Faith groups are involved in at least 50% of schools worldwide and up to 
70% in some countries. That's why we work with all faiths to provide 
cleaner water, better sanitation and improved hygiene – transforming 
children's lives and creating widespread community impact. 

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More than 100 people attended our conference on Dignity for Girls in Kampala, Uganda

We held a very lively and exciting 'Lessons learned' conference for our Dignity for Girls programme in Kampala, attended by more than 100 Anglican, Catholic and Muslim faith leaders, education chiefs and head teachers from across Uganda.

The overwhelming consensus was that D4G had been extremely successful in engaging faith communities on the issues faced by girls in managing their periods with confidence and dignity. 

​The conference heard that the D4G programme had:
  • reached 24,626 people with awareness raising or training (more than three times the original target of 7,232)
  • benefited 9,389 pupils with improved latrines, washing and water facilities
  • trained 1,360 girls on menstrual hygiene management (MHM) and provided them with reusable sanitary pads, knickers and soap
  • trained 708 parents on MHM
  • trained 350 faith leaders on MHM
  • trained 221 teachers on MHM and provided them with teaching resources.
Read more about the D4G programme below.
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Above: Images from our 'Lessons learned' Dignity for Girls conference in Kampala, Uganda

We're celebrating the success of our Dignity for Girls programme helping girls stay in school in Uganda. We've reached more than 24,600 people so far! 

Christians and Muslims in Uganda are helping to break the silence on menstruation and remove stigma and shame through the first project to work with faith communities in this way.

Our Dignity for Girls programme has reached more than 24,600 people in Uganda with awareness raising on menstrual hygiene management (MHM) – three times our original target of 7,232 people.
'I learned how a girl can manage her menstruation... And they told us that menstruation is not a disease but is normal and natural for everyone. I feel so good! At this time I feel so good!' 
– Asima Evers, aged 14, Kitoba Primary School, Hoima District, Western Uganda
The Dignity for Girls programme works with three major faith groups: the Catholic Church, Church of Uganda and Uganda Muslim Supreme Council.

The aim is to keep more girls in education by helping them manage their periods more confidently, and to work with the wider faith communities to reduce the stigma and shame so many girls feel.

We've established 24 Catholic, Anglican and Muslim schools as centres of excellence in MHM. This includes training girls, parents, teachers and faith leaders, plus improving school WASH facilities. For example, we repaired latrines and  gutters,  built hand washing facilities and girls' changing
rooms and constructed ten brick rainwater harvesting tanks.

Mid-term evaluation shows that 96.64% of girls who have started their periods report being 'very' (87.22%) or 'a little' (9.42%) confident about managing their menstruation.

​Meanwhile, 99.01% of women and 88.16% of men taking part in awareness raising activities say they have a more positive attitude towards menstruation as a result.

The main Dignity for Girls programme involving 18 schools is funded by UK Aid Direct; the remaining six schools are funded by Joffe Charitable Trust.
Faith in Water works with all the major faiths to inspire them
to give greater priority to water, sanitation and hygiene issues
in their schools and communities. We also ​help to build powerful
partnerships between secular and faith groups.

The crisis

Diseases caused by contaminated water and poor sanitation kill children and blight lives. Around one in ten people lack clean, safe drinking water and one in three don't have adequate sanitation, causing people to become trapped in poverty and illness.

Why work with faiths?

Faith groups are the biggest organised element of civil society and often the most trusted and influential. They have massive outreach through youth groups, Sunday schools and madrassas, and they play a major role in education.

What we do

Faith in Water grew out of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), which was founded in 1995 to help the world's major faiths develop environmental programmes based on their beliefs.

Our faith partners told us that water and sanitation problems were the biggest environmental, social and health issues in their schools. ​Given that faiths play such a big role in education worldwide, and that water and cleanliness have spiritual significance in many religions, we realised that working specifically with faith schools could have a significant impact.

Faith in Water has a long experience of engaging faith communities. We also understand how secular groups work and what they need. By building closer relationships between faith and secular organisations, we aim to help each group to work more effectively with each other – for the benefit of people, nature and the planet. 
'The biggest change to many of the activities 
we are doing is hope. So many people have 
lost hope. We have to change this and show 
that tomorrow will be better than today.'

Muguluma Hamed, chair, Uganda Faiths Network 
on Environment Action (UFNEA) 


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The church can do more for a struggling African village than any other organisation because it is with the people all of the time. Organisations come and visit, but the church is here not only 
on Sunday, but every day of the week.’

Pastor Harry, Fombe village church, Malawi
(as told to Tearfund)​

Support us!
Please help us transform lives by bringing clean water, safe sanitation and good hygiene to some of the world's poorest communities? Support us with a one-time donation or a regular payment. Click on the PayPal button on the right to be ​taken to a secure online donation page. Thank you!
Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours. 

​St Teresa of Avila
Image credits, from top, left to right: Zata school well, Ethiopia, by Gary Edenfield. Lively girls by Susie Weldon, Faith in Water. Kenyan child, by Mary Bellekom, ARC;  Children at Vrindavan, by Victoria Finlay, ARC; Kenyan smile, by Brad Ruggles.