WaterAid

WaterAid's vision is of a world where everyone has access to clean water and effective sanitation.  This is no easy task, given that 2.6 billion people in the developing world do not have access to sanitation and 1.1 billion people still do not have access to clean water.

However, your support of WaterAid and your fundraising activities have helped change the lives of over 783,324 of those people by giving them access to water and sanitation and hygiene education.  Since 1994, United Utilities (and its partners & North West based supporters) have raised over £11,749,000 for WaterAid.

The monies raised by UU and its partners, has been spent supporting projects in Malawi and Zambia such as the recent programme of work carried out in the Monze District (and its 5 urban wards) which has:

• Supported households to gain access to over 1400 adequate latrines
•  Increased accessibility of clean safe and adequate water supply to over 4,000 people by constructing/rehabilitating 21 water points
• Constructed  14 double school latrines (see picture below)
•  Supported local structures to plan and manage the WASHE (water, sanitation, hygiene education) programme.

The main objective of working in these 5 wards has been to improve the health of the disadvantaged rural population and to help reduce water borne related diseases and the burden on women and children by reducing the walking distance to the water .  This in itself will have a positive effective and help change lives as that time can now be spent on income generating activities.  The path out of poverty begins with clean water and sanitation.

Some of the funding from United Utilities will also go to  WaterAid's work in mapping water resources in the southern and western provinces of Zambia.  Whilst Zambia is a country celebrated for its water (the magnificent Victoria Falls), water resources are becoming depleted by deforestation. 

The problem is acute in the Southern and Western Provinces where much of the land has been cleared, giving way to a parched landscape where dry spells have increased.  Less vegetation means the rain that does fall simply flows away; rivers are drying up and the water table has dropped.  Droughts that used to take place every 20 years are now happening every two or three.
The impacts on community water supplies are vast. Only 55% of the population have access to safe water and those without are now facing longer walks and greater queues simply to find the only water available.
However, even in villages where wells have been constructed some are now drying up, exacerbating the problems further still, as Brenda from Jeremiah village explained at an old open well:
"I go to the borehole very early in the morning when water flows but later in the day it doesn't work, so that is why we have to come here. I don't feel anything when I drink the water. I get worried when I have to give it to my children but I have no choice so what should I do?"
To help lessen the problems that communities like Jeremiah face WaterAid is involved in a variety of schemes. The first is mapping water resources to see which are still working and which need rehabilitating. While some wells can simply be dug deeper, in other areas and in new projects different technology types are being explored to ensure the longevity of the water supply. So far deeper boreholes and rainwater harvesting schemes have been trialled successfully.

If you would like to know more about the work of WaterAid and how you can help, please visit their web site at www.wateraid.org