This fourth episode of Waterproof is all about breaking the Build-Neglect-Repair Cycle. As we have called it: Build. Neglect. Repair. Repeat.

With the best intentions, countries from the global north often spend a bundle of money building something that people in developing countries need, or that the donor thinks they need. Then the locals can’t maintain it, or can’t afford to, or they don’t know how. It falls apart, and the donor either has to come back to repair it – or doesn’t come back at all. It’s a vicious circle. 

Listen to the podcast to hear what I learned in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Indonesia and the southern Indian metropolis of Chennai. This photo from Chennai, formelry known as Madras, shows what is possible. In the Little Flower Convent, a school for deaf children, the courtyard has been transformed into a lush garden which also processes the school’s wastewater. Inspiring!