Problem

To gain the full benefits of safe water and sanitation, communities need to know about the links between diseases and unsafe hygiene practices, which result in two million people dying from water-related diseases annually. The simple act of washing hands with soap and water can reduce diarrheal diseases by a third. Safe disposal of children's feces and safe drinking water storage are also crucial in preventing diseases like cholera, dysentery and typhoid.

The Gift

Your gift will focus on providing the salaries of eight community hygiene educators for one year, whose work is imperative in teaching proper hygiene practices. WaterAid and its partners use many ways to promote good hygiene practices and all are based upon the individual community's existing knowledge, beliefs and practices. Our approach to hygiene promotion recognizes that people do not change their behavior simply because they are told about health benefits. People are just as strongly motivated by improvements in privacy, convenience, environmental cleanliness, self-esteem and social status resulting from changes in sanitation and personal and household hygiene. Your generous gift will provide people with the know-how to improve these aspects of their own lives.