2011 Issue

33 F OUNDEDIN1991, Water For Peopleworks with communities to provide safe, clean drinking water from protected sources, eliminating the need for people to get their water from contaminated or open sources. A typical project involves installing a water tank at a protected source and then using gravity to pipe water to a tap stand at each home in a village. For sanitation solutions, Water For People uses a number of different technologies including eco-sanitation toilets, which cre- ate compost fromhuman waste; arbor loos, where a tree is planted in the full pit; and other options depending on what works best in that region. Why does the work that Water For People performs matter? More than 2.6 billion people do not have access to improvedsanitationandnearly 900million are not using an improved source of drink- ing water, according to the 2010-released World Health Organization/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation report . “One of the biggest problems around the world is that water and sanitation systems are often installed for free, without consid- ering how they will be maintained. You see catastrophic failure rates aroundAfrica, Asia, and LatinAmerica,” saidNedBreslin, Water For People chief executive officer. “The International Institute for Environment and Development estimates that 50,000 water points inAfrica are broken on any given day. They estimate that it’s worth between $215 and$360million inwasted investment.”Wa- ter For People looks at theproblemof access towater andsanitation fromadifferent angle than many non-profits do, using a unique model to combat the world’s sanitation and water crisis. They realize they cannot fix the world’s problems alone, which is why they partner with other non-profit organizations, local governments and communities, and private-sector entrepreneurs. By working with others, Water For People professionals not only extend their reach, helping more people with the same amount of funding, but they help others learn the necessary skills to build water and sanitation projects. For instance, to solve theproblemof broken pumps, the organization is stimulating what are essentially plumbing businesses. Water For People encourages more local busi- nesses to see the value in sanitation services. As in the case of a cell phone company that gives you the phone for a low price but makes its money on the two-year contract, a business would build a latrine to a family Water For People – Providing Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation for the World’s Neediest People Julie Kauffman, James (Jim) Schwing, P.E. Water For People is a non-profit organization that supports the development of locally sustainable drinking water resources, sanitation facilities, and health and hygiene education programs in 11 developing countries – bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Malawi, Nicaragua, Peru, Rwanda and Uganda. for low cost but make money based on their service (emptying the latrinepit later). “We’re developing and incubating viable business ideas so that entrepreneurs see that everyone who doesn’t have a toilet – everybodywhogoes to thebathroom– is a viable customer,” continues Mr. Breslin. “That way,Water For Peopledoesn’t have to fund and build every toilet. Many other organizations have tried that idea and it hasn’t worked.” Water For People implemented a pilot program in Malawi for its revolutionary business model. The concept is simple: families are offered an eco-sanitation la- trine financedwith amicroloan. The family uses the latrine, adding soil and ash after every use to create compost, and then an entrepreneur returns to purchase and remove the compost. The family earns enoughmoney topayoff thecost of build- ing the latrine and retains additional mon- ey. The entrepreneur grows the business by selling the compost to local farmers. And theentrepreneur has incentive toget more people to use the eco-san toilet so his business can continue togrow. Simple, yet unique. To learn more about Water For People and the ways it is working to provide water and sanitation solutions, please visit www.waterforpeople.org . Ms.Kauffman isan Administration and Communications Specialist with CH2M Hill; Mr. S c h w i n g i s a P r o f e s s i o n a l Engineer, Senior Vice President and Salt Lake City Office Manager, at CH2M Hill. More than 2.6 billion people do not have access to improved sanitation and nearly 900 million are not using an improved source of drinking water. Kauffman Schwing