World Water Day: Water is Community
Water is essential to every aspect of life, and that is never clearer than in times of crisis. Across the globe, from Colombia to South Sudan to Vanuatu, we’ve seen how access to safe water is foundational for recovering from disasters and building resilient communities.
“I think World Water Day is a great opportunity for us to reflect on the importance of water in our lives,” says Simon Mostafa, IsraAID’s WASH Technical Advisor. “I think one of the most valuable things that we in IsraAID are doing is really putting communities at the center of access to water.”
This World Water Day, we want to acknowledge all that water is and does for communities facing crisis. Water access is not an individual challenge – it’s a key element of community. From the remote mountains of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, to wartime Ukraine, to the small villages of eastern Malawi, here are a few ways that IsraAID is using water, sanitation, and hygiene to empower and strengthen communities.
In the largely indigenous communities of Alta Verapaz, IsraAID consciously chose to place water systems in local schools. Dropout rates are high, and many children don’t finish elementary school. IsraAID worked to make the school a center of community life. By ensuring access to safe water at school, not only do learners have access, but the school becomes a natural gathering point for community events – widening our reach to include children, teachers, parents, and the community at large.
In Ukraine, ongoing attacks and destruction of civilian infrastructure, has forced millions to flee their homes and broken up communities. With 3.7 million people still internally displaced and nearly 7 million more as refugees worldwide, building community is more important than ever. For many, the return of water access means the chance to stay in or return to their homes. For example, IsraAID’s mobile water treatment stations serve small villages like Shevchenkove, on the border between Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. During the Russian occupation of Kherson, many fled as the village was near the front lines and sustained massive damage. Today, safe water access means that the community of Shevchenkove is back in their homes, together.
In Malawi, IsraAID is not only restoring access to safe water, but building the structures necessary to ensure community ownership over those resources. IsraAID helped establish local water management committees and equipped them with the tools and skills they need to ensure long-term sustainability. Committee members are leaders in their communities, ensuring that water sources are maintained, water resources are well used, and any broken boreholes are repaired.
At IsraAID, we know that water is not just water. Water is health, resilience, dignity, community and so much more. Water is an essential part of a brighter, stronger, future. Happy World Water Day 2025 from our entire global team!
