Washing your hands may seem like a small thing to you, but for others it’s the difference between life and death.

Here’s James with his wife and grandson. His family had never practiced hand washing until recently, because they didn’t know about how important it was, and they didn’t have the facilities either.

Our Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Project has been educating communities about the importance of handwashing, as well as providing them with clean water.

The ‘tippy tap’ is a simple solution, which enables families to construct a handwashing facility at their home from a few sticks, some string and a bottle.

The most common illnesses taking the lives of children in Malawi are preventable. Waterborne infections like cholera and diarrhoea can be greatly reduced by simply drinking clean water and hand washing. These basics are unfortunately still out of reach for many families.

Since James’ family and others in the area have started drinking water and are practicing good hygiene, trips to the health clinic (which is a 6 hour walk away) have reduced dramatically, and so have cases of child mortality.