Why rehabilitate old water points instead of building new ones?

A large share of non-functioning water points in Cameroon failed for want of maintenance rather than because the source ran dry. Rehabilitation is usually faster and less costly than new construction, and it restores a facility the community already knows and uses. We build new where no serviceable source exists.

What happens after a borehole is built?

It is handed to a trained community WASH committee with a maintenance plan, an identified route to spare parts and an agreed funding mechanism for repairs. Women are represented in that committee's decision-making. Infrastructure without a maintenance system typically fails within a few years, so we treat the committee as part of the project rather than as follow-up.

How is WASH connected to girls' education?

Directly. Without private facilities, clean water and supplies, menstruating girls miss several days of school each month, and the accumulated absence eventually ends their schooling. Menstrual hygiene management in schools is one of the most cost-effective interventions available for keeping girls in class, which is why it sits in both our WASH and education programmes.

How are communities chosen?

Through participatory needs assessments conducted with communities in the Northwest and Southwest Regions. We prioritise the longest journeys to water, the weakest sanitation provision, and schools and health facilities without reliable supply. Selection criteria are applied openly so that decisions are understood locally.

The association's banner, showing its mission and values

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

Millions of Cameroonians lack safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Women and girls carry the heaviest burden of collecting water and face the greatest risk when facilities are missing.

Community water points to be rehabilitated in year one

MHM

Menstrual hygiene management in schools, tied to girls' attendance

100%

Of rehabilitated water points to be handed to a trained community committee (our standard)

The challenge

A burden carried by women and girls

Millions of Cameroonians — especially in rural and peri-urban areas — lack access to safe drinking water, basic sanitation and hygiene facilities. The consequences are not distributed evenly. Women and girls bear the heaviest burden of water collection and are the most exposed to the health and safety risks of poor WASH conditions.

What the absence of a water point actually costs

Hours each day spent collecting water — time taken directly from schooling, income-generating work and rest.
Physical risk on the journey, particularly for girls walking long distances alone.
Preventable waterborne illness, which falls hardest on young children and their carers.
Missed school days, because menstrual hygiene management is impossible without private facilities and clean water.
Loss of dignity where sanitation facilities are absent, shared or unsafe after dark.

What we do

Hardware and the systems that keep it working, delivered together.

Rehabilitation of community water points

Restoring existing boreholes and water points that have fallen out of use — frequently faster, cheaper and more sustainable than new construction.

Construction of new boreholes

New water points where no serviceable source exists, sited with the community to shorten the journey for those walking furthest.

Sanitation facility construction

Latrines and sanitation facilities designed with women's safety and privacy as a starting requirement rather than an afterthought.

Menstrual hygiene management in schools

Facilities, supplies and education together, so that menstruation stops costing girls several days of school every month.

Community hygiene promotion

Campaigns on handwashing, safe water storage and household hygiene, developed with communities rather than delivered at them.

Training of WASH committees

Every water point is handed to a trained committee with a maintenance plan, a parts route and a funding mechanism — with women represented in decision-making.

Handwashing infrastructure

Handwashing stations at schools, health facilities and public gathering points, where they interrupt transmission most effectively.

Who we serve

Who this programme is for

We prioritise communities with the longest journeys to water and the weakest sanitation provision.

Rural and peri-urban communities without a safe water source
Schools lacking water, sanitation or menstrual hygiene facilities
Girls and women in underserved areas who collect water daily
Communities with inadequate or unsafe sanitation
Health facilities without reliable water or handwashing provision
Displaced and host communities under strain from added demand

How we work

WASH work is delivered to recognised humanitarian quality standards, with accountability to the communities who will live with the results long after a project closes.

SPHERE Humanitarian Standards
Core Humanitarian Standard
Do No Harm
SDG 6 — Clean Water and Sanitation
Community Accountability and Reporting Mechanism
PSEA

What we are working towards

Targets drawn from our organisational framework, with the horizon against which we will report progress.

Year 1 Rehabilitate at least five community water points and construct hygiene facilities in underserved communities.
Year 1 Establish and train WASH committees for every water point delivered.
Years 2–3 Extend WASH programming to at least five additional communities.
Years 2–3 Deliver menstrual hygiene management provision across supported schools.
Years 4–7 Replicate the community WASH model in at least four regions of Cameroon.

Bring clean water within reach

A rehabilitated water point returns hours a day to the women and girls who walk furthest for water.

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