Our partnership

WaterAid has partnered with the Helmsley Charitable Trust for more than five years. The Helmsley Charitable Trust generously supported a three-year initiative in Zambia where WaterAid rehabilitated 14 schools and 40 health facilities across five rural districts: Mwense and Samfya in Luapula Province; Monze and Kazungula in Southern Province; and Mwandi in Western Province.

This work provided critical access to water and sanitation, supported the adoption of good handwashing practices in schools and health facilities and enabled communities to demand their right to water, sanitation and hygiene.

Click here to learn more about WaterAid's journey in creating a new reality for water, sanitation and hygiene in Zambia's health facilities. 

This is progress. Thanks to the Helmsley Charitable Trust we have reached:

people reached with clean water.

H. drinking from the water tap in her primary school, in the Monze district of Zambia.
Image: WaterAid/ Tom Pilston

227,103 people

using clean water at health facilities each month.

A nurse stands in front of a Health Center in Zambia
Image: WaterAid/ Chileshe Chanda

2,445 people​

reached with lifesaving hygiene messages.

Melody, 13, washing her hands with soap at the sinks in the toilet block, Simango School, Kazungula District, Zambia, October 2020.
Image: WaterAid/ Chileshe Chanda

Simango Basic School

The entire community was so excited because of the water coming from the taps. We thank our partners for the abundant generosity they showed. We love you, Helmsley Charitable trust.
Xavia Mwiinga, Deputy Headmaster | Simango Basic School, Zambia

A school transformed

In 2015, the Simango Basic School in the Kazungula district of Zambia had no running water, and not enough toilets for the school's 802 students. They had to go to a nearby river to collect water.

With the addition of piped water and toilets, students, staff and the community are excited to be part of this school. 

Thanks to the Helmsley Charitable Trust, the school is transformed.

"This has made our work easier."

"Now, there is running water. Flushable toilets and showers. Mothers don't need to go outside for delivery and can take a bath in the maternity ward."



Lennie N'guni | Midwife

Image: WaterAid/ PATH/ Chileshe Chanda

When Astridah gave birth to her daughter at the Njola Mwanza Rural Health Center in 2009, there was no running water, no toilets and no space in the maternity ward for her to recover. 

Thanks to the Helmsley Charitable Trust, when Astridah's daughter gave birth at the same health center this year, the space was transformed.


"We found a lot of improvements," says Astridah, citing piped water, flushing toilets and a room for women to rest overnight after giving birth.

"My plea is, let these developments continue," she says. "These developments will benefit our children and many generations to come, unlike the way we suffered in the past."

Ministry of Water, Zambia

"This project has played a major role in accelerating the attainment of universal access to clean and safe water in the country."
Melvin Sikazwe | Chief Planner, Zambia Ministry of Water

Close collaboration with key government stakeholders including the Ministry of Water, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education, is critical for project success as well as long-term sustainability.  

Here's how we're working with the Ministry of Water:

Learn more about our work

Find out why we were founded and the impact of our work

Find out about our advocacy work

We have a dedicated team in Washington DC who work to keep clean water on the agenda

Facts and statistics

Equip yourself with knowledge about the scale of the water and sanitation crisis