353,000 people do not have clean water.
353,000 people do not have clean water.
More than one in four.
663,000 people do not have a decent toilet.
663,000 people do not have a decent toilet.
That's over half the population.
65 children die every year from diarrhoea.
65 children die every year from diarrhoea.
Caused by dirty water and poor toilets.
A community comes together
Etelvina has lived in Grotu most of her life. Water used to be a huge problem for her – if she needed any, she had to make a two-hour round trip to a river.
The slippery riverbank scared her, and the water tasted bad. She would get intense stomach aches after drinking it. But she and her community had no other choice – this was normal.
Together with our local partner, we were able to help Grotu’s community change this. We built a gravity flow system, bringing clean water from a spring through kilometres of pipes to the heart of the village.
To make sure the system would last, we involved the local community in the design process. They contributed materials and labour, and learnt how to make repairs. Now, an enthusiastic village water committee looks after it.
“People are happy now we have water,” said Etelvina. She has been able to start growing her own crops – corn and cassava. “Everything has changed in the community.”