Project name: Water for Life (Yangon), Myanmar
Host partner: Mingalar Myanmar
Singapore partners: Keppel Land and Singapore Red Cross
Duration: 2013 - 2016
Outcomes: The project brought together Myanmar- and Singapore-based organisations and individuals to bring clean water to over 7,000 villagers in the townships of Kaw Hmu and Kungyangon. Over the course of three years, 36 tube wells were installed in 36 villages by 132 Singapore International Volunteers. Community education programmes on basic hygiene were also conducted for villagers, and five rural health centres and two district hospitals were refurbished. Medical equipment was also donated to two township hospitals, two station hospitals and two rural health centres, allowing healthcare workers to perform their work more efficiently. In total, we impacted the lives of 22,000 villagers. Over 95 per cent of the village heads and villagers reported a significant reduction in water-borne diseases cases, and SIF hygiene posters were widely used by villagers to reference best practices. Teachers also reported that students who had attended our hygiene classes became so committed to good hygiene practices that they constantly reminded their teachers to wash their hands.