When the rain no longer brings fear
Strengthening access to water and sanitation in Makululu, Zambia
For Mary, a mother and grandmother living in Makululu, an informal settlement in Zambia, the sound of rain once brought fear.
Her household of 12 relied on a crumbling toilet that threatened to collapse every rainy season.
Mary’s story is not unique.
Makululu, one of Zambia’s largest informal settlements in Kabwe District (Central Province Zambia) is home to an estimated 70,000 people. The community faces severe gaps in access to clean water and safe sanitation - making daily life difficult and exposing residents to diseases such as cholera.
Mary pictured in front of her new bathroom in Makululu, Zambia
Through a community-driven Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Habitat for Humanity Zambia, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity Germany, worked alongside residents and local government to improve access to essential services. More than 16,000 people now benefit from clean water and safe sanitation.
Community members were at the heart of the solution.
Residents helped plan and deliver the project, working alongside 40 trained local artisans to address critical WASH deficits in households, schools, and public spaces. WASH committees and Water Watch Groups were also established, and residents were trained in WASH social accountability, giving the community the knowledge and structures to protect and sustain what they built long after the project concluded.
Youth Volunteers at the Community Nursery Garden
The project delivered significant infrastructure across the settlement:
- 15 water kiosks, each equipped with a 10,000-litre overhead storage tank and connected to the Lukanga Water Supply and Sanitation Company’s reticulated water system.
- 80 pour-flush household toilets, providing improved sanitation for 481 people.
- Upgraded disability-inclusive sanitation blocks with integrated menstrual hygiene provisions in four schools.
- Community-wide hygiene behaviour change campaigns, reaching approximately 40,000 residents
- Trained 40 local artisans and established active WASH committees and Water Watch Groups
- Established one community nursery garden for waste recycling and income generation
For Mary, the impact was felt in the most personal way.
“Before, we feared the toilet would collapse when it rained.” she says. “Now we have a safe, dignified toilet with a bathroom. My family no longer depends on neighbours.”
The project also opened doors of opportunity by establishing a nursery garden for waste recycling and income generation, ensuring what was built in Makululu is sustained by the community for generations to come.