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Environment and community

Clean water and sanitation

Safe drinking water, school toilets that are actually usable, and the maintenance money that keeps both working.

  • 540

    Water points

  • 180

    School sanitation blocks

  • 91%

    Functional at 24 months

  • Quarterly

    Water quality testing

Why this work

What the problem actually is.

The Indian countryside is full of handpumps that do not work and school toilets that are locked. Almost none of them failed at installation; they failed in year two, when nobody had budgeted for a spare part or a cleaner.

We therefore fund maintenance as a first-class part of every project, not an afterthought. A water point comes with a village committee, a small maintenance fund and a named person paid to look after it. A school toilet block comes with a cleaning budget and a water supply, because a toilet without water is a room.

Water quality testing runs quarterly. Where we find contamination we say so publicly, including when the source is one we installed.

Who this is for: Villages without a reliable safe water source, and schools where sanitation drives girls out of attendance.

What we do

The work, specifically.

Each of these is funded with its running costs included - stipends, repairs, follow-up - because that is what decides whether it survives past the first year.

  • Safe drinking water points

    Installation or rehabilitation, with filtration where testing shows it is needed.

  • School sanitation blocks

    Separate, lockable, water-supplied toilets, with a funded cleaning arrangement.

  • Maintenance funds

    A committee, a small ring-fenced fund and a paid caretaker for every water point.

  • Quarterly water testing

    Independent testing with results published, including failures.

  • Menstrual hygiene facilities

    Disposal and washing facilities in school blocks so girls do not miss days.

  • 540

    Water points

  • 180

    School sanitation blocks

  • 91%

    Functional at 24 months

  • Quarterly

    Water quality testing

Initiatives

Named projects inside this programme.

  • Maharashtra · since 2019

    Every Drop

    Water points funded with their maintenance built in, and quarterly testing published whatever it shows.

    How it works →
How you can help

Three things that would make a difference here.

  • Fund a water point including its ten-year maintenance provision.
  • Sponsor a school sanitation block and its cleaning budget.
  • Support the quarterly testing programme.

Contributes to

  • SDG 6 Clean water and sanitation
  • SDG 4 Quality education

Related programmes

Support this work

Fund it, staff it, or send us your old laptops.

Tell us which programme interests you and roughly what you have in mind - money, equipment, time or expertise - and we will come back with something specific rather than a brochure.

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