Without having to buy new pumps or dig new wells, broken pumps have been repaired and maintained, and seven villages now have clean drinking water.

UN and Unesco warn that water “scarcity is becoming endemic”. Access to clean drinking water is a basic human right and the focus of aid.

When we saw many of the village pumps provided by this aid were broken, we wondered if teaching people to maintain them might be a better solution than replacing them.

Our enquiries led us to a woman who operated a well oiled water pump, and we asked her to train the rest of the communities to keep theirs in good working condition.

Supporting people to manage their resources sustainably with whatever help we can provide beyond supplying money is proving to be very effective altruism.