Water, sanitation and hygiene

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Media contact
Rachel Wolff | 253.394.2214 (c)

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Trust-building and planning stage

World Vision’s WASH interventions almost always occur within the context of an ADP (Area Development Program). Thus, World Vision’s presence precedes the initiation of WASH interventions. When an ADP is launched in a given area, our ADP staff spends about 6-12 months partnering with the community in relationship and trust-building, followed quickly by an assessment and design phase. During this time, World Vision leads a community process to help identify needs and assets, including existing skills and resources.

Once the project has received formal approvals, the team conducts formal baseline surveys by mobilizing the community around prioritizing interventions, developing detailed action plans and initiating joint action. Almost invariably, at least in our most difficult contexts, WASH is the highest priority and generates the most momentum from a community action point of view. Within the WASH sector, World Vision encourages communities to determine what their greatest WASH needs are and what they are able to contribute towards the joint intervention. The communities that agree to fulfill their obligations are then added to the list of those slated to receive a well or alternative water system, and given a time frame within which to fulfill their up-front obligations.

Community leaders established

As part of their up-front obligations, each community will nominate from its own ranks a certain number of men and women to sit on a WASH committee. This committee, with training and guidance from World Vision WASH and government staff, helps to determine the type of water intervention best suited for the community and the best locations for the water points. World Vision WASH staff or government staff then conducts the necessary geophysical investigations to site the exact spot where the borehole or water system will be located, within the area specified by the committee.

The community then provides locally available materials for construction of water and sanitation facilities, such as crushed rock and sand. Once a cluster of communities is ready, the drilling equipment is scheduled to move into the area to drill the boreholes one after another. While the drilling is underway, the community provides any unskilled labor and services as required, such as carrying pipes and other building supplies to the project site(s), providing security for the building materials, or providing accommodations and meals for out of town guests.

Wells drilled and sustained

If the first hole drilled in a given community is dry, the team will try again in another suitable spot. If the second hole is dry, the team will try a third spot. If the third hole is also dry, the community is informed that another team will come to help them develop an alternative water source, be it a tapped spring, a treated surface water source, or some kind of rainwater catchment device. Assuming, however, that water is reached, the borehole is pump tested to determine flow rate (water quantity), and a couple of water samples are taken to assess physical, bacterial and mineral content (water quality). If the water quality tests show bacterial contamination, the well water is chemically treated and re-tested. If the water quality tests show excess mineral content (typically fluoride, iron, nitrates, salt or arsenic), the WASH team determines whether the water can be brought up to standard by filtration or treatment using proven low-cost methods.

The alternative system is then implemented with assistance from community volunteers. At this point, the Water Committee is trained how to maintain the pump(s) or water point(s) on an ongoing basis, and empowered to begin collecting fees from the users to cover the costs of future repairs. Local artisans are selected and trained to repair and maintain water supply systems, and supplied with a starter kit of essential tools and spare parts.

Water purity and flow monitored

Once the borehole yields water that certifiably meets national government and World Health Organization standards for quality and quantity, a cement apron is built around the borehole. A hand pump is also installed on the borehole, and a gated enclosure is added to minimize well fouling by people or animals. If a high-producing well (that is, with a flow rate of at least 3 cubic meters per hour) is successfully drilled in a densely-populated area (at least 2000 persons within a radius of several kilometers), the team will also consider mechanizing the well with either a solar pump or an electro-mechanical pump (rarely diesel). In this case, the water will be pumped into a water tower with a capacity of at least 5,000 and as much as 40,000 liters, from which the water will be fed by gravity to a series of standpipes strategically located in each community.

Sanitary practices implemented

Simultaneously during the first year, additional capacity-building activities are taking place. Community members are educated on the economic, health and social benefits of sanitation and hygiene, including safe water transport and storage, and proper hand washing. Effective face washing and dish washing/drying techniques are also encouraged. World Vision may additionally construct a few demonstration household latrines, complete with simple hand washing stations such as “tippy taps.”

The community is then urged to replicate the household latrines and hand washing stations, using such standard approaches as PHAST or CLTS. The destitute within the community are assisted as necessary for the community to achieve certification as “open defecation free.” In addition, World Vision also assists the community to construct proper sanitation and hand washing facilities in nearby schools and health clinics where these are lacking.

Continued communication and sustainability

After the WASH team moves on to a new area, at least one qualified person on the ADP team is identified as the primary point of contact on all WASH matters for the communities in the ADP zone, so that any challenges arising can be addressed in a timely and effective manner. That ADP staff member maintains a connection to the WASH team in the zonal or country capital so that they are always aware of best and promising practices. The WASH team, meanwhile, is connected to the larger global World Vision Community of Practice for WASH, so that they can benefit from lessons learned within the WASH sector in other ADPs and in other countries around the world.

As time goes by, the knowledge, skills and connections maintained by the WASH specialist on the ADP team are transferred to the WASH committees in each community and the district officials with responsibility for WASH. The communities themselves find ways of appropriately remunerating the committee members so that continuity is maintained over the long haul and no momentum is lost. All of these components work together to help ensure WASH interventions achieve maximum impact and are sustainable by the community and local government long after World Vision’s involvement in the community ends.

World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty. We serve the world’s poor—regardless of a person’s religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.