Providing Clean Water
Safe water, good sanitation and simple hygiene habits change lives. When families have clean water close to home, children miss fewer school days, girls stay in school, and common diseases spread far less often. Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is one of Rotary’s seven areas of focus.
Rotary has learned that pumps and pipes alone are not enough. Lasting projects are planned with the community, include hygiene education and come with a clear plan for who will look after the system once it is built.
Clean water is only the start. We work with communities so the water keeps flowing and healthy habits last long after a project ends.
Our project in Kyengera
With the Rotary Club of Barrie, Canada, we set up a rainwater harvesting system and built bathrooms in the girls’ dormitory at Cambridge Secondary School in Kyengera.
What we focus on
- Rainwater harvesting for schools and communities
- Safe, private toilets and bathrooms, especially for girls
- Handwashing and hygiene education
- Training local caretakers to maintain systems
- Partnering with clubs and organisations for lasting impact
How we work
We listen first. Local leaders, schools and families help choose the problem to solve and agree how the project will be run and maintained.
Good hygiene, especially handwashing with soap, greatly reduces diarrhoea and other common illnesses, so education is part of every project.
We work with partner Rotary clubs, The Rotary Foundation and local experts so that every system has the funding, skills and ownership it needs to keep working.
