IXL Social Enterprise Case Studies Water March 2011 | Page 7

Getting Safe Water and Sanitation to the Bottom of the Pyramid through Bold and Game-Changing Innovations
Water.org had to spend endless hours meeting
with MFIs to introduce them to this pioneering
concept of WaterCredit and the power of building
a partnership together. At first, many MFIs looked
at Gary as if his idea was ludicrous, but his
perseverance began to get buy-in one by one as
the combined social benefit and money-making
value of the concept grew increasingly clear.

“WaterCredit transformed my life and the lives of
my family. Now we are happier, healthier, more
productive and our dignity is restored.”
• Gowrammal is pleased that her new household
toilet has brought an end to her horrid daily choice
between the embarrassment of open defecation or
exposure to unhygienic latrines.45
• Mbete no longer misses school during her period
now that the latrines have separate areas for boys
and girls at her school.46
• Juhanara’s new water tap allows her to get the
water she needs for her family in just minutes vs.
hours. Her family suffers from fewer water-related
diseases, and she can spend her freed-up time either
caring for her children or working.47
• Mrs. Manonmani is also now able to spend more
time taking care of her children and home and
working as a tailor. She is making extra money by
selling spare water to her neighbors.48
• Mrs. Kolanchi’s daughters no longer have to disrupt
their studies for water collections.49
• Mrs. Indirani became a leader, encouraging her
fellow community members to invest in WaterCredit
loans to construct toilets. On January 26, 2011,
her village was acknowledged as free from open
defecation.50

“WaterCredit helped to make my life safer and
less full of fear.”
Jeyarani and Vadugaputty no longer worry about
being attacked while waiting in water collection
lines – they both have their own household water
connections. Vadugaputty also got an Ecosan toilet:
“Whenever I see the scars on my body, I remember
the problem I faced in collecting water from the
public tap. If the individual water pipe connection
had come to our village earlier, I would not have this
scar on my body. I would have never dreamt that
we could get these facilities on our own, so we are
thankful for Water.org and SCOPE [NGO].”44

WaterCredit’s growth mirrors that of the
MFIs. The majority of its projects are based in
Bangladesh and India since these countries are
home to the world’s highest concentration of
MFIs. For a project to move forward, it must
be in an area with both a strong nearby MFI
and a water or sanitation infrastructure into
which it can build a household connection; such
infrastructures are usually found in urban and
peri-urban locations vs. rural areas.
Working with donors
On the donor side, interest in Gary’s revolutionary
concept has been gaining traction as well, with
grants from the Open-Square Foundation and
the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to support
pilot projects in Bangladesh in 2003, India in
2004, and Kenya in 2005. Declared commitments
have been instrumental in driving WaterCredit
forward at an accelerated rate. Recently, for
example, PepsiCo Foundation provided USD4.1
million to reach more than 150,000 people in
India with safe water and sanitation over a threeyear period.
Working with Beneficiaries
Under its bottom-up approach, demand must first
originate from the people themselves who will be
taking on the loans to fund their purchase of a
water connection or toilet. Unlike many NGOs,
Water.org never takes a top-down approach of
entering a community on its own. Residents
voice their needs for safe water and sanitation to
a local NGO.44 Water.org partners with the NGO
and a MFI with a presence in the community.
“Certification” of both the NGO and the MFI
is required before Water.org moves forward on
any project.
Water.org carefully screens potential partners
through a robust and exhaustive list of customized
criteria, such as the NGO’s track record in
implementing watsan projects and the MFI’s
financial and operational performance history.
After certification, performance is continually
assessed to ensure strength is sustained at levels
necessary for a continued partnership.
Self-help groups (SHGs), made up of women
in the community and interested in getting
WaterCredit loans, are formed and trained.
Each SHG has about 10 to 12 members, with an
elected president, treasurer, and secretary. Water.
org’s “smart subsidy” provides funds for the
health and sanitation training of SHG members,

who then educate fellow residents regarding
the connection between clean water/sanitation
and health. More and more people demand for
WaterCredit loans as their awareness is raised
regarding how unclean water and poor sanitation
are needlessly making them sick and killing their
family and friends. Children also serve as “health
advocates,” helping to teach their schoolmates
and parents about the importance of clean water
and sanitation.
To date, a slew of case studies of successful
interventions have been generated.45,46,47,48,49,50
Projects that Last
Project sustainability requires that Water.org stay
engaged with the community at every stage of the
project from initial community involvement to
financing, construction, and training for ongoing
maintenance and operations. Water.org’s goal is
to eventually leave a project site, but rather than
leaving the people in the dust, it leaves them
empowered with the skills needed to continue the
project independently.
It is “technology agnostic,” not wedded to any
one water connection or sanitation technology.
Rather, the type of equipment is determined by
the environmental requirements of the project
site and the types of nearby, easily accessible
materials from which replacement parts will be
sourced. Its “smart subsidy” provides training to
educate SHG members on how to operate and
maintain their new equipment as well as training
on the importance of basic hygienic and sanitary
behaviors. The logic is that access to safe water
and sanitation can be useless to people if they do
not wash their hands regularly and practice other
important hygienic behaviors.
Outlook
Future plans for WaterCredit 3.0 may include
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