Plan's approach to water and environmental sanitation

Safe water and environmental sanitation (WES) services such as solid and liquid waste facilities, vector and pest control as well as food hygiene, are vital for ensuring the healthy development and dignity of children. The lack of such facilities is responsible for over 2,000,000 child deaths each year.

This working paper aims to position Plan’s approach to WES within the context of the broader international development goals and within Plan’s own commitment to Child Centred Community Development (CCCD). It looks at the main challenges linked to WES and details the ways in which Plan staff can put our approach into practice.

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Before and after: A snapshot of life in Bangladesh

Picture this: Living in a remote community in northern Bangladesh where 44% of the population earns less than a $1 per day. The literacy rate is low – 42% to be exact. 29% of students complete the fifth grade and only 7% of the children that make it to secondary school are girls.

Now imagine this: As a pregnant woman in that same community, you live too far away to seek adequate care during labour. Your newborn’s chance of survival is slim, but your life is at risk, too. If your baby survives childbirth, keeping it healthy is a challenge. If your child is born a girl, keeping her safe from child marriage is even more difficult. 90% of girls in this community marry before age 18.

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A Journey to School: Faridah's Story

Faridah is a 17-year-old girl living in Pakistan. At the age of 12, she was forced to drop out of school. By the age of 15, she was married to a much older man.

Despite these circumstances, Faridah has been determined to receive an education. As a student at one of Plan’s Non Formal Education (NFE) Centers, Faridah is attending class, despite the backlash that she has received from her family.

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A Journey to School: Balancing School and Work

Twelve-year-old Maria has to juggle her schoolwork with supporting her family.

“My mother is sick and our father abandoned us while I was still inside my mother's womb, so every morning I wake up at 4 a.m. to take some goods to the nearby market. I sell these things even before I get to school, as the money I earn is used to buy food for my family.”

Maria puts her needs after those of her mother and her siblings. As a result, she often attends school without eating breakfast and does not have a proper school uniform.

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Case study: Harvesting rainwater in Nepal

Families from Damgade in Makwanpur, Nepal, used to be afraid of the dry months from February to May, when they were forced to travel long distances each day to access drinking water – but not anymore.

With support, community members formed a user committee to raise funds, manpower and oversee the construction of household water tanks throughout Damgade.

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A Journey to School: Maryuri's Story

Maryuri’s father was afraid that she would meet a boy at school, become pregnant, and drop out. Instead of discussing his fears with his daughter, he demanded that she drop out of school.


“My dad did not want me to go to school because several students age 13 and 14 had got married, fallen pregnant, and left school,” Maryuri says. “He believed I would do the same.”

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Amira: I wandered lonely as a cloud

Just 2 years ago, Amira could not read or write. Now watch as she confidently reads aloud Wordsworth's poem 'Daffodils'.

Amira is one of 11,000 girls across Pakistan who are benefiting from Plan's non-formal education centres. The centres work to fast-track girls who are out of education to grade 10 level, so they can get a school leaving certificate and follow their dreams.

Globally, 1 in 5 girls is out of school because of poverty, violence and discrimination.

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