Ideas for supporting clean water and sanitation

By Christina Sweeney, Rotary Service & Engagement staff

People get safe drinking water from a filtration facility in Karachi, Pakistan. The facilities were installed through a decades-long partnership between Rotary clubs and Coca Cola Pakistan. Rotary members also worked with the community to provide hygiene training and to teach community members how to operate and maintain the equipment to ensure sustainability.

Today, 2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services and 3.6 billion people lack safely managed sanitation services.* Without these basic necessities, people are exposed to a higher risk of disease, impacting their ability to earn a living and attend school. This issue also disproportionately impacts women and girls who, in many communities, are responsible for fetching water from sources far from their homes.*

March is Rotary Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) month. Through WASH programs, Rotary’s people of action mobilize resources, form partnerships, and invest in infrastructure and training that yield long-term change.

Learn how Rotary members and participants are supporting WASH around the globe:

In Sierra Leone, the Rotaract Club of Freetown Sunset collaborated with a local engineering company to construct a well with hand pumps for a local orphanage to make clean water more accessible. Read more.
In Nigeria, Rotary clubs in Enugu State worked together to host a seminar about the importance safe drinking water and ways that residents could increase access to clean water, such as through boreholes, water sanitation campaigns, wells, and water treatments. Read more.
In India, the Rotary Community Corps of Chennai Metrozone sponsored the construction of two handwashing stations for a secondary school. Read more.
In the Philippines, the Rotary Club of Downtown Dagupan provided water collection tanks to a nearby community to help residents collect and store rainwater. Read more.
Rotary clubs in Taiwan supported the construction of a drinking water filtration station at a high school in Northern Thailand. Read more.

Inspired to start your own WASH project? Take advantage of the resources below.

Read Rotary’s Areas of Focus Guide for project ideas and tips for success.
Connect with the Rotary Action Group for Menstrual Health and Hygiene or Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for expert advice on planning and implementing WASH projects.
Explore learnings and resources for WASH sustainability from the Rotary-USAID partnership.

*UN Water: https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/water-sanitation-and-hygiene/

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