Across the Zala Barena community, life without clean water shapes almost everything. Many girls cannot attend school because their days are spent on household chores and long walks to fetch water from unprotected, often contaminated sources. Breaking this cycle is at the heart of HOPE's new project here.
Like our other WaSH projects, Zala Barena is built on five core components: clean water, health and hygiene education, business training, agricultural support and environmental protection.
What will be built?
The project will protect one spring and construct one reservoir, feeding 7 water points and 6 washbasins through 6.15 km of new pipeline. Five caretakers will be trained to keep the system running, supported by a 21 member water users' association responsible for its long term management.
Alongside this, 304 households will build their own pit latrines, toilet covers, waste disposal points, driers, shelves and hand washing facilities using materials available locally.
Building knowledge and skills:
Around 3,662 men, women, girls and boys will receive health, hygiene and sanitation education. Twelve self help groups, involving 240 women, will receive training to build financial independence, brought together under one cluster level association.
On the agricultural side, 150 farmers and local government officers will be trained in improving productivity, market access and household income. The community will also receive 25 kg of improved vegetable seeds, 2,500 fruit tree seedlings and 3,000 additional tree saplings, helping families grow food sustainably while restoring the local environment. A further 2.5 hectares of land will be conserved through terracing, gully reshaping and tree planting.
What success looks like?
100% of beneficiaries practising good daily hygiene within two years
A 30% reduction in waterborne and diarrhoeal disease, against baseline
A 30% reduction in eye infections, against baseline
A 20% increase in school attendance, against baseline
All 240 Self Help Group members saving weekly and running an income generating activity within six months of joining
The project runs for 12 months, starting in January 2026 and finishing in December 2026.
With your support, HOPE is bringing lasting change to the Zala Barena community.
