under-served communities of Bangladesh.
It also exists to strengthen the capacity of local NGOs, and the relevant national/local government agencies, on arsenic mitigation, and to support advocacy on arsenic issues at various level.
