Water projects – sounds simple and yet is so versatile! We support projects in various countries with the comprehensive WASH approach. In addition, we are constantly developing further creative approaches to support the success of the projects. We work together with local and international partner organisations. Together for the Water for All vision!
WASH is an acronym for “Water, Sanitation, Hygiene”
The interconnection between access to clean drinking water, sanitation facilities and hygiene awareness is followed by all Viva con Agua WASH projects. This magic triangle makes a lasting contribution to the success of the measures implemented as part of the projects.
We support most of our projects on the African continent. Our focus in Switzerland is on projects in South Africa, Mozambique, Uganda, Nepal, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Madagascar. In some cases, we have long-standing professional and personal connections with these countries and our local partner organisations.
Our big goal: access to clean water for everyone in the world. With our WASH strategy, we want to make an important contribution to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Examples of donations:
CHF 5 can finance a tool for well construction in Mozambique.
CHF 10 can buy a 2 metre long gutter for rainwater harvesting in South Africa.
CHF 19 can buy a tap in Madagascar to regulate water access.
CHF 24 can finance a hygiene kit for one person in Nepal. This includes soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, nail clippers, towel, comb and sanitiser.
CHF 40 can be used to buy a sieve for a gutter at a school in Uganda.
CHF 60 can buy a toilet door for a school in South Africa.
VIVA CON AGUA SWITZERLAND SUPPORTS WATER PROJECTS HERE
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Uganda
Many girls and young women stay at home during their periods because their school lacks adequate hygiene facilities. There is a lack of access to clean drinking water, toilets, hand-washing facilities and places of refuge for menstrual hygiene. In the capital Kampala and the urban district of Wakiso, only just under 60% of primary schools have a water supply. 44% of primary schools are currently unable to provide children with handwashing facilities.
The aim of this project is to improve access to clean drinking water, sanitary facilities and hygiene workshops at 20 schools in Uganda effectively and in the long term. The project will benefit a total of 16,000 schoolchildren aged 8-18 as well as their teachers, caretakers and local service providers.
With CHF 40 you can finance a sieve for a gutter.
With CHF 20 you can finance a pipe for the connection to a washbasin.
With CHF 80 you can equip a school with a ceramic water filter.
It is not always possible to simply drill a well to ensure access to water. In certain regions of Tanzania, for example, the groundwater table is very low. Some schools in very rural areas are also not connected to the public water supply. Around 55% of people in rural Tanzania have no access to clean drinking water.
The project presents an alternative technology for obtaining water: the “Fog Net”. These are fog nets that capture and collect moisture from the air. Our current goal is to provide two schools with clean drinking water by collecting water with fog nets.This will benefit 660 schoolchildren and around 4,000 people in the neighbouring communities.
With CHF 80, for example, you can make a water filter possible at a school.
A school without clean drinking water, too few toilets and hand washing facilities? Hardly imaginable for us. In rural South Africa, however, almost 20% of the population still has no or only limited access to drinking water.
In the Eastern Cape, in Bulungula, Viva con Agua South Africa is providing clean drinking water, toilets and creative hygiene workshops for over 20,000 schoolchildren and their teachers at 50 schools. In addition, a local community radio station aims to motivate local people to adopt hygiene-conscious behaviour and actively engage in community change and development. By disseminating important WASH behaviours and information, the aim is to ensure that people can lead productive lives and ultimately strengthen social cohesion in remote rural communities.
However, many people in South African cities also have no access to WASH. An estimated 5,000 homeless people live in Cape Town (see Department of Social Development South Africa). There is a lack of opportunities to wash and care for themselves and thus lead a dignified life.
The “WASH bus” aims to help raise awareness of the human right to water and sanitation for homeless people. The project aims to improve rights-based access to basic WASH services for homeless people in Cape Town through a water, sanitation and hygiene facility in the form of a mobile bus.
Viva con Agua South Africa coordinates and implements all project activities on site.
With CHF 10 you can finance a 2 metre long gutter for water collection.
With CHF 20 you can equip a school toilet with a toilet seat.
With CHF 60 you can provide a toilet door for locking at a school.
Due to ongoing conflicts in northern Mozambique and the consequences of climate change, more and more people are fleeing to neighbouring districts and small regional towns. This rapid increase harbours major challenges in the WASH sector, among others. In rural areas of Mozambique, around 70% of people have no access to clean drinking water, and it is estimated that 90% of illnesses are caused by inadequate hygiene.
Together with the organisation Helvetas Mozambique, we want to provide access to drinking water at four schools and water systems in four villages in the province of Nampula this year. In addition, important water committees (consisting of people from the village communities and teachers) are being set up and trained to take responsibility for the new infrastructure at the schools. The population makes its own contribution to all project activities in the form of labour, building materials and small amounts of money (water tariffs) for the construction of the water systems.
With CHF 60 you can finance training for one person as part of a water committee in a village.
With CHF 100 you can enable one person to be trained as a well keeper.
With CHF 300 you can finance a water basin for rainwater collection.
Water shortage despite the Himalayas? Although Nepal has many mountains, many people still experience water shortages, as water from glaciers and snow is often not easily accessible and the infrastructure for water distribution is often inadequate. In western Nepal, for example, many village communities are very remote and difficult to access, with less than half of their households having access to drinking water near their homes.
This year, we want to support two village communities in setting up water utilisation plans for independent, sustainable and comprehensive water supply and planning and to ensure their drinking water supply throughout the village and at the village schools. This will benefit a total of 2,686 people in two villages.
With CHF 24 you can finance a hygiene kit for one person. This includes soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, nail cutter, towel, comb and sanitiser.
With CHF 150 you can provide the tools to build an irrigation system.
With CHF 275 you can support a family with their own tap (a water connection).
Madagascar is a huge island in the middle of the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa. Although the country is surrounded by water, only 43% of the entire population hasaccess to drinkable water.
In order to sustainably improve the water supply, we are focusing on financing water connections, latrines, wastewater disposal and hygiene training at four primary schools and two health centres, as well as strengthening the communities and authorities in the long term.
With CHF 19 you can finance the tap for a hand basin.
With CHF 52 you can finance the tap and water pipes for a hand-washing basin at a school.
With CHF 320 you can finance the entire construction of the hand wash basin with 3 taps and water pipes in a school.
Although there are many wells in north-west Ethiopia, many of them are broken or inadequate. There are also many teenagers and young people without work.
With this project, we want to support adolescents and young people to set up their own start-up companies in the WASH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) sector. Through training and further education, we want to enable them to plan, implement and maintain the construction and renovation of local water supply systems and sanitary facilities independently and over the long term.
With CHF 20 you can finance a young person’s training in life skills and entrepreneurship.
With CHF 88, you can provide a young person with training in market assessment and analysis and business plan development to build a functioning market for water and sanitation services.
With CHF 150, you can finance ongoing coaching and support for a young person to diversify their business activities and successfully manage their company.
