The Partnership
The Water Dispenser and Hydration Association (WHA) (previously the British Water Cooler Association) represents the interests of the water cooler industry in the UK and is now in its eighth year of partnership with Just a Drop. We really enjoy speaking at the WHA Conference each year to update everyone on the impact their donations have achieved from the previous year.
Across our eight years of partnership, the Association and its members have raised over £76,000 for Just a Drop and reached over 3,052 people with sustainable safe water and sanitation.
Thanks to their support, so far, Just a Drop has completed twelve projects in Zambia in the villages of Kalungwishi (2016), Shibangwa (2017), Chibukisho and Kutemwa (2018), Mukosa (2019), Machilika (2022), Zandonda, Munkhuli and Muchokocha (2023), Munkunga, Mundabuleya and Moono (2024). Enabling thousands of people from these communities to have access to clean and safe water through the provision of boreholes and pumps.
In 2024, the WHA supported three communities in the arid and remote Mumbwa District in the Central Province of Zambia – a place where people experience true poverty caused by a lack of safe water.
In Munkunga Village, the 287 people in the community are forced to collect water from hand dug wells, streams that are shared with livestock, and ponds that appear during the rainy season. Women and girls in Munkunga were forced to walk over 1500m to collect water, which took over an hour and a half. This caused a huge gender imbalance where girls are often forced to drop out of school with a need to prioritise household chores, and women are unable to contribute to family finances; keeping them in a devastating cycle of poverty.
Thanks to The WHA, the community of Munkunga village have been working hard with our partners in Zambia to change the situation. The community had seen their boreholes fall into malfunction as, due to the material they were made of, the pipes had eroded and were not able to carry water to the pumps.
The process for each village was straightforward, the sites were cleared and all the broken parts removed. New PVC pipes were installed and then each borehole was flushed for around three hours, to clear any debris. The new pumps were tested to check the yield of water and the water was then disinfected using granular chlorine. New aprons were constructed, with a fence to prevent damage from animals.
Following completion, our partners in Zambia carried out Water Quality Testing, as well as carrying out full check backs to all three sites for monitoring and evaluation.
One community member told us,
Cases of water borne diseases especially diarrhoea used to be so high as a result, a lot of money and attention would be shifted towards buying medicine and nursing the sick especially the young ones. Access to clean and safe water was something we never thought of becoming a reality not until you came for help. As the community, we are so grateful for this help as it will help us focus more on productive activities especially farming which is our major business
In November 2024, Phillipa Clow visited Zambia to meet some of the communities that Just a Drop had supported thanks to the WHA’s support. One village that really stood out was Machilika Community, find out how the community used safe water to build up their businesses by clicking here: