Splash International

Splash is a global nonprofit organization that's bringing safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs to over one million children living in urban poverty across Asia and Africa every day. Our vision is clean water, clean hands, and clean toilets for all children, no matter where they are born. With projects that have spanned across eight countries (Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Vietnam and Thailand), Splash aims to reach 100% of public schools in select major growth cities. Project WISE will bring improved water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure; behavior change programs for kids and adults; and strengthened menstrual health services for girls aged 10 and above. Working in kindergarten, primary, and secondary schools, this project will reach large concentrations of underserved young people, typically living in the poorest urban communities. Our goal is to demonstrate a scalable, durable, and cost-efficient WASH-in-Schools model that can be effectively replicated beyond the initial two target cities and countries.

Our vision is clean water, clean hands, and clean toilets for all children, no matter where they are

Goal One: Improve WASH infrastructure at schools, promote WASH behavior change (children and adults), strengthen school-based menstrual hygiene management

Goal Two: Foster sustainability through local ownership by schools and government

Goal Three: Lay foundation for replication in other cities through delivery and promotion of a cost-effective model

Splash has a membership with Humentum, a resource specifically for global NGOS and social good organizations. Humentum provides trainings, consulting, and networking for its members. Additionally, Splash employees are encouraged to attend conferences and trainings to increase their knowledge.

Even while facing challenges, we celebrate the work that we completed to advance children’s health and well-being. In Ethiopia, we faced various challenges due to skyrocketing inflation and the conflict in northern Ethiopia. Still, we adjusted and persisted. We invested in our behavior change and menstrual health programs, leveraging new digital tools to help children access vital information both in and out of school. We designed an innovative social ecosystem approach to menstrual health to engage with girls’ families, mentors, and boy peers. Ultimately, we are so proud of all the work that our India and Ethiopia teams were able to accomplish, reaching 248,803 kids at 295 new schools. In August, we made the incredibly difficult decision to wind down our Kolkata program. We had been trying for three years to secure funding from the government of West Bengal as we that is a key indicator of buy-in and sustainability. We made it clear that we could not continue without co-investment, but unfortunately, they declined. So, what does that mean? In 2022, we will be finishing active program implementation in Kolkata, for a total reach of 361 school sites and 143,000 people. We are also taking the next few years to ensure the sustainability of the WASH infrastructure and behavior change programs that we put in place at schools across the city. In Ethiopia, we are expanding the focus of Project WISE to a second city, Bahir Dar, while continuing full speed ahead in Addis Ababa. We see these two cities as a pathway to national influence and replication. Ultimately, despite many challenges, we reached more than 800,000 kids through Project WISE across Kolkata, Addis Ababa, and Bahir Dar by the end of 2023. While the project’s story has gone through many unexpected twists and turns, we are optimistic that there is a happy ending in sight for the kids we serve.