We closed the books on fiscal year 2020 and are excited to share the impact you made possible.
Impact Numbers:
Reached >3,000 people at homes and in schools with safe water, sanitation and hygiene solutions.
- Installed 345 biosand water filters in homes and schools.
- Constructed 64 latrines at homes.
- Built 9 latrines with handwashing stations and 4 rainwater-harvesting systems at schools. Laid 5 km of piping from water sources to schools.
- Reached 2,385 family members with hygiene education workshops.
- Trained 103 Community Agents, empowering these volunteer community members with the knowledge to support their communities’ safe water and sanitation programs.
- Provided 67 schoolteachers with lessons about how to integrate safe water, hygiene (including handwashing and menstrual hygiene management), and sanitation practices into classroom curriculum.
- Completed monitoring visits at 352 homes and 43 schools, reinforcing the tools and practices are being used correctly and consistently, reinforcing sustainability.
- WASH Training and Consulting Teams conducted 9 different workshops, providing essential skills to 161 participants. WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) training allows our teams to share their expertise, building the capacity of other groups (governmental and nongovernmental) and expanding the reach of programs exponentially!
- Conducted 410 tests in the Water Quality Lab in Haiti.
Additionally, the PWW Haiti team monitored the 100-filter pilot project in Limonade, Haiti with 100% of the sampled filters in full working order. Community members were overjoyed with their filters, expressing sincere gratitude. With this success, the team will now begin Phase 2 in this region, scheduled to begin this fall, serving another 730 families with safe water and hygiene programs.
- “We are empowered to take care of our own health now. There is a new sense of connection and community.”
- “It is so great that, even if we had 10 filters, we would use all of them!”
- “This project is very good for our health. Everyone in our family only drinks this water now. We have to drink it to feel good. This project is very good for the whole community.”
Life took a major turn in early 2020, with the global advancement of COVID-19. We believe COVID can’t stop good. And it hasn’t. Below is a summary of PWW’s initial response and impact:
Witnessing the growth of the pandemic, and anticipating local lockdowns, PWW teams immediately went to work. Driven by a desire to continue to serve and advance PWW’s mission, teams took steps to pivot programs and resources to appropriately address the global emergency and support the health of children and families in their local regions.
The PWW team interviewed groups of stakeholders to determine the need for educational material to support the prevention of COVID-19. As a result of the survey, initiatives and programs were developed.
PWW team members quickly gained status as “essential,” enabling them to continue to bring water, sanitation and hygiene to families.
Team members partnered with local health centers, providing training to community members about safe and healthy hygiene programs. These trainings not only prevent the spread of COVID-19 but provide the basis of good health and protection against a wide-variety of communicable illnesses and waterborne diseases.
Team members developed the following:
Large posters, providing instruction about proper handwashing and use of facial masks, and posting in essential community areas
(i.e. grocery stores, banks, healthcare centers).- Instructional Videos (shared across Central America & Haiti):
- How to Make a Tipi-Tap (handwashing tool) at Home.
- How to Safely Manage Menstrual Cycle and How to Make Reusable Sanitary Pads at Home.
- How to Make a Reusable Face Mask at Home.
- In Honduras, the team constructed emergency latrines and hygiene stations at 4 key points into Trojes and 1 into Maraita. The team designed and constructed a new portable handwashing station that utilizes a foot pump for water, which prevents touching of spigots.
- In-person teacher training programs were shifted to virtual training programs, providing a new channel for instruction to reach more teachers.
- Radio and television public service announcements were created and shared widely.
See videos and photos by clicking here.
It’s important to share that all work completed, in response to the pandemic, is not a short-term band-aid. Decisions are carefully considered with the objective of building upon PWW’s existing WASH programs and materials and expanding reach through new channels to reach more people. PWW teams will continue to use these tools long after the threat of COVID-19 has diminished.