The Impact

Strengthening families and communities through water, sanitation, and hygiene education (WASH)

In a South Sudanese village, safe water sends ripples beyond just satisfying peoples’ thirst. Along with providing wells and hygiene programs to those in South Sudan, WFSS partners with the villages and people we serve.

The availability of water, coupled with basic hygiene information:

  • Improves individual and community health

  • Gives more children the opportunity to attend school

  • Increases local stability and economic development

The result is a village renewed by its own efforts and people that have new freedoms to transform their lives without the worries of contaminated water.

Children and women gathering around a water tap to fetch water in an outdoor setting with trees in the background.
Two young boys filling water containers from a public water tap, with several yellow water containers around them.
A young girl walks barefoot on a dirt road in a rural area, carrying two empty jerry cans, one in each hand. She wears a colorful patterned dress and looks over her shoulder.
Five women in colorful traditional clothing watering plants in a garden with a house and trees in the background.
An African woman wearing a colorful patterned skirt and blue top is cooking outdoors over an open fire, surrounded by makeshift huts made of wood and fabric.
A woman carrying a green watering can walking near a water pump outside, with a young boy walking on a pathway in the background. There is lush green foliage and a makeshift fence made of sticks surrounding the area.
A woman smiling while carrying a yellow container on her head in an outdoor rural setting with trees and dry ground.
Two women walking through a village carrying containers on their heads, traditional mud and thatch houses in the background, green grass and dirt path.
Group of young girls walking outdoors, balancing jerry cans and a plastic bucket on their heads, in a rural setting surrounded by trees and rustic wooden fencing.

  • "Vegetable farming improves nutrition and transforms women’s source of income"

    Adut Ajiith Anei

  • “The change or result we experienced now is the water yard installed by Water for South Sudan brought good things because we have clean water, and they provided us with a microloan for 12,000 SSP (equivalent to $92 US Dollars).”

    Arek Nyiel Abuot, the head of Water Management Committee in Pinydit of Gogrial East

  • "The change will be good because my children will learn and have a bright future, I thank Water for South Sudan for providing us with clean water”

    Ngeeth Koch Yel

A smiling person in a red head covering and patterned red shirt, with dark skin, holding a bundle of dried grass or reeds during daytime outdoors with trees in the background.

Achor lived in Abilnyang in rural South Sudan after fleeing conflict stemming from civil war in her birth village. After walking to her new home village, she walked for hours daily to fetch water from a stagnant, bacteria-infested puddle. She feared the sicknesses she and her family frequently get from drinking this water and that the puddle would dry up one day, forcing them to move again.

With a well in her village, Achor and her family can count on staying in Abilnyang and start investing in their home and community. Now, Achor spends her time on more productive activities, like weaving baskets to sell at the local market for income.

Before, Achor had so little time that it took her two months to make one basket. Now, it takes her two days, and she makes enough money from sales to pay for her daughter to attend school. She also has high hopes that her daughter will continue to secondary school because she is saving money, her daughter is healthy and has a perfect attendance record, and she can see a future for her family in their new home.

A woman walking through a lush vegetable garden with rows of green plants, a wooden fence in the background, and trees beyond the fence under a clear sky.

Adut started gardening two months ago and has made savings of over 15,000 South Sudanese pounds.

The mother of 3 children says before starting the kitchen garden, she was hopeless and didn’t know what to do to support her family. However, what she was making was not enough to send her children to school.

“Before getting in-kind support from Water for South Sudan, things were hard for me and my family; we were not nourished well, and healthy food was hard to get. It was like we were experiencing war in Sudan directly,” Adut narrates.

“But now, with around 15,000 South Sudanese Pounds [SSP] savings in my hand, everything is different. I can now afford to buy food and support my children’s education by selling vegetables, and I have started buying chickens and goats for future use; my life has changed, and my children have all their basic needs for home and school,” Adut added.

Adut more confident and very optimistic than before. She plans to buy some goats for the future and start a new life for which she is saving now. She hopes that other people will use water to get something from it.

A woman in a colorful traditional dress standing next to an outdoor water tap.

Arek said, “In the beginning, “it was so hard to get water because water points were so far away and not clean water as it triggered physical fight at some water points,” she said

“The change or result we experienced now is the water yard installed by Water for South Sudan brought good things because we have clean water, and they provided us with a microloan for 12,000 SSP (equivalent to $92 US Dollars).”

Arek continued, “Microloans help our people as they often borrow cash for their minor medication within Pinydit.”

Years ago, people sold their goats for minor treatment, but now people just get to secure a microloan in the community and later return them with interest rates.

Water Creates Growth

Access to clean, reliable water transforms villages into hubs of economic vitality. When a community has a well, people gain the ability to work, irrigate crops, and produce goods to sell. Farmers can grow more food, local businesses can thrive, and markets can flourish, creating jobs and income for families. Clean water also supports education and health, allowing children to attend school and reducing the burden of waterborne diseases. With water as the foundation, villages can experience sustainable growth, stronger local economies, and improved quality of life.

A man wearing a beige cap and a blue jacket speaking during a presentation with red lighting in the background.

“With hope, faith, and perseverance, you can accomplish anything. I urge you to just keep walking and when you fall, remember me.”

— WFSS Founder Salva Dut, TEDx Beacon Street 2016