If you live in Washington, DC, the total cost of putting a toilet in your house is about $750 (this number seems astonishingly high). If you work with Lorraine Munyati in the Chivi district of Zimbabwe, she’ll charge you about $45, but you might be able to negotiate it down. She’ll also accept maize or labor as a payment. Lorraine has so far built 31 toilets. She keeps costs low by using local materials.
Lorraine got into plumbing because it’s a stable job that lets her earn more money. As a woman, she’s breaking expectations about who can be a builder, and providing quality services while she does it. Lorraine is now able to pay schools fees for her children and siblings, buy all the food for her family needs, and buy some chickens and goats. She is saving up to invest in cattle.
Lorraine is not just helping herself, she’s helping her community. Putting Girls and Women at the Center of WASH—a project that the Australian Aid NGO Cooperation Program funded for $1.9 million between 2013 and 2016, has reached more than 42,000 people by working with local entrepreneurs like Lorraine.
What did we accomplish?
- Families are healthier: The number of people getting sick with water-borne diseases has dropped 75%.
- Water is safer: 42% more people are accessing safe water sources, and the number of people who are storing water safely has increased 13 times.
- More people use toilets: The number of families that own latrines has more than doubled, and the number of people who don’t use sanitation has dropped by 98%.
- People wash their hands: There’s been a 14% increase in handwashing—a critical way to reduce water borne disease.
- Men are getting involved: The number of men who collect water—a difficult job that is traditionally left to women—has doubled. Women are getting more involved in leadership and decision-making around the project.
- Communities are bought into sustaining the project: 84% of people said the project has high impacts, and they are now paying for repairs themselves. Many people who said the project was unnecessary at the beginning are now getting involved to make sure the results last.
How did we get there?
- Build infrastructure: The project built or repaired 182 water sources in communities and 39 in schools so that people could get safe water. They also worked with communities to train women to build new toilets using local materials.
- Work with the local government: The project worked through District and Ward Water Sanitation committees to make sure that the government new about the water points and had a strategy for maintaining progress.
- Let communities lead: The project set up Water Point Committees to manage new wells and WASH committees in schools to plan and maintain the improvements. 93% of people are satisfied with the way these committees perform.
- Give women space: The project trained women to build and repair water points and latrines as a business model—changing gender norms and giving women a chance to improve their income. The Water Committees have 70% women members, and provide a critical space for women to act as leaders.
- Focus on schools: The project worked with schools so that 24,373 children could have access to safe water. They also put in girl-friendly toilets to encourage girls going to school.
Want to learn more?
Check out the final evaluation.