As a key humanitarian priority, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seeks to support all who need access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (also known as WASH). To accomplish this work, the Church collaborates with other organizations and local communities around the globe to improve access to these services and strengthen overall systems, ensuring that solutions are long-lasting and promote self-reliance.
In addition, there were 94 sanitation and hygiene projects started and 73 countries served in 2023.
In Sierra Leone, the Church and WaterAid worked together to bring thousands of community members access to clean water. As a result of this project, residents have better sanitation services and knowledge of hygiene behavior practices.
With this training, health club facilitators at the schools have been able to promote menstrual hygiene management for girls, including doing routine checks of the toilets and changing rooms to make sure water is always available.
Photo courtesy of WaterAid.
In 2023, the Church worked with Water for People to help communities in Guatemala become free of open defecation. Through this project, community members were able to access durable materials to build family bathrooms that could withstand the harsh weather conditions of the area.
Likewise, in Papua New Guinea and Liberia, the Church and WaterAid collaborated to install safe water taps for communities and schools. The project also included education for affected communities on how to use and maintain the taps.
Photo courtesy of Water for People.
Jorge, a farmer from Bolivia, always wanted to build a well system to provide clean water for his community. With the help of Water for People and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, his dream finally became a reality.
With this new well, the people in Jorge’s village are able to just open the tap and have water. Jorge also reports that the children are cleaner and are freer to go to school. Farmers in the community also have more water to irrigate crops. This has brought Jorge peace, as he knows the families in his community will have access to clean water when they need it.
Having clean water to drink and appropriate hygiene and sanitation facilities is vital to preventing disease and promoting nutrition. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is committed to increase access to clean water around the globe as a means of reducing suffering.