Project WISE

What if we could level the playing field for children living in urban poverty, starting at school water fountains?

With Phase I of Project WISE, our goal was to reach 100% of government schools in select major growth cities. Project WISE brings 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 reaches large concentrations of underserved young people, typically living in the poorest urban communities.

We believe we have built a WASH in Schools model that can be effectively replicated beyond the initial two target cities and countries.

In Phase II of Project WISE, we will reach millions of children by 2030, proving sustainable and citywide school WASH coverage is possible, cost-effective, durable, impactful, and scalable. Read more about our strategy (PDF).

A project at this scale is groundbreaking for the WASH sector. While most international development work is conducted at a limited, pilot project level, this approach rarely leads to systemic change. For the first time, all government schools in the cities where we work will have clean drinking water, handwashing stations, behavior change programs, and child-friendly toilets that are cost-effective and sustainable. The impact is healthier students and improved school attendance, especially for girls.

To ensure buy-in, we require that governments fund a significant proportion of the upfront project costs. For example, the Addis Ababa municipal government committed $8 million for improving school sanitation through Project WISE. We also work closely with schools and government stakeholders — across bureaus of health, education, construction, and finance — to coordinate implementation of our work while ensuring the allocation of funding to maintain WASH infrastructure and continue behavior change programs.

Splash is improving WASH infrastructure in schools to create the enabling environment for healthy behaviors. We install water filtration systems, water storage, and Splash’s patent-protected drinking and handwashing stations. We refurbish or construct new toilets to ensure they meet global standards for safety, privacy, cleanliness, and accessibility.

Splash implements a multi-faceted behavior change program to encourage children to adopt hygienic practices, like handwashing with soap, and to encourage adults to sustain the program. We engage school leaders, parents, teachers, janitors, and student hygiene clubs to promote healthy WASH behaviors school-wide.

Splash strengthens school-based menstrual health services by improving infrastructure and providing targeted education. We ensure toilets are girl-friendly and deliver education sessions on puberty and menstruation for all children over 10 years of age. By engaging all students, we reduce the stigma around menstruation.