WASH
World Water Day (Through the Years)
It’s that time of year again – winter is wrapping up, spring is approaching… and World Water Day is almost here! Let’s take a look back at how we’ve shared this day and the stories of communities for whom our partners have provided clean water in years past.
4 Key Characteristics of an Empowered Community
A lot of organizations want to help communities in need, but what does it mean to empower a community for sustainable progress? In this article, we’re laying out four key characteristics that define an empowered community. We’ll also talk about how Blood:Water works to provide grassroots organizations with more tools to give people what they need to take hold of all the ways they can improve their families’ lives.
The Impact of Clean Water & Sanitation for One African Village
Veronica Allan lives in Chifenthe, close enough to the new ECD center to fully feel the effects of its resources. There she can access the new VIP latrine where her fellow students, teachers, and caregivers can access a safe sanitation facility.
Back To School 2020
COVID-19 has presented a wide range of challenges not only to us, but to our partners in sub-Saharan Africa. And as we try to help our children adjust to a hybrid of virtual and classroom learning here in the US, schools in Africa are remaining closed until at least early 2021.
The Pathway of Stigma
Much like the fear and distrust we are experiencing related to COVID-19, without a firm grasp on how a disease or virus spreads, people began to theorize and build hypotheses, most of them quite outside the realm of scientific or data-driven realities.
What’s the Cost to Build a Well in Africa?
The work we do is not easy, it is not always straightforward or simple. But because we know that we can play a part in ensuring that kids finish school, women and girls can spend more time providing for their families than collecting water, and that vulnerable children will not succumb to preventable disease, we will continue to fight.
Measuring Success of Water Projects in Africa
Keeping track of things like distance, family members in a household, and how long someone may have to wait in line, paints a clearer picture of the sustainable, transformative work that is being done.
WASH: How To Teach Sanitation
Clean water as a solo intervention can impact the health of a community in some ways, and it is helpful, but without the other instruments playing along, it will not have the impact we truly need to create. Those “instruments” are sanitation and hygiene.
Responding to Poverty in Africa: What Do They Need?
Who knows better than they do what will make a difference in their village? Change and progress require local buy-in and a sense of ownership throughout the community in order to be sustainable.
“Boring” Data Can Be More Interesting Than You Think
Tracking the work of our African partners can be a bit complicated. Amanda, one of the members of our Africa Partnerships (AP) team recently walked the rest of us through an overview of how our AP team works with our partners, and it was so interesting that we thought you would also enjoy learning more about it! Our partners do life-changing work, and we utilize best practices and international standards in order to measure not only how well we’re already doing, but how we can continue to get better.