In developing areas where water gets contaminated by unsanitary conditions and practices—even when collected from clean water sources—families must disinfect drinking water with chlorine tablets or risk suffering the burdens of waterborne diseases.
Bright Water’s safe water efforts in Ghana help families become “SAFE WATER FAMILIES” by focusing on these 5 Key Safe Water Habits:
1
Use purification tablets every time new water is brought home.
2
Disinfect and store water in a suitable container used only for this purpose.
3
Protect drinking water from new contamination by washing the container, keeping the lid on, and drawing water safely for drinking.
4
Fight germs! Wash hands. Wash drinking cups. Rinse food before eating.
5
Practice safe water habits when away from home.
In Atiwa West District, Ghana, trained Safe Water Educators like Mercy and Philip visit every household in their village, sharing the vital news that waterborne disease is easily preventable at home.
Jemima and Francine, like hundreds of mothers in the district, safely disinfect their family’s drinking water using chlorine tablets. Data in these communities now shows diarrhea, dysentery, and typhoid in decline compared to surrounding communities.
In Bright Water School Health Clubs, kids learn and practice safe water habits that keep them healthy, progressing in school, and having fun as they look to a bright future. Below, health club officers disinfect their class’s drinking water station.
To prevent waterborne disease by promoting family health and self-reliance through at-home, point-of-use water treatment.
To broaden at-home water disinfection in developing communities by inviting partner NGOs and government agencies to learn and apply the BWF safe water self-reliance methodology. This simple methodology invites all people to become self-reliant in their safe water-use behaviors.
Family Self-reliance lies at the heart of the safe water education purpose. Helping people help themselves underlies all efforts to promote healthy water-use behaviors.
Service drives all program activity. Honesty, integrity, and fairness are basic to all productive collaborations.
Good Science is fundamental to improving the human condition.
Adaptation and flexibility are inherent in all program processes.
Transparency is basic to all working relationships with staff, partner agencies, and donors.
