The Partnership
PPHE Hotel Group and Just a Drop first came together in 2022 to roll out an Ecological Programme which was aimed to drive measurable environmental and social impact while creating a tangible connection between guests’ actions and transformative global outcomes.
The programme innovatively combines sustainability and guest participation – inviting guests to opt-out of daily housekeeping thus saving water and energy while contributing £1/€1 per night to life-changing projects.
When the initiative first began in 2022, there were three pilot hotels brought onboard, and the aim was to target funding for one sanitation project in Cambodia that would support 350 people. However, the programme expanded rapidly and exceeded all expectations. In 2025, the programme is now in 17 hotels and consistently raises over £12,000 monthly.
With the support from PPHE Hotel Group, Just a Drop has been able to foster innovation and pilot new programmes such as developing Watersheds in Nicaragua, furthering Microloan projects in Uganda, and formally introducing menstrual hygiene training into Cambodia. The programme also helps bolster Just a Drop’s global monitoring programme – underpinning the work of the organisation to ensure even greater project sustainability.
Through the initiative, 22,476 people have gained access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, with an additional 19,551 expected to benefit in 2025.
A couple of project highlights include:
Yimwaa Primary School, Kenya
Yimwaa Primary School is a school of 365 children in the arid Makueni County in Kenya.
Before Just a Drop and PPHE Hotel Group worked at the school, they did not have a supply of water on the grounds and therefore the school was forced to buy water – taking away any precious money that they had for the students to further their studies. Often the water that they bought had been collected from the river so disease and cases of stomach problems were extremely common.
However, with PPHE’s support, we could change this situation. We worked with the school to construct a rainwater harvesting tank which provided safe water for the whole school all year round. During the rainy season the tank harvests rain collected from the roof of the school, enabling the children and teachers to access to year-round water. The tank was then decorated with positive hygiene messages to reinforce good handwashing practices. We also built handwashing stations across the school and ran a programme of WASH and MHM training.
The school is now a very different place, where children can spend time at school free of the risk of disease and illness. Esther, 11, is a student at the school, and she told us:
“Everyone in our school is happy about this amazing water project, it will be providing us with clean water and improve the aspects of hygiene and sanitation, and management of menstrual hygiene. We were taught on the importance of practicing good hygiene behaviour for our own safety and many students have adopted the concepts by washing hands before meals and after visiting latrines.”
Income Generating Loans in Airabet, Uganda
In Kapelebyong, north-east Uganda, poverty is endemic and it’s exacerbated by ill health caused by dirty water and poor sanitation. Government figures show that 77% of the Kapelebyong population live below the poverty line, against the national average of 21.4%.
Just a Drop is working with communities to provide safe water, sanitation and hygiene education to over 20,000 people in the area. Working closely with the communities, we know that freed from the daily burden of fetching water, women have more time and a desire to use this time towards greater economic benefit.
Thanks to PPHE Hotel Group, we were able to work in the community of Airabet to run a programme of incoming generating loans alongside our safe water and sanitation intervention. The participants were provided with small loans, which were used to establish small businesses.
Just a Drop was recently included in Art’otel’s CURATED Magazine talking about the impact of these loans and the project. We’re pleased to share the article with you here.
