Water1st International

Mission

Water1st International supports community-managed projects that integrate water supply, sanitation, and health education. Our projects serve the world's poorest communities with high quality household connections that provide families with a kitchen tap, shower, and toilet. Access to clean water prevents the spread of disease and keeps our global community safe. We believe the global water crisis will be solved as we continue to build a community of people who take simple, effective actions.

Description

It can take up to 5 hours each day to collect water for a household. With water available at the turn of a tap, women and girls in our project communities have gained 100 million more hours for school, income generation, food production, and spending time with friends and family.

We are committed to true equity in water access. We invest in high-quality systems and empower people to independently own and operate them.

Every Water 1st project . . .              

• includes household-level piped water for a sink, a place to bathe, and a flush toilet.
• serves the entire community: homes, schools, health clinics, and community centers. 
• is community-managed so that users can operate and maintain their systems in perpetuity.

Working through our local partner organizations in Bangladesh, Kenya and Honduras, we provide lasting, effective solutions to water supply and sanitation needs. With each project, water is piped to every home, school, clinic, and gathering place in the community. This comprehensive approach ensures our project participants have 24/7 access to safe water, a toilet, and a shower, preventing disease transmission and unlocking their potential.

People living in extreme poverty have many needs, but we believe water comes first, and our projects are built to last. Communities with completed water and toilet projects experience a tranformation. Everyone, especially children under the age of 5, experience substantial health benefits and women and girls have more time, energy, and resources to attend school and earn and income.