Access to water and sanitation is among the most basic infrastructures. When people have no or inadequate access, this has severe consequences for them. In developing countries in particular, water resources are scarce and there is a lack of sanitation facilities.

Under the “Water for Lives” programme, Habitat for Humanity, with practical support from volunteers and local partners and financial support from sponsors and companies, has been building cisterns in disadvantaged communities since 2013 to enable water storage and give people direct access to water, with the local population being involved in the process. In this context, the Wilo-Foundation (2020-22), assisted by volunteers, supported the construction of 17 cisterns in the Pernambuco region, giving 17 local families easier access to safe water and improving their living conditions. In addition, 34 people participated in training courses on the sustainable use of water resources.

In Laikipia County in Kenya, more than one in two households have no or only inadequate access to clean water and sanitation facilities. Therefore, the Wilo-Foundation supported a water project in Laikipia County implemented by Habitat for Humanity Deutschland in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity Kenya (2018-2019). The aim of the project was to permanently give local families access to WASH facilities and, through training programmes, inform them about hygiene standards and sustainable water use. Moreover, some local inhabitants were trained as craftspeople who – as members of “water committees” – took over responsibility for installing and maintaining the water pumps of the new water and sanitation systems. Thanks to the project, 110 households – more than 600 people – now have permanent access to clean water and safe sanitation facilities.

The international humanitarian organisation Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1976 in Americus in the US State of Georgia as a personal initiative of the wealthy couple Millard Fuller and Linda Fuller. Today, the organisation works worldwide in more than 70 countries in the area of water, sanitation and hygiene, disaster relief and preparedness, and housebuilding and rehabilitation measures. Habitat for Humanity Germany, a non-profit association headquartered in Cologne, is part of the international Habitat for Humanity network.