Our Partners
Back To School 2020
COVID-19 has presented a wide range of challenges not only to us, but to our partners in sub-Saharan Africa. And as we try to help our children adjust to a hybrid of virtual and classroom learning here in the US, schools in Africa are remaining closed until at least early 2021.
The Pathway of Stigma
Much like the fear and distrust we are experiencing related to COVID-19, without a firm grasp on how a disease or virus spreads, people began to theorize and build hypotheses, most of them quite outside the realm of scientific or data-driven realities.
Measuring Success of Water Projects in Africa
Keeping track of things like distance, family members in a household, and how long someone may have to wait in line, paints a clearer picture of the sustainable, transformative work that is being done.
WASH: How To Teach Sanitation
Clean water as a solo intervention can impact the health of a community in some ways, and it is helpful, but without the other instruments playing along, it will not have the impact we truly need to create. Those “instruments” are sanitation and hygiene.
What Causes Poverty in Africa?
Who knows better than they do what will make a difference in their village? Change and progress require local buy-in and a sense of ownership throughout the community in order to be sustainable.
“Boring” Data Can Be More Interesting Than You Think
Tracking the work of our African partners can be a bit complicated. Amanda, one of the members of our Africa Partnerships (AP) team recently walked the rest of us through an overview of how our AP team works with our partners, and it was so interesting that we thought you would also enjoy learning more about it! Our partners do life-changing work, and we utilize best practices and international standards in order to measure not only how well we’re already doing, but how we can continue to get better.
COVID and HIV: An Update From The Global Community
Nadia Kist, Blood:Water’s Director of Africa Programs, recently attended the global AIDS conference where she learned that HIV and COVID-19 have an even greater overlap than previously expected. For starters, the fact that so many people require immediate attention adds a large burden to health systems around the globe, many of which are not even equipped for their existing needs. Coronavirus has presented a situation none of us expected or know what to expect from, so we are still learning how it will impact greater issues that were already being faced.
A Glimpse Into What Our Partners Are Up To
As our partners continue to work diligently to adapt to the challenges of COVID-19, we wanted to share some insight and updates about how a couple of them are doing these days.
Her Whole Life Was Transformed
If we need any proof that long-lasting change is capable through our love and commitment to helping one another, Anna is a standing testament that miracles do happen.
Overcoming the Fear of Not Enough
The Kingdom of God is open handed. It is not a land of hoarders and collectors. It is not a place where anyone wonders if they will have something to eat while others die under the weight of their bloated indulgences. It is a grandiose vision of God’s kingdom, and perhaps in the “already-and-not-yet” spectrum of this vision, we feel like we are more on the side of “not-yet.” Still, the abundance of God’s kingdom is here already. We have it all around us. We are sinking in it.