Access to clean water is very low in Bolivia, with many areas of the country lacking access to potable water. In Cochabamba, the Southern side of the city is renowned to be the poorest area of the city. Most residents of the communities on the Southern side of the city only have access to water that is delivered by trucks infrequently, and is very contaminated and not fit for human consumption unless it is treated or boiled first.

In November 2018 Project Yaku (Yaku means 'water' in Quechua, a local indigenous language of Bolivia) provided access to clean water for over 3,500 inhabitants of the Tamborada community, situated in the Southern part of the city of Cochabamba. Two representatives from Waves for Water travelled to Cochabamba in collaboration with the Global Shapers Cochabamba Hub and La Paz Hub, to bring 100 water filters to the Tamborada Community. These filters were given to

• 80 households for families from the community


• The school within the community that has 2740 students


• A day-centre for 500 children from low socio-economic backgrounds within the community.

The Global Shapers Cochabamba Hub coordinated the logistics for this project and found a variety of sponsors and donors to enable the project to happen. The Global Shapers La Paz Hub is also part of this project, collaborating with educational materials for the people receiving the filters. The families and students were all trained in how to use the filters, and how to maintain them to ensure the sustainability of this project. These filters last for 5 years and can provide water for 100 people per day. The Cochabamba Hub of Global Shapers will conduct visits to the community of Tamborada 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and one year after implementation to provide support to the community members and ensure that they are benefitting from their filters.

Project Yaku will be repeated in a community in La Paz in 2019.