Impact

Waves For Water Guajira

Waves For Water Guajira is a community-based initiative of the Barranquilla Hub that aims to provide clean water and basic sanitation to ABLE communities around La Guajira, one of the regions with the highest levels of drought and hunger in Colombia. Taking into account that one of the biggest social an environmental issues in Colombia is the lack of access to clean water, we decided to partner with Waves For Water, Waves For Water is an international non-profit organization that works on the front lines to provide access to clean water through the distribution of portable water filters, the excavation and renovation of wells and the construction of water collection and storage systems of rain in vulnerable communities without access to clean water and basic sanitation. So far, we have had implemented (1) activity that impacted more than 100 families in 2 different zones of La Guajira that have their own language, values and traditions. We decided to start this project because of the following reasons: 0. Only 4% of the population has access to improved basic sanitation systems in rural areas of La Guajira. 1.Around the world, 3 out of 10 people lack access to safe drinking water services and 6 out of 10 lack access to sanitation facilities managed safely. 2. La Guajira has the lowest rainfall regimes in the Caribbean, making it one of the driest areas in the country. 3. More than 18,000 children in corregimientos of La Guajira present problems of malnutrition due to the shortage of drinking water. 4. Only 16.3% of the population in La Guajira has access to drinking water. 5. 83.7% of rural communities are supplied from contaminated water sources. 1. To provide basic sanitation and clean water to families in communities that are lacking of this important and vital natural resource. 2. To empower young people and families to have more awareness about the importance of water and how they can have a more sustainable life. 3. To co-create a cultural exchange between communities and Global Shapers due to their amazing indigenous languages and cultural traditions. 4. To promote the SDGs and the SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation within communities. As the main message of the Agenda 2030 is leaving "NO ONE BEHIND" we aim to translate the 17 SDGs to indigenous languages in La Guajira, so children, young people and community leaders can have access to this global movement and their voices can be heard on how to tackle their local social issues. 5. To teach and learn new innovative ways on how clean water is the best way to have better future opportunities. We aim this project to be a community-led project with local organizations that works directly with these communities in order to ensure a sustainable impact and measurable results.