💧 Water, Sanitation & Hygiene
Clean water is not a privilege — it is a right. Zango Foundation works in rural communities across Zambia to ensure that every child has access to safe water, proper sanitation, and the knowledge to stay healthy.
Clean Water Changes Everything
In many rural communities across Zambia, children — and particularly girls — spend hours each day collecting water from unsafe sources. This time is stolen from education, play, and development. Contaminated water causes illness that keeps children out of school and can be life-threatening. Zango's WASH programs address both the supply and the knowledge gap.
Community Water Supply Repair
One of Zango's most impactful WASH projects involved the repair and restoration of a broken village water supply in a rural community. Before the intervention, children like Pamela had no reliable access to clean water — a daily reality that put their health and safety at risk.
After Zango volunteers completed the repair, the entire village gained access to clean, reliable water. Pamela's story — from a child walking kilometres to unsafe water sources to a child with clean water flowing in her village — represents what WASH work means at the human level.
Hygiene Education & Behaviour Change
Clean water alone is not enough. Without knowledge of proper hygiene practices — hand-washing, safe food preparation, sanitation habits — waterborne illness persists even when clean water is available. Zango delivers hygiene education sessions in schools and communities, targeting the behaviours that have the greatest impact on health outcomes.
Sessions cover hand-washing technique, the importance of latrines and safe disposal of waste, menstrual hygiene management for adolescent girls, and household water storage and treatment practices.
School Sanitation Support
The presence of functional, sex-segregated latrines in schools is a proven factor in keeping adolescent girls enrolled — particularly after puberty. Zango advocates for and supports improved sanitation facilities in partner schools, working alongside school administrators and community leaders to identify needs and prioritise solutions.
We also distribute reusable hygiene products through our youth empowerment programs, reducing the number of girls who miss school due to lack of menstrual supplies.
Community WASH Outreach
Zango trains and deploys WASH outreach volunteers who work directly in communities — conducting household assessments, promoting hygiene practices, and connecting families with available WASH resources and services.
This grassroots approach ensures that WASH knowledge reaches the households that need it most, not just those who attend formal training sessions. It also creates local ownership of hygiene improvement — a critical factor in sustainability.
"Zango fixed the water problem in our village, providing us with clean water. Children like Pamela can now grow up healthy — that was not possible before."— Community Member, Zango Foundation WASH Project
SDG Goal 6Clean Water & Sanitation
Aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Zango's WASH programs directly support SDG 6 — ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. By restoring water supply infrastructure, educating communities on hygiene, and improving school sanitation, we contribute to one of the world's most urgent development priorities.
Other Thematic Areas
Help Bring Clean Water to Communities
Partner with us on WASH projects — volunteer as an outreach worker, fund a water repair project, or sponsor hygiene education in a school.