The Ripple Effect | Volume 13

Dear Supporter, 

Can you imagine walking six hours in the scorching sun to find water? What would you do with that time? 

So much potential is unlocked when people have clean water close to home. And it’s all possible thanks to your support.  

In La Guajira, Colombia, the daily search for water is especially burdensome on women. That means missed opportunities like getting an education or earning a living. For the indigenous Wayúu people, many of whom live in poverty, a lack of clean water is dire. That’s why WaterAid works locally, in partnership with the Wayúu, to create solutions that work today and for years to come. 

To bring clean water, sanitation and hygiene to the most vulnerable, WaterAid learns from successes elsewhere and applies them in a sustainable way. That means training local people to install and maintain windmills, hand pumps, filters and storage tanks. Workshops, trainings, and community meeting spaces provide shared knowledge about water management, the importance of drinking clean water for health, and the importance of good hygiene.  

To ensure widespread adoption, some sessions use demonstrations that incorporate Wayúu indigenous culture, and local artists paint ancestral symbols on infrastructure to build trust that clean water will keep their families healthy. 

Now, people are unlocking their potential with a reliable, year-round supply of clean water – thanks to you. It’s simply life-changing. 

Thank you so much for helping communities like this to change their lives with clean water. Your support means people have more time, better health and confidence to think about the future. You help them focus on their families, build their businesses, and unlock their potential, so communities can live their lives to the fullest. 

Thank you, 

Candelaria Lucero Dente, Country Director  

WaterAid Colombia 

Fabiola lives in a small village called Platanito in Colombia. When she was six months pregnant, she would walk for half an hour to stand in a long line at 7am to collect water from a windmill-powered well. But the windmill had been broken for years, so Fabiola pumped the water by hand, pressing a large lever up and down to fill her jerry cans because that was the nearest water source.

Fabiola is like thousands of others in this region of Colombia that don’t have water close to home. La Guajira is an arid desert peninsula on the Caribbean coast with nearly a million people. It is also home to the Wayúu people, the nation’s second largest indigenous group, who live largely in rural communities like Fabiola’s where women and children spend much of their day searching for water under the scorching sun. The water that they do find is often contaminated and makes them and their children sick.

Now Fabiola and her growing family don’t have to walk to find water, because they have a tap right outside their front door. It means she can spend more time with her children, and she has more energy at school, where she studies social work, and at her job as a caregiver for the Wayúu children in her community.

Sanata knows the Touna Health Center well. As a child, her father brought her to see the doctor whenever she would get sick. Then, as an expectant mother, she came here for prenatal visits. Now, as a mother of two girls, she brings her family for their care, too. But finding a reliable water source in this rural community in central Mali is very difficult, and the health center is no exception. When visiting the center, Sanata used to collect water using a handpump because there was no running water in the care rooms for expectant mothers to use after they gave birth. The toilets were also in poor condition and there was no reliable way to dispose of waste or for patients and staff to wash their hands. 

But clean water has changed everything. Now, expectant mothers, staff and other patients have running water in every room, private toilets in the maternity ward, and a private area for midwives. Health staff can wash their hands before and after any patient consultations, which dramatically reduces the spread of disease. And women like Sanata learn to teach these practices to their families which greatly increases the health impact throughout the communities. Now there is more hope for the future in Touna. “I appeal to all women to visit the health center for their care, so that they can give birth in better conditions, and for the well-being of their babies,” said Sanata.

Water challenges

Samundhra has always felt a little different from the rest of the people in her community. Originally from a city, she moved to rural Umeedo Kohli with her family eight years ago and that has been a significant transition for her. Now water is easily available, but before her village got a hand pump it was much more work. Samundhra and her mother-in-law and would walk long distances to get water. There weren’t proper roads to walk on and she would often slip and fall on the way. 

Inspiring change

Samundhra was inspired by the impact of clean water close to home, and now she has become a water, sanitation and hygiene champion. There was no concept of toilets in her village before WaterAid appointed her a community leader. Women would relieve themselves out in the open or walk to the nearest wooded area for privacy. After attending several hygiene trainings herself, Samundhra now leads them and regularly teaches other women about healthy practices. “The sessions have opened an even bigger world for me. The women seem to be inspired by me, because I’m always doing things differently. They saw how I had built a bathroom in my house and would admire how I have privacy and ease of access,” said Samundhra. 

Shifting attitudes 

Samundhra also travels to other communities and meets women she didn’t know before. It wasn’t easy winning their trust or gaining their respect. At first, women wouldn’t even make eye contact with her. But now when she visits, she is instantly recognized. Because of Samundhra, attitudes towards water, sanitation and hygiene are changing for the better. Women have built their own bathrooms, and they are able to practice better personal and home hygiene to keep themselves and their families healthier.

Eni and Eliseu are part of a formidable team of WaterAid partner organizations, local businesses and government officials who are joining forces to construct new water facilities in five health centers in Cuamba, a community in northern Mozambique. With a degree in construction, Eni uses his expertise to oversee the laying of pipes, taps, toilets and waste disposal units. 

“The main concern of communities is the lack of basic facilities,” said Eni, local government lead for water projects in Cuamba. “And by basic facilities, I’m talking about health centers and water.”   

“I compare and measure to see if the specific material has been applied exactly to the technical specifications,” he says. “And when something isn’t right, we find ways to improve and overcome it.” 

Business-owner Eliseu is responsible for helping to manage the new water supply. With support from WaterAid, his company will raise awareness about the importance of drinking clean water and practicing good hygiene, and help women set up savings groups so they can invest in their taps and toilets. 

“The majority of the populations use water of dubious origin,” said Eliseu. “They end up having problems with waterborne diseases.” 

The ambition is for these life-changing water works to be a model for government investment in other regions, so even more people get to benefit. 

The impact? Brighter, healthier futures for communities in Cuamba. 

Gifty loves her job as owner of The Lord Is My Shepherd Hairdressing Salon in Bolgatanga, northern Ghana. She’s proud to provide an essential service for women in her community. But before WaterAid installed a tap near her home and hair salon, Gifty had to make a 40-minute trip every morning to collect the water she needed for work. 

“It was very exhausting,” she says. “I always had to wake up very early, do my house chores, and then make the journey to get water before I could open for business. Sometimes I got more clients than expected so I ran out of water in the middle of the day. Then I would have to pause and go get water again.” 

The water wasn’t clean, so Gifty would have to filter it before washing her clients’ hair. Customers would get tired of waiting for her to return with water and go elsewhere. “It made me lose a lot of clients and money,” she adds. 

Now, with clean water on tap all day long, Gifty can focus on doing what she does best. She can wash hair, clean her scissors and brushes, and braid, cut and shape with renewed energy. For Gifty, having water means she can do the job she loves, support women in her community, and build a better future for her, her husband and their three daughters. 
 

The figures below refer to the people WaterAid has directly reached as a federation internationally through services delivered together with our partners. They only show part of our impact. To make lasting change happen on a massive scale, we also convince governments to change laws; link policy makers with people on the ground; change attitudes and behaviors; pool knowledge and resources; and rally support from people and organizations around the world.