For more than 20 years, a hand-dug well in Kidanamhret village has been a lifeline. Alemnesh Asgedom remembers what life was like before it existed. And what it meant when it finally did. “The main problem in our community was obtaining clean water,” she says. “While there are water sources in the area, they are untreated.” When the well was built in 2002, things began to change. Families had access to safe water. Health improved. Daily life became more stable. “As a woman, I can show that it alleviated the burdens on women and girls,” Alemnesh says. “We could send our children to school without worry, and our livelihoods improved.” Then, in 2020, conflict reached the region. And everything unraveled. The water point was damaged. By 2022, the community could no longer maintain it. Families were forced back to unsafe sources. “We had to revert to using open and unsafe water,” Alemnesh says. “Upstream, there was a small town where residents washed their clothes, polluting the source We resorted to screening the water through our clothes or boiling it before drinking. The situation caused us immense suffering.” In 2025, with support from charity: water, local partner Relief Society of Tigray (REST) began rehabilitating the well. And the community showed up. “When they began mobilizing resources for the rehabilitation, I was among the first eager individuals wanting to see this water project restored,” Alemnesh says. The community worked together to gather materials, allowing the repairs to be completed quickly. Today, the well serves around 175 people. After years of uncertainty, clean water is flowing again. “Now, our problems regarding access to clean water have been resolved ,” Alemnesh says. “It’s a blessing to witness this water point functional again.” The impact reaches everyone, especially those who felt the loss most: women, older adults, and children. REST and the community have ensured that the handpump will function for years to come. A WASH committee is in place. Families are contributing monthly savings for maintenance. There’s a shared understanding: this is theirs to sustain. “We will protect this water point as if it were our most prized possession,” Alemnesh says.

Marzia is a student in Bangladesh. Like many girls her age, she grew up without language for menstruation. No one talks about it. When her period came, she stayed home from school because she had no understanding of how to manage it. That started to change through the WASH project, led by DORP and HELVETAS Bangladesh with support from charity: water. At school, Marzia joined Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) sessions. Teachers use demonstrations and open conversation to shift the narrative. Menstruation becomes what it is: a normal biological process. Marzia started using clean, hygienic menstrual products. She adjusted her diet. She came back to school consistently. She talks with her peers about what she’s learning. “Now, I feel clean and confident,” she says. “I understand my body better and take care of it.” A new WASH block is under construction at her school, with improved MHM facilities. When it’s complete, Marzia won’t have to choose between her education and her body. She’ll be able to show up every day. Marzia’s story isn’t just one story. It reflects something bigger: when schools have the water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure they need, girls can stay in class, participate fully, and keep learning…even during their periods.

For years, Bertha Kwalira planned her day around water. In Moffat village, that meant pulling water from a hand-dug hole beside a broken well. It meant waiting more than 30 minutes to fill a single 40-liter bucket. In the dry season, it meant walking an hour to the Dyamphwi River, knowing the water wasn’t safe, but having no other option. Hygiene was hard to maintain. And when water ran low, tension followed. Arguments broke out at the well. There simply wasn’t enough to go around for cooking, cleaning, or caring for her family of seven. For decades, a borehole felt out of reach. Moffat hadn’t had one since at least 1950. That changed in April 2025. With support from charity: water, Welthungerhilfe (WHH) worked alongside the community to install a borehole at the center of the village. Now, instead of uncertainty, there’s a steady rhythm. There’s the sound of a pump, water flowing, and people gathering without conflict. Today, Bertha collects clean water just steps from her home. “I was filled with joy,” she said. “People were overjoyed. Even children were very excited.” Bertha no longer worries about timing her day around water. She can come home from errands, pick up a bucket, and know water will be there. There’s enough for her family. Enough for her livestock. Enough for daily life. And the impact goes beyond time. The village chief has seen a drop in diarrheal disease. Families take pride in maintaining the borehole, cleaning the area twice a day, contributing a small monthly fee to keep it running. The Water Point Committee manages repairs, saves for spare parts, and works with a trained mechanic to service the system every three months. They’ve built a fence to protect it. They check the borehole weekly. They plan for the future. Today, Moffat is home to 300 households. And this borehole is part of something bigger. Across the region, projects like this are expanding access, moving communities closer to a future where clean water is the norm, not the exception.

Two years ago, Kakoli Akter watched her five-year-old daughter spend more than three weeks in the hospital. The cause: contaminated pond water. In Baraikhali village, Bangladesh, that was everyday life. Women and girls walked 1.5 to 2 kilometers to collect water from open ponds. Everyone knew it wasn’t safe. There wasn’t another option. Today, that’s changed. A solar-powered Pond Sand Filter – installed by DORP through the IWASH Project and funded by charity: water in partnership with HELVETAS Bangladesh – now serves 165 families. Safe water is a ten-minute walk from Kakoli’s home. “Previously, I spent 50 minutes every day collecting unsafe pond water,” Kakoli says. “Now I can provide my family with safe drinking water in only10 minutes. This filter has changed our daily lives.” The impact shows up everywhere. Stomach illnesses are down. Kids who once got sick again and again are healthy and in school. And the hours that used to be spent collecting water? They’re back with families for work, learning, and time with their families.

Each day, Channy rides her bicycle nearly two kilometers to school in rural Cambodia. She’s the middle of three children. Her father farms rice. Her mother raises insects, frying grasshoppers and crickets to earn extra income. For years, that life was interrupted by illness. Channy’s family drank from an unprotected well. She got sick often. Doctors traced it back to poor nutrition and unsafe water. Medical bills added up, putting more pressure on the family. At school, she brought water from home, but it runs out before the day ends. Some days, she left early. Other days, she doesn’t go at all. In 2023, that began to change. Through a School WASH program implemented by Clear, with support from charity: water, Channy’s school got access to safe, clean water. Handwashing stations were installed. Latrines are clean and usable. Waste is managed safely. Now, she has water whenever she needs it. The training doesn’t stop at school. Channy brings it home, showing her family how to wash their hands, drink safe water, and keep their environment clean. Today, she ranks among the top students in her class. Channy’s radiant smile says it all. She shares, “I am no longer absent from class because of illness. I am healthy now, and my parents do not need to spend a lot of money on medical treatment. My friends and I can easily collect drinking water at school, wash our hands with soap, use clean latrine, and dispose of trash properly. Beyond my health, my studies have improved a lot. I often rank first or second in my class. My family and teachers are very happy with my achievements. I am very grateful for these facilities. They benefit not only students but also the nearby community. Thank you so much.”

Saroth spent years working as a health and community development facilitator in Ta Siem commune, Cambodia. She understands how important clean water is. But explaining it in a way that truly connects hasn’t always been easy. In 2025, when Clear — a charity: water partner — brought the hhWASH Program to her community, the commune chief selected Saroth to participate. She trained on safe water and water-related diseases. But more importantly, she learned how to teach differently: how to lead conversations, ask questions, and use visuals to make ideas stick. When Saroth brought these new methods to ten villages across Ta Siem, people began to take action. The project was originally planned for 210 BioSand filters. Demand quickly grew that number to 457. And communities are already asking for 300 more in 2026. People notice the difference. “The method was simple, easy to listen to, easy to understand, and enjoyable,” says Mrs. Long Thear from Rahal village. Saroth leads by example. She installs a water filter in her own home and creates a clean, safe environment for her family. This new knowledge is a vital resource for Saroth, allowing her to continue sharing safe water, health, and sanitation services with her commune.” Her story shows what happens when the right person has the right tools.

At the start of 2026, twelve community members gathered in Salyan district, Nepal to learn something that lasts longer than any pipe or pump: how to keep water flowing. Through Village Maintenance Worker (VMW) training, they built the skills to care for the systems their communities rely on every day. The training—led by Sundar Nepal Sanstha, an implementing partner of HELVETAS, with support from charity: water—combined hands-on practice with practical knowledge. Participants also learned how to safely use maintenance tools and work with materials. In Nepal’s mountainous regions, distance and terrain make outside repairs slow and expensive. But trained local maintenance workers keep systems running. The training also opened the door to part-time income, creating new opportunities alongside reliable water access. Lasting water systems can’t depend on outside help. They have to depend on locals equipped, trusted, and ready to keep water flowing.

For years, Emelda lived without a wheelchair and had to crawl on her hands to move from place to place. Her congenital limb deficincies made life a daily struggle, and it was made even harder by limited access to clean water and inadequate sanitation facilities. Working alongside Emelda and her neighbors, Welthungerhilfe (WHH), a local partner of charity: water, helped design a system that works for everyone. Pathways now connect her kitchen, bedroom, and standpipe. She also has a wheelchair accessible latrine, built with features that make it easier and safer to use. “I used to crawl to get to a poor toilet,” Emelda says. “Now, I am very happy because I can access with my wheelchair my own toilet.” Access changes how people move through their day and how they show up in their community. Emelda joined the local Water Point Committee upon its inception. Today, she serves as chairperson, helping lead decisions around sanitation, security, and long-term maintenance. She also advocates for more disability inclusion across the community. Across Masekera, and thanks to the same piped water system used by Emelda, 898 schoolchildren now have access to safe water. Waterborne diseases are declining. And Emelda’s story serves as a testament to the impact of targeted WASH interventions.

In 2020, our local partner the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) planned to complete 206 new water projects serving an estimated 47,897 people. However, a conflict that started in Tigray in November of that year raised concerns about the safety of the REST team and the availability of building materials. In response, REST’s plans shifted to what would have the greatest possible impact: restoring water access to rural communities, with special attention to those villages with the highest number of displaced people. This short film tells the remarkable story of the people in those communities and the REST team — and how the generosity of people like you delivered light in a dark moment.

While traveling in the Central Region of Malawi, our team met Samuel, a student who greeted us with a poem he wrote to honor everyone who helped bring water to his village. Samuel’s beautiful words are a reminder that every water project, every life changed, and every child with a bright future exists because of people like you, supporters who generously give to fund clean water projects for communities. Thank you for making this possible.