Gates Foundation: Innovation and the waterless toilet
Eco-sanitation, the main focus of our work at Wherever the Need, is being researched by the Bill Gates Foundation..... Scientists working for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are researching the many different ways human waste can be put to good use — such as powering electrical current with human excrement, ...
Private sector has potential to aid development, but beware the pitfalls
The Department for International Development (DFiD) wants to focus on the private sector but it must look closely at the risks. The private sector is not accountable to the public in the way the public sector is. Sanitation and water systems are often not available for the poorest people – ...
Time to acknowledge the dirty truth behind community-led sanitation
On a day when we heard directly from a mother in Tamil Nadu, India, how her child had been killed by a group of men while she was open-defecating in a field, brings to stark focus the need for sustainable, secure sanitation. Encouragement not by threats and humiliation, but through ...
Donor aversion to ‘unsexy’ water projects threatens development goal
"More than 1 billion people will not get the basic sanitation and the clean water promised as such projects shrink sharply as a proportion of global aid budgets. A key development goal to halve the number of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015 will be missed by a long ...
Ecosan toilets for 2,000 people in India
In November 2010, we held a large fundraising event which raised £40,000, enabling us to build individual ecosan (composting) toilets for 2,000 people in the village of Kanur, Tamil Nadu, India.
Fiona Bruce narrates our new film
Well known BBC newsreader and presenter Fiona Bruce is the voice-over for our latest film, "Independence, not Dependence". The video gives an introduction to who we are, what we do and why we do it. We believe in creating the conditions to allow people to become empowered and independent in ...
A mile (or 20) in their shoes
It's not every 10 year old girl that will go to great lengths to help those less fortunate, but Ami Northam is determined to make a difference in others' lives. Driven by a desire to help school children of her own age in Africa, Ami is taking on the challenging task ...
WTN co-founder #6 in Independent’s Happy List
Wherever the Need co-founder Andy Barrs (pictured left) made it to #6 in the Independent's 'Happy List' this year - a fantastic achievement which we are all proud of. The 'Happy List' is produced annually in contrast to the well-known Sunday Times Rich List, naming 100 "outstanding examples of people who ...
Cleaning Delhi through Facebook
"When 22-year-old Piyush Goyal posted his complaint of garbage spilling over from the dump in his area, on the Facebook page of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), little had he expected the civic agency to take action within 24 hours. But it did, pleasantly surprising Goyal. MCD launched its Facebook ...
A film of our work in Sierra Leone
During a visit to our Sierra Leone projects this month, our CEO David Crosweller was asked to film a few short clips explaining our project work there. This short video is the outcome!
