In Colombia
1.3 million
people don't have clean water close to home
people don't have clean water close to home
15.5 million
people lack soap and water to wash their hands at home
people lack soap and water to wash their hands at home
2.7 million
people don't have a decent toilet of their own
people don't have a decent toilet of their own
Clean water comes to Platanito
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.
Recent Projects
The Government of Colombia
The Ministry of Housing has partnered with WaterAid to address clean water in 46 communities throughout Colombia. Each project is based on their specific, local needs and focuses on infrastructure, social engagement and sustainability.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church works with WaterAid in multiple countries. In Colombia, the project focused on reaching urban and urban-adjacent communities with clean water, decent toilets and more.
Cisco Foundation
A long-term partner, Cisco is funding the Water Quality Lab, a water testing facility in La Guajira. This is designed to expand community access to water testing so project monitoring and evaluation can be scaled to match growing demand.
The WASH Leadership Network
To complement the water lab, an indigenous leadership network has been created in Barrancas. Here a training program is formed by local youth to monitor and evaluate water quality to strengthen communities and build a sustainable future.
Sacred Art: Honoring Indigenous Culture and Traditions
Art can be a medium to transmit ancestral wisdom and traditions. WaterAid has begun incorporating Wayuu sacred art symbols in all infrastructure to communicate a sense of belonging and ownership of the benefits of clean water, sanitation and hygiene.
The Inter-American Development Bank
The IADB has an ambitious clean water project, the Aquafund, that aims to produce successful pilot water projects that can be scaled elsewhere. One of the first project areas is in the La Guajira region.