Working together for cleaner, safer water for all children

Providing access to clean, safe water for vulnerable children is not as difficult as you might think especially when you work alongside the communities who don't have this vital resource, like ChildFund does.

While accessing clean, safe water is not hard, constructing the necessary infrastructure takes money, which vulnerable communities often don't have, and time.

With thanks to funds from ChildFund supporters and the hard work of local partners in Kenya, projects such as digging boreholes and establishing water infrastructure are now providing local sources of clean water for remote areas where previously community members had to walk long distances to access water.

A current ChildFund New Zealand project in Mulala in Emali, Kenya will see over 3,000 community members, 530 young girls at a secondary school, 30 children at an ECD centre and 1,200 children at two primary school access cleaner, safer water. An over 10-kilometre pipeline and distribution extension, along with a sedimentation tank, balance tank and pump house have now been completed, with households and schools now being connected to the supply. The project was constructed in partnership with the community who provided labour for site clearance and excavation.  

This water infrastructure in Emali is solar powered, including the water pumps and automated water dispensing systems to provide children with access to safe, clean water for drinking. Using solar power reduces costs for communities so they don’t have to purchase diesel for diesel powered pumps and is better for the environment.

In Emali in Kenya, ChildFund is working with communities on solar powered water pumps and automated water dispensing systems to provide access to safe, drinking water for children. 

Another recent project is 3.3 kilometre pipeline extension that has been completed to service 3,000 people living in the Kwakakulu area, who previously had to travel as far as 6 kilometres to access clean water. 

 A 800-meter water pipeline has also been completed at Nkusso primary school reducing the time that students had to walk kilometers to access water and increasing their learning time. 

In Sri Lanka ChildFund works with communities to improve toilet facilities at schools, train teachers on child hygiene and sanitation, conduct household visits to spread awareness about the importance of hygiene and distribute helpful materials and to support the establishment of community groups to promote good health and hygiene locally.

A toilet block repair, new soak pit and water line giving a rural school better access to sanitation means children can use the toilets with dignity and wash their hands afterward ready to head back to class to learn or to the playground to play with peers. 

In Kiribati, ChildFund has undertaken household water testing and community awareness on the importance of safe drinking water, along with the installation of solar water distillation units in Betio, which is the largest town in the capital Tarawa, and the outer islands.  

Additionally, the team is distributing water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) kits in Betio and the outer islands.  

The ChildFund Kiribati team is also working with preschool teachers to increase awareness on the importance of handwashing and sanitation in preventing diseases while another ChildFund project saw local youth building handwashing stations at important community locations. 

The top three ways ChildFund supporters help children to access safer water and sanitation: 

Construct new community water access points. When water is far from home, children and women are forced to walk for hours to collect water for their family. Your donations are helping us build water points even closer to home, so girls and boys can spend their time learning. 

Repair of broken and unsafe water access points. By improving water quality, we can prevent many communicable diseases and keep children healthy. Your donations are helping us fix broken water points and ensure they contain safe drinking water for vulnerable children. 

Train families on how to maintain water facilities. One of the best ways to ensure what we do is sustainable is by training families on how to keep things running smoothly. Your donations help ChildFund establish local water and sanitation committees to keep water safe.

We work with communities with the aim that they become self-sufficient in providing the basics children need to thrive, and so we (with support) can move on to help other communities.

With your support, we can help communities reach the goal of self-sufficiency in providing the basics to children through better access to safe water, sanitation, education, healthcare and child protection, along with more livelihood opportunities for their families. 

You can help ChildFund to do even more projects to help children and communities access clean, safe drinking water.