The Partnership
Just a Drop partnered with BAC on World Water Day, 22 March 2018, to bring safe water and sanitation to communities worldwide, since when, our partnership has reached thousands of people.
In the coming year, BAC is supporting our work in Cambodia, in villages, a school and two Health Centres. In Leang Dai and Spean Thmey, we’ll provide biosand filters and latrines, as well as rehabilitating the latrines, repairing the existing water system and providing hand washing stations at Leang Dai Primary School, where 375 children attend.
At Leang Dai and Svay Chek Health Centres, we’ll rehabilitate the latrines and also install a large Sand Carbon UV filter system, the first time Just a Drop has used this particular solution. It’s a very effective means to provide safe water for a large number of people, processing up to 1,500 litres per hour of contaminated well water. Leang Dai Health Centre serves around 1,500 patients per month, having access to safe water will make it better fit for purpose, in a cleaner and improved environment.
In 2024, BAC supported our work in Mumbwa District, Zambia, where we rehabilitated eight broken boreholes.
Borehole Rehabilitations in Mumbwa District, Zambia
In 2024, BAC supported our work in Mumbwa District, Zambia.
The area is rural and dry and recent droughts have made the situation in regard to water very challenging for the people who live there, with access to safe water remaining extremely limited.
To resolve this, we worked in six villages, where in each, we are rehabilitated a broken borehole, providing access to safe water to the communities.
A broken borehole in an area where safe water is scarce is a tragedy for communities. Having it rehabilitated is a major achievement and is also more cost efficient and effective than drilling a new borehole.
This project reached 1,680 people in total and we also provided comprehensive hygiene education. The communities were trained in borehole maintenance, an approach we know leads to sustainability.
The project achieved great benefit, people are now healthier with improved wellbeing, as they no longer have to use dirty water and children will get a better education, as they no longer have to miss classes to fetch water.
Tempisque and Jícara Arriba Villages, Nicaragua
As of March 2023, BAC supported two communities in Nicaragua. Tempisque is a village of 151 people and Jícara Arriba of 101. With BAC and Just a Drop’s help, all the inhabitants of both villages received access to safe water, which they previously lacked.
Before, the people of Tempisque relied on a single tap 500 metres from the village which they were forced to make multiple trips a day to. The water was unsafe and unclean, which led to a lot of illness in the community, particularly among the children. Jícara Arriba relied on a single uncovered source for water, which was also unclean and unsafe, and children going to school had to carry containers with them to last the day. As in Tempisque, the reliance on contaminated drinking water resulted in a lot of illness in the community.
In Jícara Arriba, we provided safe water to each individual household from a nearby spring which tests showed was a clean water supply. The clean water is distributed to a 5,000 litre tank and from there to a tap at each home. In both communities, residents were charged a small fee for using water, which was then used to ensure the upkeep and maintenance of the water supply systems.
In Tempisque, we used an underground spring which provided safe water to fill two 5,000 litre distribution tanks via a pipeline and then a further piped system took the water through a gravity feed to eight public tap stands, each close to people’s homes. The community were taught how to repair and maintain the system and to ensure that it was providing safe water.
In both communities, our work resulted in a decrease in illness and poor health, children’s ability to attend and perform better at school has improved, and both communities for the first time have access to safe water from a sustainable and constant source.
Lieb Village, Cambodia
In Cambodia, through providing Biosand Filters (BSFs) and latrines, 671 people in the village of Lieb now have access to safe water and better sanitation for the first ever time and live in a more hygienic place.
Families in the village faced many challenges, which included access to safe water and latrines, which this project addressed.
The main sources of water were wells, but the water from these wells was dirty and contaminated, making the water unpotable.
There were some latrines, but not nearly enough to go around, people went to the toilet in the open, leading to the spread of diseases and a significant loss of quality of life.
To change this, we implemented a comprehensive programme of work across the village. Biosand Filters provide a simple but effective means of providing safe water at household level. They produce many litres of safe water per day, removing impurities from dirty water and providing enough water for each family for drinking and cooking.
The latrines provided feature a pour flush, soak pit and 2-chamber watertight septic tank, and comprehensive hygiene education for all the villagers was also delivered– the whole community benefited.
Nantale and Tara Primary Schools, Zambia
We also worked in Zambia at two primary schools, Tara Primary which has 480 children and Nantale, which has 540 children.
At both Tara and Nantale, there was one common issue – the situation around sanitation. The latrines at the schools were simply not fit for purpose, in fact they were identified as major health hazards.
This poor sanitation in schools had a direct impact on both children and teachers, with high levels of illness leading to absenteeism. Put simply, there was a massive barrier in children’s ability to live normal lives, with facilities we all take for granted.
In each school, we are constructing girls and boys latrines, with hand washing facilities and a separate changing room for girls and providing a Menstrual Hygiene Management workshop with pad provision for girls, in the upper two years.
Shahpura Village, India
Thanks to the generous support of BAC, we have been able to provide safe and reliable water to 230 people.
With the aim of improving the health and wellbeing of the village, we drilled a well, constructed a 40,000 litre water tank and built a pipeline to provide the 230 people in the village with a supply of safe, clean water. We also provided two families with access to model twin pit toilet/bathing area units and refurbished 25 toilets which weren’t being used. Finally, we constructed a new latrine block and handwashing platform at Aanganwadi, the local nursery school. The project will also bring wider benefits to the community. As well as the construction of new facilities, the community received hygiene training, maximising the impact of the project and ensuring its sustainability.
The project has been a huge success, improving health and wellbeing across the community, as the incidences of water-related reduce.
El Chaparral Village, Nicaragua
Previously, the community had two private wells, as well as another at the school. However, tests showed these wells to be contaminated, leading to water-borne illnesses among the local residents.
Families spent anywhere between one and a half and two hours collecting water from these wells, making on average 11 trips in the morning and 5 more in the afternoon.
With BAC support, we’ve improved the situation, by installing an electric pumping water system and a drilled well, supplying 46 families, 1 school and 1 church with safe, reliable water. This project also included WASH training, with topics including hygiene, latrine use and hand-washing, all of which are crucial to increase the impact of this project, ensure its sustainability, and help protect the community from COVID-19.
Zzinga Health Centre, Uganda
BAC supported Just a Drop to provide safe water and sanitation for 23,000 people who use the Zzinga Health Centre in Uganda. Located on a remote, difficult to reach island, it’s the only health centre in the area and is often packed. However, the centre lacked proper water, sanitation and hygiene facilities and there wasn’t enough water for everyone’s drinking and washing needs, and there was only one small toilet block used by both staff and patients.
With BAC’s support, Just a Drop installed a 30,000 litre rainwater harvesting tank, a 14 stance toilet block, and an incinerator for the proper disposal of medical waste. Safe water is now available across the centre at all times, and sanitation and hygiene have improved. Staff are able to offer higher care, essential services will improve, and all patients experience significant benefits to health, well-being and dignity.
We have already provided hygiene and sanitation training, and training in how to operate and maintain the facilities.
Kyeni Primary School, Kenya
In Kenya, thanks to support from BAC, Just a Drop has brought safe water and hygiene education to 303 children at Kyeni Primary School. Prior to having water at the school, children were forced to drink dirty water from a river 3km away and were frequently sick, meaning they missed out on their schooling, impacting their education. A rain water harvesting tank and hygiene education will now lead to long-term good health.
Kudo Village, India
Kudo village has 820 inhabitants, who previously shared four water pumps with a very low water yield. Existing toilets in the community were incorrectly designed and weren’t used, and hygiene was poor. Malaria and stomach illnesses were very common, particularly among the young.
Just a Drop has provided a comprehensive solution, including a piped water system to each household, which has transformed the village – each individual will has access to clean and safe water and hygiene standards have improved hugely.
I was always worried about both of my daughters as we have to go outside for defecation, most of the time we all had to go either in the early morning or late evening/night. With our new latrine at home now, Just a Drop also addressed an issue on which we, the women of the village, did not talk with anyone about, menstrual problems that arise due to lack of awareness. Me and my daughters have now been trained and now we have started to talk about these issues.
– Antia, 45
El Roblar, Nicaragua
BAC’s third project with Just a Drop benefitted the 201 people living in El Roblar, located 8km south of the town of Camoapa, in Nicaragua. It used to take around an hour and a half for families to fetch water, a trip they had to make between four to five times each day. The water often became contaminated when it was carried back.
Just a Drop has installed a piped water system which will bring safe water directly to individual homes. The community will now be healthier and long-term economic opportunities will improve.
We spent 9 years without water in our home, and we had to walk more than a kilometre away to carry four buckets of water – every day. The situation was more difficult during the rainy season when carrying the water on foot, as rain helped form mud on the paths. We were in danger of breaking a foot while carrying the water. Now with this new project, our problems have disappeared. We are very happy and grateful, because now we have the water in our own home and we have time to do other things for the community.
– José
