Water Matters

The latest on our work and those supporting it



The Multi-Sided Story of Palm Oil


Wednesday, October 23rd, 2024by Jamie Heminway

In the United States, we have a knee-jerk negative reaction to palm oil because of its negative press. People in our culture have been trained to think that palm oil is bad for our bodies and the environment.  However, in many communities around the world, including Sierra Leone, palm oil production is a crucial source […]

 

Global Handwashing Day 2024


Wednesday, October 16th, 2024by Jamie Heminway

In honor of yesterday’s Global Handwashing Day, we’re highlighting how we train community members to wash their hands in Western Kenya — and why handwashing is so important.  Often, when we first enter a community, we’ll find that the community hasn’t been washing their hands effectively, as is the case in the video below.  In […]

 

International Day of the Girl Child: “It’s time to listen to girls.”


Wednesday, October 9th, 2024by Jacklyne Chelagat

Girls need allies who listen to and respond to their needs. The Water Project ensures that girls secure their dreams by providing access to clean and safe water in school.

 

When There Isn’t Enough Water to Stay Clean


Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024by Jamie Heminway

Life without ready access to clean water is tough for many reasons. Without water, it becomes difficult for people to keep themselves and their environments clean. This, in turn, infects people with hygiene-related diseases and hurts people’s dignity and sense of self.

 

What is a scoop hole?


Wednesday, September 25th, 2024by Jamie Heminway

Scoop holes are common where The Water Project works in sub-Saharan Africa, but other parts of the world will likely never have heard of one. Although you can infer a lot from the name itself, it doesn’t tell the whole story. A scoop hole is a shallow hole dug down into the ground to access […]

 

Zero Emissions Day: How Solar Technology Can Effectively Replace Diesel Pumps for Water Distribution


Saturday, September 21st, 2024by Jamie Heminway

Today is Zero Emissions Day, an occasion to remind us all of the harmful effects of carbon emissions on our Earth. To celebrate, we thought we’d highlight our increasing work on solar-pumped water projects. In 2025, we’re planning two solar projects, both at healthcare facilities: one in Sierra Leone, and the other in Western Kenya. […]

 

World Water Monitoring Day: How and Why We Monitor Our Water Points


Wednesday, September 18th, 2024by Jamie Heminway

Today, we’re celebrating World Water Monitoring Day — a perfect opportunity to acknowledge all the hard work and planning that go into keeping our water points reliably providing safe water. We currently maintain more than 2,500 water points throughout our service areas in Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, which requires a great deal of forethought […]

 

Takeaways from World Water Week


Wednesday, September 11th, 2024by Guest Contributor

Program Director Spencer Bogle represented The Water Project at World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden. Here are a few of his experiences and takeaways.

 

What We Train Community Members About in Each of Our Service Areas


Wednesday, September 4th, 2024by Jamie Heminway

Providing clean water is only part of what we do at The Water Project. The other part is spreading knowledge about proper hygiene and sanitation methods to reduce disease. Most of what we do to maintain a clean and safe environment requires water: handwashing, washing dishes, personal hygiene, etc. When water is scarce or people […]

 

Ending the Water Crisis: Why We Believe Saturation is the Way Forward


Wednesday, August 28th, 2024by Jamie Heminway

To achieve our mission, we’ve adopted a saturation-based approach—a strategy that focuses on providing comprehensive water coverage across entire regions.