Water and Sanitation

 

More than 660 million people worldwide do not have access to clean drinking water and 2.4 billion lack adequate sanitation facilities.^[i] Although comparatively few people die from thirst, waterborne diseases claim the lives of nearly 1,000 children each day.

 

 

Accessibility to clean water and sanitation prevents waterborne diseases and reduces the time spent securing water from distant sources, enabling mothers to devote more time to helping their families earn a living and children to receive an education. As a result, our work in providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene is catalytic to efforts in Rotary’s other areas of focus: fighting disease, saving mothers and children, supporting education, growing local economies, and promoting peace.

 

 

Rotary carries out sustainable projects – a goal of our strategic plan – to bring positive, lasting change to communities locally and globally. One of our areas of focus is working with communities to develop and maintain sustainable access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene.

 

Rotarians support communities’ efforts to improve access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) through creation of infrastructure, such as boreholes, rainwater harvesting systems, ventilated pit latrines, and hand-washing stations. Rotarians also invest in training and educational opportunities for  community members to operate and maintain these systems for the long-term.

 

 

·        RI-USAID International H20 Collaboration – The collaboration is a strategic partnership that brings together USAID’s technical expertise and Rotary’s network of grassroots volunteers to boost access to WASH infrastructure, strengthen delivery of WASH services, promote hygiene education, and mobilize communities and resources in developing countries. Rotary and USAID have committed $4 million to Ghana and $4 million to Uganda.

 

·        Kenya – Rotary clubs in Kenya and Maryland and Idaho, USA, partnered with Genesis World Mission to create a rainwater catchment system to provide clean drinking water, irrigate crops, and establish fish farms in Burangi, Kenya. The global grant-funded project is multiplying crop yields and improving health for community residents.

 

·        Tanzania -    The Rotary clubs of Same, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, and Ames, Iowa, USA,  are working with the village of Kigogo to provide access to safe water through a well and gravity-pressurized system. They are also building the capacity of the local governing committee to manage, maintain, and operate these systems long-term, and providing hygiene education and training to villagers.    

 

·        WASH in Schools –The Rotary WASH in Schools Target Challenge is launching in 2016 in two areas of focus: water and sanitation, and basic education and literacy. Rotarians in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, and India are aiming to provide comprehensive water, sanitation and hygiene services, and improve educational performance. To do this, Rotarians will be guided by WASH, behavior change, and educational benchmarks that build on each other and on the work Rotarians are already doing in the field.

 

·        UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education – Rotary sponsors 10 students annually in master of science programs at the institute in Delft, the Netherlands, as part of a strategic partnership. The institute is the only graduate school in the world dedicated to international water management.

 

 

Check out ways to take action and tips for success in the Areas of Focus guide.

Apply for a Rotary grant to support a project.

Browse Rotary Showcase for projects providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene.