Sustainable Communities Wayru

Changemaker: Catherine Romani

Country of implementation: Peru

In Peru, access to water networks is a privilege for most people, but for families living in human settlements, it is an unattainable dream, and having a good quality of life even more so. There are around 2.5 million Peruvians without access to potable water networks, and it is estimated that by 2030, more than half of Peruvians will face water scarcity. To change this complex scenario and improve the quality of life of families in Lima's human settlements, Catherine and her partners decided to implement the Sustainable Communities project to provide knowledge and practical tools applied in their daily lives, through educational workshops for children and young people in public schools and mothers in common pots. The Sustainable Communities educational workshops were implemented in March 2025 in human settlements in Lima. 

Knowledge was provided on two thematic areas:

-Water: to educate about storage and disposal, efficient use, and recycling of water 

-Health and Hygiene: to educate children and adults.

Both thematic areas were adapted to the audiences and geographic contexts of each one. These workshops were composed of knowledge, dynamics, explanation of practical tools, and discussion spaces with the objective of ensuring the participation of all attendees and the retention of information. Sustainable Communities trained 200 people in March 2025, where 50 were mothers from common pots and 150 were children and young people from public schools. This action did not stop there because the contents of Sustainable Communities workshops were replicated and adjusted for another 10 new human settlements during 2025, and it is estimated that it will continue to increase, thanks to Wayru Peru's network of allies. For more information visit: https://wayruperu.com/