Help Kenyan and Ugandan Women Provide Clean Water

It is with great pride and excitement that we share this wonderful report with you.

As you know, GWWI trains grassroots women in Sub-Saharan Africa to become water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) technicians, trainers and social entrepreneurs. From 2012-2015, GWWI launched the Women's Water Leadership Academy, a comprehensive and intensive 3-year training program the equips women with the tools and skills to bring sustainable clean water and sanitation to their communities. 

In year one, GWWI trainees learned to address the lack of water availability. One of the biggest challenges a grassroots woman faces is the tedious task of fetching water. Our trainees learned to build rainwater harvesting systems and water storage tanks to alleviate that burden.

In year two, GWWI trainees learned to address the lack of sanitation. Without proper sanitation facilities, people have to relieve themselves openly which is not only a health risk, but a security issue for women and girls because they can be violently attacked or even raped. Also, without sanitation facilities at school, 1 out of 10 girls will drop out when they start menstruating. Our trainees learned to build latrines.

In year three, which is where you provided much needed financial support, GWWI trainees learned techniques to ensure that their water is safe. Water-related disease is one of the highest causes of illnesses and even death in the world. Thanks to your support, GWWI trainees learned to build Biosand filters which have since been installed in schools and clinics around East Africa.

This final report includes the impact of the entire 3-year program. The support that you provided in year three, helped the women to build 100 of the 427 filters. Those 100 filters provided over 1000 students with clean water!

Thank you so much for supporting our project! 

If you are in the Bay Area, we are hosting a celebration to reveal additional impacts of the program, like how much income the women earned as WASH facilitators and trainers, how much additional money they raised to expand their projects and how their status has changed in their community because of their expertise and knowledge they gained from Global Women's Water Initiative! RSVP here if you'd like to join us!

Also, in other big news, two GWWI graduates were featured in a documentary called "Kenyan Water Women", produced by Al Jazeera English and it just won the New York Festival Best Documentary for Social Issues. You can view it here.

Since 2012, GWWI has been training women in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania how to become water, sanitaiton and hygiene (WASH) technicians, trainers and social entrepreneurs.

Why women? We train the people who are the most affected by water crisis and because of that they are most likely to want to find sustainable solutions... and earning money would be win/win! So that's what we do and why we do it.

In 2012, GWWI trained women to build rainwater harvesting systems and tanks. And in 2013, our trainees learned to build toilets. In 2014, we taught them to build Biosand water filters and with your help they were able to go home immediately and start building them.

Two of our Ugandan trainees built 2 biosand filters for an Amuria Elementary School in their village Amuria, Uganda. Amuria's has been plagued with conflict and displacement for decades because of Kony attacks but also because of indigenous tribal conflicts and cattle stealing. Many of the villagers have had to flee their homes for long periods of time during the violence, so Amuria has not been slow to to progress. The town has minimal solar access and many live in temporary locations. 

Our trainees' organization Orphan's and Widows Association for Development (OWAD) knew this Amuria Primary School was desperate for clean water because the only source of water they had was from this little pond behind the school. As you can imagine, that unprotected water source was contaminated and put all the students and teachers at risk for water-related diseases. So Helen Rose and her team of mothers and widows not only installed 2 water filters, they taugh the students and teachers how to take care of the filters and how to practice proper hygiene so they could reduce the risk of disease. The head master was so grateful because they knew that it would increase attendance and reduce the amount of money they were spending on diarrhea medicine and clinic visits for the children. They couldn't really afford to buy water, so having the filters helped them to improve their situation. They had access to water, but it was contaminated, so their best solution was to find a way to continue to use the water and just find a way to treat it.

Because the oldest Biosand filter we know is over 25 years old and still being used, Biosand filters are durable, have a long life and requires minimal maintenance. This was one of the most affordable, sustainable solution available. Thanks to you, this school now has access to clean water!

We at GWWI know that just providing clean water is not enough. In order for our women trainees to expand to other regions, continue to provide value and become self-reliant, they have to show how impactful their work is. This program is not just about bringing clean water, it's about women's empowerment! Because when you uplift a woman, you lift up her family and her community!

Meet Betty. In the past 3 years she's built 100 BioSand water filters, 7 rainwater harvesting systems and 30 toilets (all made out of local materials) bringing clean water and sanitation to over 3000 people in Uganda. She's also earned over $2500 as a WASH technician and entrepreneur since participating in our Women and Water training program where she also learned how to build rainwater harvesting tanks, toilets and produce handmade soap, shampoo and reusable menstrual pads to start her own little micro-business.The BioSand filters that you funded went to schools in Uganda providing clean water to over 1000 students!

This past Nov she attended our training to learn how to conduct community interviews to monitor and evaluate her projects as well as track her impact. Part of the training was to learn how to consolidate the data in Excel. This was the first time Betty ever touched a computer. Now she's going to it to track her effectiveness, garner more financial support and prove how valuable she is to her community!

Your support has made this possible! And Betty is just one story of many! Stay tuned for more updates!

If you want to give the gift of H2ope to your loved ones for the holidays, consider making a donation to Global Women's Water Initiative! We train women to become water, sanitation and hygiene technicians, trainers and social entrepreneurs. 

There was a recent cholera outbreak in Kihoto Village, a slum in Naivasha, Kenya. But the 100 students of Kihoto Baharini Pre-school were able to avoid getting sick thanks to the new Biosand filters that were installed at their school thanks to your support!

LIfe Bloom Services, our local partner in Naivasha, learned how to build the Biosand filter at our training last May 2014. The Biosand filter can be built locally using local materials and can effectively clean water removing 90-99% of disease causing pathogens - including cholera. Life Bloom chose Baharini Pre-School to install the filters, because it was the only school in the slum that offered free education, clothing and food to the students. The students who attend are from families who can't afford to pay school fees or provide their chidlren with education. 

Head teacher Florence told us that before the Biosand filters were installed, the school had to buy water even though they had borehole water on the school grounds. The borehole water was much too contaminated so they bought so-called 'clean' water from water vendors delivering the water by donkey. Despite the claim the water was clean, the children still complained of stomach aches and headaches, and when they fell very sick, had to be brought to the hospital, another added expense for the school.

Since the installation of the Biosand Filters the school no longer had to purchase water. They were able to use the water already on school grounds and just pour it thorugh the filter. Florence was convinced how effective the filter was when they had no incidences of cholera with the students despite a recent outbreak. So, with the money saved from not having to buy water or taking the children to the hospital, Florence was able to buy more fresh fruit and food for the students. 

Thanks so much for your support and helping us bring H2ope to women and children in East Africa!  

Gemma Bulos, GWWI Executive Director will be featured on 'Beyond the Headlines', Emmy-Award winning news show hosted by Cheryl Jennings talking 'Women, Water and the World'! Gemma was invited to the show after having curated a 2 day workshop for the Women In Public Service Institute, a program launched by Hilary Clinton and sponsored by the U.S. State Department. The year's institute was hosted at Mills College with the theme 'How Women Will Solve the Water Crisis'. 30 emerging women leaders from 22 countries were selected, including GWWI Uganda Country Coordinatir, Hajra Mukasa.

Bay Area residents can watch or DVR the show on ABC7-KGO on June 21 (6/21) at 4:30p PST, a great way to celebrate Father's Day! 

Links:

• ABC7 Beyond the Headlines