Working with WaterAid Toward SDG 6 in Colombia

WaterAid is working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere, within a generation. The international nonprofit organization works in 34 countries to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalized people. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 26.4 million people, providing them with clean water.

Since 2013, ClearBridge in Australia has partnered with WaterAid to fund sustainable infrastructure projects that bring safe water, sanitation and hygiene education to villages in Timor-Leste, one of the world’s least developed countries. Seventy percent of the population live in rural areas and half do not have access to safe water. ClearBridge has funded infrastructure projects that deliver safe water, sanitation and hygiene education to these communities. These infrastructure initiatives have impacted almost every aspect of life for the

people in these villages, improving health, increasing school attendance, empowering women and girls and providing income through produce gardens.

In 2019 ClearBridge and WaterAid formed a new corporate partnership in which ClearBridge brings together several important components of our corporate mission: philanthropy, volunteerism, sustainability and relating our investment capabilities to the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals, in this case SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation. In particular, ClearBridge is helping underwrite a critical project in Colombia to bring water to the village of La Guajira in a safe and consistent manner.

Upgrading Water Access in La Guajira, Colombia

By way of background, La Guajira is a mostly arid desert peninsula in northern Colombia, and home to various indigenous and afro-descendant communities. Currently only 16% of the rural population has access to water and a mere 4% have access to basic sanitation.

With the support of ClearBridge, in this project, WaterAid is working in the Tomarrazón community, home to 1,974 people in the rural southern part of Riohacha Municipality, to deliver life-saving water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programming. Tomarrazón has an antiquated water system that no longer provides service to its users. In the six-month-long dry season, the system stops working and people are forced to walk up 5 km through the mountains to fetch water from streams. During the months when the system works, it does so in a substandard way, as pipes are old and suffer leakage from years of neglect. Additionally, the school and community day care centers do not have adequate WASH services, which are essential to ensure a safe and healthy space for children to learn, play and grow.

Baseline Studies and Training

Between June and October 2020, WaterAid carried out holistic baseline studies to inform the design of the technical solutions with key data, such as user numbers, existing infrastructure and level of service along with socioeconomic information. Even amid COVID-19 conditions, six people received training in gathering data through smart phones and using the data management platform to upload and review the information.

After collecting all the necessary information, WaterAid presented initial project designs to the Riohacha Municipality and the water planning office (Plan Departamental de Agua – PDA). A solution to offset the dry months was to find a water source along the catchment system that will ensure water availability. The project also included general maintenance to the water treatment system, repairs and the expansion of the piped distribution system. In order to get the necessary permits, WaterAid made several visits to the community with government officials to review and agree on the designs.

Bringing Water Infrastructure to Camilo Torres Primary School

WaterAid is also working in the Camilo Torres Primary School, which has 120 students. To ensure informed and context-driven solutions, between June and October 2020 WaterAid carried out a baseline study of current WASH infrastructure and worked with the school principal and teachers to agree on the final design for new infrastructure. By February 2021 they had finished rehabilitating separate toilets for boys and girls, including handwashing stations. It had also ensured accessibility for disabled students in both girls’ and boys’ toilets and installed an ultra-membrane filter to ensure safe drinking water for all. Although there is no official date for when students will return to school, once they do, all 120 will have access to safe drinking water and decent toilets.

Bringing Water to Day Care Center Serving 79 Children

WaterAid also recently finished construction of sanitation facilities, handwashing stations and access to safe drinking water for 79 children and staff at the community-based day care center. Community-based day care centers provide a critical service for disadvantaged communities in La Guajira, taking care of children under five. The centers provide nutritional support through a government-sponsored meals program that addresses the high incidence of malnutrition in this vulnerable population. They are administered by the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF: Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar), but, unfortunately, due to high demand and lack of capacity and resources, most of these spaces in La Guajira have no WASH services.

Progress Amid COVID-19 Conditions

ClearBridge is pleased with the impact our partnership with WaterAid has been able to have in 2020, even despite the challenges experienced due to COVID-19. Overall, these efforts will reach 1,974 people, 120 primary school children and 79 children in a day care center in the community of Tomarrazón. As WaterAid works to build the capacity of the community association to operate and maintain the WASH services, sustainably, for the long term, we look forward to reporting progress in the years to come. “As WaterAid works to build the capacity of the community association to operate and maintain the WASH services, sustainably, for the long term, we look forward to reporting progress in the years to come.“