WATER FLOWS. WATER CONNECTS.

It must have been early 2016 when Chris Lüthi wanted to get out of his comfort zone. Driven by the desire to get involved in global projects to make a difference, he did a long research and looked into various projects and opportunities - without a suitable door opening: "I didn't find anything where I could really get involved."

It was only in a toilet of a WfW partner restaurant in Basel that Chris found what he had almost given up looking for. When he saw our poster above the urinal, he knew immediately: "This is exactly what I'm interested in."

Orçao Munume strives to follow his passions in life. Just like water, finding its destiny in whatever shape a streambed needs it to be, Orçao is moved by motivating others to do social activism. As a founder of the organisation ADJUPIS - a community based organisation WfW works with on WASH in school projects - he aims to build awareness around water, sanitation and the human right of health. With his team of over 130 people he mainly works in schools, communities and churches, since those are the places where the group of people he's working with - kids and teens between the age of nine to eighteen - can mainly be found.

Orçao is convinced that kids and young adults are not only the most fragile and vulnerable group of society but also its future. "By teaching young people about good hygiene and reproductive sexual education we can ensure that they will become good adults."

Fridah Tembo smiles proudly as she wanders through her garden, presenting the vegetables she has grown. With her two children and her husband she lives in Linda, a district 30 minutes outside the centre of the Zambian capital Lusaka. It is in her neighbourhood, among others, where WfW is pursuing the goal of making access to water safe, fair and consistently available for all residents. The goal thereby is to build a sustainable and professional water supply system with a high level of service for all residents of the district.

Being one of those residents that acquired a household connection, Fridah and her family are being billed for their monthly water consumption. But the connection doesn’t only grant enough water for Fridahs’ use, it also provides enough of the blue treasure for the use of the families of her five neighbouring houses. To ensure that everything runs smoothly, the water clients of Linda are connected to the operational team of the customer centre of the local water supplier LWSC, which only lies a few footsteps away from Fridah’s property.

"Has it been 10 years already? It feels like it was just yesterday that Morris Etter came up to me and presented his idea." Lucerne bar Houdini owner Anouschka Barrus is a long-time WfW friend and supporter.

When she first heard about WfW, she was working as a bar manager at Südpol in Lucerne, Switzerland. "At that time, we were very involved in catering and restaurant operations, so WASSER FÜR WASSER (WfW) was a great product to integrate as an alternative to bottled water on the menu." Over the years she worked in many different legendary bars and restaurants and always brought WfW with her, implementing our concepts and spreading the word about our work.

Bonface Sichone has a decade of stories to tell as he works as a community manager for the Lusaka Water Supply & Sanitation Company (LWSC). The water supply company is responsible for granting water to the capital and therefore the planning, implementation, operation and maintenance of the supply system in WfW project areas.

With his masters degree in social work, Bonface Sichone strives to create a space to consult people, to support them and to offer them a room to share and to connect.

Amélia Mulhui is a woman whose facial expressions seem to draw an everlasting smile, spreading her positive attitude towards the world. Amélia was working in gastronomy, before our paths began to connect when she joined the “YAKOKO” soap production.

WfW is active in Maputo since 2018, implementing projects fostering sanitation and hygiene in Maputo. To this end, we started a collaboration with a Maputo-based soap start-up. Over the years, this connection intensified, and today WfW runs the start-up as a social enterprise with which we have already distributed over 100,000 soaps to primary schools. This is how we now produce and distribute our own coconut oil-based "YAKOKO" soaps. In this way, we not only strengthen the local value chain, but also actively strengthen the hygiene aspect of our WASH in school projects. And Amélia was the perfect match, when we had a vacancy in our soap production.

Amélia lives with her two sons - eight and four years old - Her dream is to see the company grow and to see it develop in other countries.

Sport connects. Water connects. And Gilbert connects. He connects the passion for sports with with an urge to strive to achieve a more equitable world. As the founder of the foundation Summits4Hope, Gilbert Fisch has been substantially supporting WfW for many years.

He is well known on his racing bike, a yellow canister strapped to his back, with which he and his team of "charity riders" draw attention to global water problems. In this way, they cover up to 944 kilometers and 13’000 meters in altitude to collect donations and invest into the future.

Remember the Lusaka Vocational and Technical College (LVCT) from the first episode? Back then we learned about Rose Lyungame teaching at the institute. Today we’re switching the perspective. Dive with us into the story of a young water visionary:

Mischek Salifanji is in his 2nd year as a plumbing student at LVCT, an institute WfW is partnering with since 2013 and has supported over 600 students to graduate from water-related vocational training. Already planning big steps for his future, Mischek explains: “After graduation, I want to start a construction company.” He states with wisely picked words that he is already in the process of motivating other peers to take water-related courses. He hopes that they will find the same inspiration and drive at the courses he enjoys. With a vague visionary option to involve them as partners and employees at his company after their graduation.

As a WASH Activist, Madalena Garido Singano starts her days twice a week at primary schools. Arriving at 7am, she starts by guiding the kids on their daily hand washing routines before entering the classrooms. Madalena is working with the community-based organisation ADJUPIS and loves the work with children. “I like to work with kids, teach them how to properly wash their hands, explain why we don’t throw trash on the floor and discuss the importance of those kinds of topics.” The schools visited by Madalena are supported by WfW through the improvement of sanitation infrastructure, allowing over 6,200 students of Maputo’s primary schools to benefit from an upgraded learning environment.

After finishing 12th grade, the 22 year old moved from Beira, where she was born, to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. At that time she was already familiar with ADJUPIS and was later recommended to them by a friend. She started by doing awareness campaigns for health in Bairros and moved on to being a WASH Activist in December 2021.

“I think my job is really important, because it not only helps the children, moreover, it benefits society as a whole, since hygiene plays its role in every part of our lives.”

What started as a spontaneous suggestion from her uncle has developed into a passionate career. Rose Lyungame started as a student at the Lusaka Vocational and Technical College (LVTC, picture 3), today she is a teacher (picture 2) at the institute and passes on her knowledge, experience and enthusiasm for water operations.

When she came to Lusaka in November 2015, she was uncertain what to do. She enrolled at LVCT, but didn’t know exactly what the different courses would contain. So she relied solely on trust that the father on the bench next to her, who said to his daughter "this is a good course", would be right. She didn't know anyone, but she found enthusiasm for the courses in the eagerness with which the teachers went about their work. She studied, reviewed her notes and loved her courses, the environment and the atmosphere.

Want to hear more stories from water-connected people? Follow us on our social media channels and visit our website again soon. We look forward to diving into the stories of the water-connected with you!