Water For People: Reaching Everyone

 Originally published in the Summer 2017 issue of NC Currents magazine.

Five New Milestones Achieved

By Water For People

On the road to reaching Everyone Forever in the districts where Water For People works, we’ve defined different milestones to celebrate along the way – reaching every community, clinic and school, and family with reliable water services. We are thrilled that in 2016, we had three districts reach every community and two districts reach every clinic and school! 

BOLIVIA

In Bolivia, the district of Villa Rivero reached every community with reliable water service – this means 42 communities now have access to water. The district of San Benito has reached every clinic and school with water and sanitation services – five clinics and 19 schools.

In 2012, Cuchumuela was the first district in Bolivia to reach Everyone at the household level with water service – igniting momentum in our other Bolivia districts and at the national level. When Cuchumuela declared Everyone, the national government came to the district to verify this achievement – they even declared October 30 Full Coverage Day. Since then, we have worked closely with the national government to support President Evo Morales’ vision of reaching universal water and sanitation coverage in Bolivia by 2025. By President Morales’ request, we are also serving in advisory roles in the departments of Tarija and Oruro – departments he prioritized to reach universal access to water and sanitation services. In the original six Water For People districts in Bolivia, we predict more Everyone milestones by the end of 2018. We have already started replicating our work in three new districts in 2017 – Arbieto, Pocona, and Toco.

INDIA

In India, Patharpratima and Sagar Island Districts have reached every community with reliable water service – 139 communities now have access to water.

These districts have been hovering close to reaching every community for a few years, and it’s a huge step for Water For People to be able to officially declare this milestone – the first Everyone milestones in our India districts. Reaching every community in these districts meant forming a closer partnership with the government and forming strong water user committees within communities. Proving our work in India has given us more credibility with the government, and we believe this will be a tipping point that leads to greater replication and scale, but also stronger emphasis on sustainability – the Forever portion of our work.

PERU

In Peru, every clinic and school in the district of Asunción has reliable water and sanitation services – four clinics and 51 schools!

Water For People created a school curriculum in Peru that focuses on water, sanitation, hygiene, and water resource management. Alongside this curriculum, schools in Asunción have built handwashing stations and toilet blocks with separate sections for boys and girls. The regional government has now adopted the curriculum we created and is replicating it beyond the districts where Water For People works. Reaching every clinic and school in Asunción is the first Everyone milestone reached in Peru, and we project we will reach the same milestone in the district of Cascas this year.

 In 2016, six districts reached or maintained reliable water service for every community:

• Cuchumuela, Bolivia
• San Pedro, Bolivia
• Villa Rivero, Bolivia
• Chinda, Honduras
• Patharpratima, India
• Sagar Island, India

In 2016, five districts reached or maintained reliable water and sanitation services for every clinic and school:

• Cuchumuela, Bolivia
• San Benito, Bolivia
• San Pedro, Bolivia
• Villa Rivero, Bolivia
• Asunción, Peru REACHING EVERY COMMUNITY WITH WATER

When Don Anacleto came to the community of Frontera in the district of Villa Rivero, Bolivia, the only way his community members could get water was from a hand-dug well at his home. Every day, all his neighbors would have to come to his house to get the water they needed.

 Now, all that has changed.

The community was able to finance a drinking water system with support from Water For People’s partnership with the national government program Mi Agua. One hundred people in Frontera now have access to drinking water from an improved drinking water system – every day of the year, every hour of each day.

Doña Esperanza, Anacleto’s wife, says each family pays about $2 per month for water access, which is affordable for most families. To keep the water system running smoothly, every three months the families get together to clean and maintain the system. Don Anacleto is Vice President of the local water committee, and he says he’s happy to lead his community in this way, which ensures his children will have safe and reliable water for years to come.

In 2016, the district of Villa Rivero reached a critical Everyone milestone: every community in the district achieved access to reliable water service. This means 42 communities just like Frontera can now depend on water for generations to come.

About Water For People

Founded in 1991, Denver, CO based Water For People is a global nonprofit working across nine countries in Latin America, India, and Africa to achieve lasting quality water and sanitation services. Water For People brings together communities, local entrepreneurs, and governments to build, operate, and maintain their own reliable water and sanitation systems and services. Currently working in 30 districts with 4 million people, Water For People is growing to deliver services to over 7 million people in 50 districts globally over the next 10 years. Water For People is also working at the national level in Rwanda, Uganda, Bolivia and Honduras.