When her husband passed away last year, Gladys was suddenly alone in the world with six young daughters. The new widow was determined to remain strong for her children but feared for their safety. Water Mission had installed a safe water solution in Gladys’ community of Santa Elena, Peru, which improved overall health and opportunities. However, families still had to go to the fields for their personal sanitation needs. It can be especially dangerous for women and girls to attend to their needs without protection from animals and strangers. 

“It is not safe out there, especially in the dark,” Gladys explained. “Sometimes, there are wild animals or dangerous people.”

Life in this remote community is not easy. But because of friends who chose to help those in need—including widows like Gladys—Water Mission’s solutions have lightened the burden. This year, we completed a project to install latrines equipped with pour-flush toilets for every single family in Santa Elena.  

“It will be much safer to be inside the house,” Gladys told us as we installed her latrine. ”This is exactly what my daughters and I need.” 

Give today

The post Lightening Life’s Burdens appeared first on Water Mission.

This February, the world is preparing for the 2022 Winter Olympics, when citizens will unite around their home counties. As we cheer for the teams representing us in Beijing during the XXIV Olympics, we’re reminded of a team from last year’s Tokyo Olympic Games that didn’t fit the mold. A global audience witnessed resilience in action as a group of athletes competed on behalf of the global refugee community.  

Representing Refugees on the World Stage 

When the Refugee Olympic Team walked out during the opening ceremonies, they didn’t represent a country. They were in Tokyo competing on behalf of the 84 million forcibly displaced people worldwide. According to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, people are often displaced because of persecution, violence, natural disasters, and human rights violations.  

“This will be a symbol of hope for all refugees in the world and will make the world better aware of the magnitude of this crisis,” stated International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach when he announced the first Refugee Olympic Team in 2015. 

The team made its debut at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. That year, only 10 athletes qualified. This past summer, the size of the team nearly tripled, with 29 refugee athletes participating in 12 different sports. 

While we may not know the individual stories of each athlete, we can assume that, as refugees, many have endured trauma in their lifetime. With the number of displaced people increasing as the years pass, it is important people understand the crisis unfolding before them. 

Water Mission has provided safe water solutions while sharing God’s love in refugee camps for years. Our teams actively serve refugees in east Africa with access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) solutions.  

Serving in Uganda Refugee Settlements 

Rhino Camp and Bidibidi are two refugee settlements in Uganda that have welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing South Sudan.  

“Before coming [to Bidibidi], I lost my child and my husband,” said Mary Yangi, a South Sudanese refugee living in Bidibidi. “After my husband died, I asked myself, ‘From here, what do I do?’ I had to be strong in my faith so I could manage.”  

When Rhino Camp and Bidibidi struggled to provide reliable access to safe water for those fleeing South Sudan and other nations, Water Mission stepped in to provide WASH solutions. 

“When we joined the settlement, there were a lot of challenges,” Mary said. “There was no water, but Water Mission has done great things. They have supplied the community with enough water, hygiene, and trauma healing.” 

Out of the 29 athletes on the Refugee Olympic Team, four also fled war-torn South Sudan, just like Mary. The opportunity to witness their strength and resilience as they competed on the world stage offered a glimmer of hope, all while raising awareness about the ongoing refugee crisis. 

Biblical Trauma Healing and Overcoming Adversity 

When we build safe water solutions as a water charity, we also open doors to sharing the Living Water message of Jesus Christ. Bible-based trauma healing is one way we do this, helping people forgive, reconciling conflicts, and providing support and compassion to trauma victims. 

“We’re able to share the Living Water message with people that have seen loved ones killed and are struggling with day-to-day life,” said Doug Lawson, Water Mission’s regional director of Kenya and Uganda programs. 

This program is just one of the incredible ways Water Mission shares the gospel with the communities they serve.  

There is a deep connection between those on the Refugee Olympic Team and the tens of millions still displaced from their homes. The athletes’ participation at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games offered the world a glimpse into what overcoming adversity looks like while putting the global refugee crisis on the map.  

While you celebrate your home team during the XXIV Winter Olympic Games, we hope you’ll also pray for the refugees we serve. You might also consider how you might empower these communities with access to safe and Living Water. 

GIVE SAFE WATER

The post Refugee Olympic Team Captures Hearts, Raises Awareness  appeared first on Water Mission.

Proper safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices are key components to healthy families—and the children of the General Merino community in Peru are quick learners! Local mothers serving as WASH Promoters recently hosted a fun event to teach their kids proper handwashing. Water Mission staff from our Peru team were on hand to support the event with training materials and expertise.  

First, children memorized the steps for handwashing and demonstrated their skills in front of the group. Next, they played a game to see if the girls or the boys could place the handwashing steps in order. The friendly competition kept kids engaged and allowed mothers to promote the importance of healthy hygiene for their families. 

Handwashing plays a significant role in Water Mission’s work of helping reduce waterborne and water-related illnesses. According to UN-Water, nearly half of the world’s population lacks safe sanitation, and one in three people lack handwashing facilities at home. To raise WASH awareness, Water Mission equips local WASH promoters to teach communities: 

• How water is contaminated,  
• How to treat water and store it safely,  
• How to wash hands with soap, and 
• How to properly use sanitation facilities.

In General Merino, WASH promotion works in conjunction with our safe water and sanitation solutions. More than 320 residents benefit from a Water Mission safe water project here, which has improved the vitality of an already active community. Community members attend general assemblies, activities, and most are highly involved in the local church.   

One young resident, Caleb, shows a particular level of commitment to his faith, family, and school studies. Caleb attends the local evangelical church and loves saying opening and closing prayers at events and singing Christian music. His mother is a local WASH promoter, trained to encourage healthy WASH behaviors in neighborhoods, schools, and hospitals. Families like Caleb’s carry influence within their communities and create lasting change for generations to come. 

Water Mission has been present in Peru since 2006, with an in-country team of experts training and equipping communities to manage long-lasting safe water and sanitation solutions. Few roads exist between the Loreto capital, Iquitos, and small towns like General Merino, making transportation of goods difficult and costly. The 2,700 rural communities in this region are often under-resourced. Water Mission is a safe water charity serving some of the hardest-to-reach communities in this area.  

We believe that in remote areas like General Merino, a well-rounded, long-term approach is necessary to support health, education, and livelihood. We empower residents, such as WASH promoters, to take ownership of safe water projects and ongoing community training.  

Join us in applauding these dedicated mothers for their creativity in promoting the health of their kids! Please also consider coming alongside us to bring safe water, sanitation, and hygiene training to other mothers and children in hard-to-reach communities, like General Merino.  

Give Today 

The post Water Mission Partners with Moms in Peru to Host Handwashing Event  appeared first on Water Mission.

Since 2001, supporters like you have helped Water Mission serve more than 7 million people across 57 countries with lasting safe water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions. More importantly, the Living Water message has brought hope and transformed lives around the world. The following timeline highlights key milestones of the Water Mission story you have helped make possible.

The post 20 Years of Transforming Lives appeared first on Water Mission.

Until a year and a half ago, families living in Guayaman, Honduras, were tormented by sickness. Though water is plentiful in this region of western Honduras, it is often unsafe to drink. Unfortunately, for people like Onan Aguilar Contreras, using water from contaminated sources was the only option.  

“Our life was very difficult,” recalls the father of four, “since we drank water that caused many illnesses in our home—including diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain.”  

Guayaman is in the Intibucá Department, which has one of the highest percentages of extreme poverty in Honduras. Residents could not afford to purchase water from the town several kilometers away. At approximately $1 for five gallons (nearly 20 liters), clean, safe water was simply out of reach for Onan. He was left to helplessly watch his children suffer from water-related illnesses. 

Now, thanks to Safe Water Western Honduras, a joint initiative between Water Mission and the Pentair Foundation, families in Guayaman no longer suffer from a lack of safe water. We have worked together to implement safe water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions in this community and others across the region. 

“We’ve had no stomach diseases since my whole family drinks the safe water and uses it for cooking and cleaning,” said Onan, who is overjoyed to see his children thriving. “This magnificent project came to make a change in our lives, improving the health of my family and neighbors.” 

Now, families in Guayaman can visit the water distribution point in their own community. Not only do they have clean, safe water to drink, but they are also taking full ownership of their new water source. To ensure the project’s sustainability, we have partnered with the community. This means forming a local Safe Water Committee and training these leaders to oversee operations.   

Since it was established in November 2019, the water system in Guayaman has produced more than 114,000 gallons (430,000 liters) of safe water for the people who live there. Now, Water Mission is handing the project over completely to the community’s capable Safe Water Committee. By working with the community throughout the process, residents’ lives have transformed to a position of empowerment and hope.  

Our work in Guayaman is part of the larger Safe Water Western Honduras Project in the Intibucá and Lempira Departments. To date, this initiative has reached more than 43,000 people with clean, safe water access and provided sanitation facilities for nearly 3,000 families.  

Working together, Water Mission and Pentair are providing best-in-class safe water solutions. Our goal is to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goal Six: ensuring that safe water is available and sustainable for all people by 2030.  

This is an enormous undertaking, but with God’s provision and the generous partners like Pentair who choose to come alongside us, we can end the global water crisis. Join us in this effort by visiting watermission.org/get-involved.  

The post Safe, Clean Water Improves Community Health in Honduras   appeared first on Water Mission.

Originally published on April 19, 2021 by Global Washington. Written by David Inman, PE; Global Partnerships Senior WASH Technical Advisor at Water Mission. 

Despite global efforts to provide water and sanitation solutions to healthcare facilities, almost 2 billion people worldwide depend on healthcare facilities without basic water services. As a nonprofit Christian engineering organization that designs, builds, and implements water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) solutions, Water Mission is working to serve vulnerable communities through sustained WASH provision. Our work to provide WASH in healthcare facilities around the world includes advocating for patient care, equipping frontline workers, strengthening health systems, and providing engineering expertise.  

Advocating for patient care and safety: Improved maternal and infant health in Malawi

Safe water, functioning toilets, and soap must be present in all hospitals and health clinics to ensure the delivery of safe and dignified care. These fundamental resources help protect women and newborns during childbirth, allow for safe surgery, prevent antibiotic resistance, and contain pandemics. Every infection prevented is one that needs no treatment, causes no suffering, and imposes no economic burden.  

Water Mission’s work to provide safe water to healthcare facilities helps raise the standard of care for patients. These efforts also increase a community’s confidence in the facility’s services.   

When patients lack confidence in the safety of their healthcare center, they may avoid getting the help they need. The consequences can be dire. One example is the impact that lack of adequate care can have on mothers and newborns. When maternity care is unsafe or unavailable, women travel long distances to seek medical assistance or give birth at home without the aid of a skilled birth attendant. Unwashed hands, contaminated linens, unsafe water, and dirty instruments can transmit easily preventable, and sometimes deadly, infections to mothers and newborns.  

Chiwe Health Center is a facility that serves 11,000 men, women, and children in the central region of Malawi. “Women used to travel over three miles to the nearest facility to deliver babies because such a service was not available at this facility,” Rick Kavolo, a healthcare worker at Chiwe Health Center, told us. “Some women were forced to deliver their babies along the way.”  Then Water Mission installed a safe water system in Chiwe. It was finally able to offer maternity services. “The water system has changed our lives forever,” says Kavolo. 

COVID-19 response

When COVID-19 began making its way around the world, Water Mission’s global staff quickly scaled up program efforts to provide handwashing stations, sanitation supplies, hygiene training, and COVID-19 awareness education. We provided critical hygiene supplies, such as safe water and soap, to more than 800,000 people around the world. We also installed more than 8,550 handwashing stations in key locations, including healthcare facilities, schools, and existing safe water collection points in Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Peru, Malawi, Mexico, and the Bahamas. To date, this program has equipped nearly 1,000 healthcare facilities with handwashing stations and training materials, ensuring that frontline workers are better equipped and protected as they carry out their critical work.   

A systems strengthening approach that protects patients and frontline workers

Efforts to improve health outcomes can only be sustained by continued investments in strengthening the overall health system. This, in turn, must include initiatives to improve access to adequate WASH services in healthcare facilities.  

Providing safe water to healthcare clinics is an ongoing priority for Water Mission. In partnership with UNICEF and others, Water Mission provided safe water treatment systems to more than 25 hospitals, healthcare centers, and treatment units in Liberia between 2014 and 2018. This work started during our emergency response to the Ebola epidemic. Our efforts continued with the Ministry of Health as part of its systems–strengthening approach to help better prepare Liberia for future outbreaks.  

Dr. Jeffery Deal, retired director of health studies for Water Mission, traveled to Liberia during the Ebola outbreak in 2014.  He spent time in hospitals and treatment centers that were struggling to care for patients suffering from Ebola—especially without access to safe water. Upon his return, Dr. Deal later reflected on his experience:    

“As a physician, I’ve worked in difficult circumstances around the world combatting epidemics of meningitis, cholera, malaria, and Ebola. My most vivid memories are from the time I spent during the height of the Ebola epidemic where doctors and nurses in Liberia did not have reliable, accessible safe water. Once, one of the units where I was working lacked sufficient water so that I could properly decontaminate my hazmat suit after working a shift…. Clearly, clean safe water is as important as the protective gear workers wear as they provide safe and dignified care.” 

– Dr. Jeffery Deal 

Doctors, nurses, midwives, aids, and those tasked with cleaning healthcare facilities must stay healthy. This is particularly true during a disease outbreak. WASH in healthcare facilities is foundational to preventing and containing epidemics and pandemics—and is required for global stability and economic growth.  

A more recent example of a systems strengthening effort during COVID-19 is when Water Mission’s Tanzania program worked together with the Tanzania Ministry of Health to implement robust handwashing stations at more than 560 of their clinics throughout the country.  The Minister of Health, Ummy Mwalimi shared her thoughts on the importance of this program, “The biggest thing that health professionals need to focus on is to ensure that they wash their hands to prevent contracting and transmitting infectious diseases. This initiative by Water Mission’s program in Tanzania ensures that happens.” 

Applying engineering expertise to respond to WASH needs in healthcare facilities

Understanding and meeting the requirements for adequate WASH facilities, practices, and infrastructure in healthcare centers is a complex effort. It combines knowledge and best practices from multiple disciplines, including public health, behavioral science, chemistry, microbiology, engineering, and education.  For instance, water quality requirements in a healthcare center can vary based on its specific end use. Adhering to safe water requirements as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) is a good starting point. Healthcare centers serve vulnerable populations, so multi-barrier treatment methodologies for water that combine multi-stage filtration processes and disinfection by both chemical and physical means are often appropriate. It is also important to conduct a thorough water quality and risk analysis of the water source to properly define a treatment plan.  

More specific water quality requirements are further defined by medical equipment manufacturers. A good example are autoclaves used to disinfect medical instruments. These require water treated to remove minerals and other dissolved contaminants that can harm the equipment.

Medical instrument disinfection, laundering, and food preparation areas also require a thorough and comprehensive WASH plan to function well and serve the end-users. The first step is a technical assessment of baseline conditions in healthcare centers. From there, action plans can be developed to address gaps. WHO and UNICEF have developed a useful guide to aid in the assessment and WASH planning process for healthcare facilities. 

Water Mission implements best in class WASH solutions that address healthcare facilities’ needs. For instance, a disinfection system we use in our programs around the world is the Water Mission erosion chlorinator. This device adds free chlorine residual to water as it is pumped from a groundwater source and stored in a tank, ensuring that all water distributed through taps and faucets is safe. With this solution, there is no need to batch-mix chlorine solutions every day, which can lead to inconsistent results. Instead, the device is simply refilled with chlorine tablets every few weeks. 

For water sources with variable turbidity, Water Mission may use a multi-stage treatment system that includes flocculation, filtration, and chlorine disinfection. Many times, power reliability is a critical challenge at rural healthcare centers in developing countries. Water Mission is a recognized WASH sector leader in designing and implementing solar-powered pumping solutions that sustain water services despite a lack of reliable power.  

Finally, water treatment solutions are only as effective as the systems in place to adequately and routinely test and monitor the water quality. Water quality testing can be done with simple, easy-to-use, low-cost products. Basic training empowers healthcare providers to test their own water and ensure it continues to be safe to use. 

In closing, improving WASH in healthcare facilities does not hinge on scientific or technological breakthroughs, but on an integrated approach to WASH and health systems strengthening. At Water Mission, we are working to facilitate multi-stakeholder collaboration and community engagement and prioritizing WASH at the community, district, and national levels. Together, we can address the need for WASH in healthcare facilities around the world and solve one of the most serious issues facing global health.  

Give Today

The post From Ebola to COVID-19: Advocating for and Supplying WASH Programs and Infrastructure in Healthcare Facilities appeared first on Water Mission.

When you think of water, what images come to mind? A cold glass to drink after a long run? A tub filled with bubbles as you give your baby a bath? A quiet prayer beside a peaceful stream? 

Water means something different to everyone—but we all need it to survive. Many of us turn on the faucet and it flows freely. But 2.2 billion people around the world still lack access to safe, clean water.  

You are helping to change that. On March 22nd, World Water Day, we invite you to join us in celebrating the transformation taking place in communities where safe water was once scarce, but is now abundant.  

The theme for this year’s World Water Day is “Valuing Water.” As you reflect on the value of water in your own life, let us praise God for how He used your partnership with Water Mission to change the lives of 1.6 million people last year.  

For Oreni, whose family had to flee their home in Burundi to escape violence, safe water means that her four children no longer suffer from chronic waterborne illness.  

For Cecilia, a 63-year-old refugee in Uganda, tap stands in her settlement mean she does not have to walk for miles in the hot sun carrying heavy jugs of water.  

For Rosario, a pastor in Mexico, access to water in his village means an answer to decades of prayer.  

In Kinyongo—a community of 4,000 people in Kenya—access to safe water means more hours in the day for work, school, and family. Before Water Mission installed nine collection points throughout the village, women walked an average of three hours each day to collect water for their families.  

Now, safe water is available close to their homes. Those hours can be spent doing things that are valuable to the women of Kinyongo: playing with their children, managing their households, and earning an income. 

On January 28, our team in Kenya joined hands with the community to celebrate the completed Kinyongo Safe Water Project during a special dedication ceremony. Japheth Katumo, a member of the community assembly, emphasized how access to safe water has changed the lives of families.   

“With the intervention of Water Mission, we now have safe water. The time that the women and children used to spend collecting water can now be spent on alternative activities that increase their standard of living.”   

Safe water also means a better education for the children of Kinyongo. Just weeks after the tap stands were installed, attendance at the three schools in the community increased. Students were no longer absent from the classroom because they had to help their mothers carry home heavy buckets of water, or because they were sick due to drinking contaminated water.   

In places like Kinyongo, safe water brings value that ripples throughout the community. Every dollar invested in water and sanitation provides $4.30 in economic return. Livelihoods improve, children receive an education, and families can break free from poverty.  

Your partnership with Water Mission is creating lasting change for people like Oreni, Cecelia, Japheth, and Pastor Rosario in 57 countries around the world. As we implement best-in-class safe water solutions, our teams are working with local churches and other partners to share God’s love and tell people about Jesus, the Living Water.  

We want to hear from you! Share with others what God is doing through Water Mission and tell us what water means to you by posting on social media with the hashtag #water2me. 

Give Safe Water Today

The post 2021 World Water Day: Valuing Clean, Safe Water appeared first on Water Mission.

Before Josué was born, his mother, Sandy, and father, Suami, came to La Concordia, Mexico to make a better life for themselves and their family. But it’s hard to succeed when the water you drink makes you sick.

“My children got sick many times with waterborne illness and vomiting,” said Sandy. “Four times, I took my children to the hospital because I thought they were going to die. The doctor said Josué and his brothers might have died if I had taken them two hours later.”

After spending their hard-earned money seeing a doctor and buying medicine for the boys, Sandy and Suami learned that their sons’ illnesses stemmed from drinking water contaminated with dangerous bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. But they had few other options for obtaining water.

Then, Water Mission began working near La Concordia, providing safe water and healthy hygiene training to all the residents. As with all our community-based projects, Water Mission first collaborated with local leaders to develop strategies for the project’s operational and financial success.

Community members formed a safe water committee to manage the water treatment solution, while we trained other residents on how to teach their neighbors about safe water, sanitation, and hygiene practices, such as handwashing. According to the World Bank, hygiene promotion is the most cost-effective health intervention. (World Bank 2016)

Today, Sandy says she spends fewer resources on hospital visits and medicine, and Josué and his brothers spend less time recovering from illness and more time playing soccer.

“We see the difference now as we don’t have to go to the doctor often,” Sandy said.

50% of the developing world’s hospital beds are filled with people suffering from water-related diseases. For rural communities like Josué’s, safe water means less time suffering from illness, and more time going to school and growing as a family.

This Christmas, you can invest in a healthy, fulfilling life for millions of children like Josué with the gift of safe water and the Living Water of Jesus Christ.

Give Safe Water

The post Full of Life: Safe Water Saves Boy in Mexico  appeared first on Water Mission.

Life without water. A thought so unimaginable that when you realize communities lack access to clean, safe water for handwashing—even amid COVID-19—it makes you stop in your tracks.

How can this be? A resource so readily available to so many is still out of reach for nearly one-third of the world’s population. It’s a statistic that Water Mission and so many other organizations are dedicated to ending, including our new partner Azimuth World Foundation.

Water Mission’s Partnership with Azimuth World Foundation 

In March, our team embarked on a mission to ensure people around the world have access to handwashing supplies amid COVID-19.

We recently completed the installation of 30 handwashing stations at 15 primary schools in Kasulu, Tanzania. This project, generously funded by the Azimuth World Foundation, is part of our team’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The project is currently bringing safe water for handwashing to more than 20,000 students and teachers. 

“Providing school children and teachers in Kasulu, Tanzania, access to safe water for handwashing amid COVID-19 has been incredibly important,” said Mariana Marques, executive director of Azimuth World Foundation. “When schools are equipped with soap and water, students and teachers have an opportunity to stay healthy and go on with their work and education. Access to safe water impacts their present and their future—it saves lives.”

Before the completion of this project in Kasulu, most of these schools had few or no hygiene resources. According to UN Water, handwashing with soap is key in slowing the spread of viruses such as COVID-19. It brings us great joy to know that 20,000 students and teachers now have the opportunity to stay safe and healthy amid this pandemic.

“While this project will have a direct impact on the overall health of students and teachers within schools, it will also help promote handwashing education in the extended Kasulu communities,” said David Gerlach, country director of Water Mission’s Tanzania program. “Students and teachers can take what they learn about hygiene at school and share it with their families.”

Azimuth World Foundation’s partnership and dedication to providing communities with access to clean, safe water is one we value greatly. We are thankful for partners like Azimuth that share in our mission to serve our brothers and sisters around the world by bringing them safe water.

It’s evident to us—and so many other organizations—that partnerships are the only way to bring safe water to all. Someday, we hope that all will come together to ensure all people have access to clean, safe water—one of life’s most basic necessities.

Learn more about how you can help provide safe water.

The post Students and Teachers in Tanzania Now with Access to Safe Water for Handwashing Amid COVID-19  appeared first on Water Mission.

Throughout 2020, Water Mission has highlighted the urgent need for safe water in the fight against a global pandemic and following natural disasters. In such emergencies, safe water becomes a scarce but desperately needed resource in sustaining life and preventing the spread of diseases.

Today, on World Toilet Day, Water Mission would like to call attention to more than 4.2 billion people who live without access to safe sanitation. This equates to over half of the global population.

Each year, November 19 is designated by the United Nations (UN) as World Toilet Day, a day designated to raise awareness of the 4.2 billion people living without access to safely managed sanitation services. Most people living in the U.S. don’t worry about where they will find a bathroom, having access at either home, school, or work. Yet a large percentage of the world’s population lacks this basic accommodation and faces the indignity of defecating outside without privacy. Clean and safe toilets are more than just a place to use the restroom, they are essential for health, human dignity, and improved education. The health benefits realized from providing access to safe drinking water, can only be maintained by also providing access to safely managed sanitation services.

Working with strategic partners to achieve Sustainable Development Goals

On World Toilet Day, we also celebrate the advancements and alliances that allow Water Mission to provide sanitation to tens of thousands of people around the world. Working with innovative partners such as the Pentair Foundation and Kohler, Water Mission aspires to create a better future for all through the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. These goals were adopted by UN member states in 2015 and target the most pressing challenges across the globe. Water Mission works toward several of these goals, including ending poverty, strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries, and ensuring access to safe water and sanitation for all by 2030.

The Pentair Foundation

With support from the Pentair Foundation, Water Mission is providing safe drinking water and improved sanitation to people in Honduras. Through Project Safe Water Honduras, teams are working with local Honduran governmental organizations to effectively deliver improvements in water quality, sanitation infrastructure, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) behaviors. Between 2008 and 2015, in partnership with Pentair, Water Mission installed more than 17,000 latrines in the district of Colon, in Honduras. Follow-up studies proved that have made an impact on communities experienced a reduction in pediatric gastrointestinal rates.

Kohler

To date, Kohler and Water Mission’s shared efforts have made an impact on approximately 25,000 people by building Healthy Latrines that include a Kohler pour flush toilet – an affordable seated toilet that flushes when water is poured in by the user.

Better health outcomes with comprehensive WASH services

To achieve better health outcomes, it is essential that everyone has sanitation facilities, along with clean, safe water and handwashing resources. By prioritizing comprehensive WASH service delivery, we help protect and maintain our health security and stop the spread of deadly infectious diseases such as COVID-19, cholera, and typhoid.

An example of Water Mission’s work to provide a full range of WASH services is in refugee settlements, where we work to build WASH infrastructure to serve ever-increasing populations.

In Arua, a district comprised of several settlements in northern Uganda, Water Mission collaborated with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the Ugandan government, nonprofit organizations, churches, and ministries to provide essential WASH infrastructure.

Of the settlements in northern Uganda, Rhino Camp is known as the destination for new refugees, most of whom are South Sudanese. While migrations between countries were discouraged by governments during COVID-19, Rhino Camp continued to receive people fleeing widespread hunger and war. With the influx of newcomers came increased demands for lifesaving WASH resources, including the need for access to toilets.

Working with UNHCR, Water Mission supervised the construction of slab latrines for emergency use to support safe waste management and help minimize contamination of water sources in areas where new arrivals live.

In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we adapted our strategies in Rhino Camp to accommodate safety and health recommendations. This included implementing social distancing practices at water access points and distribution of health and hygiene education resources in local languages.

How toilets impact health

On World Toilet Day 2020, Water Mission raises awareness on the important role that safe sanitation plays in maintaining people’s health and upholding dignity. Toilets, combined with clean, safe water and good hygiene, help prevent future disease outbreaks.

Our mission, “To honor God by developing, implementing, and sharing best-in-class safe water solutions that transform as many lives as possible, as quickly as possible,” can only be achieved when all people have access to safe water and sanitation services.

Support Our Work to provide WASH services to those in need.

The post On World Toilet Day, Pentair, Kohler, and Water Mission Partner for Safe Sanitation  appeared first on Water Mission.