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The very first time I worked with DelAgua, I had 2 children in school, and I managed to pay the school fees for those children. The second time I worked with DelAgua, I managed to buy a mattress for my children. They are now sleeping comfortably on a mattress.
The DelAgua Live Well programme was developed from the outset to transfer skills and develop talent.Â
The project is delivered by local community-based workers (CBWs), and they lie behind the success of the programme. For over fourteen years DelAgua has invested in recruiting and training hundreds of CBWs including many from the rural communities which DelAgua serves, providing them with work and creating opportunities for economic growth. In Sierra Leone, our Community-Based Workers are Youth Volunteers, young people recruited directly from the rural communities we serve. By investing in their training and development DelAgua is not only delivering life-changing stoves to families who need them most, but opening doors for the next generation. These are young people who might otherwise have had little access to meaningful work or skills development
Since 2012 DelAgua has worked with over ten thousand Community-based Workers.
They are trained to carry out the distributions and household visits and to use the specially designed DelAgua smartphone technology that is central to the effective distribution, household training, tracking and after-sales support programme.
Project management, logistics, database management, communication and leadership are all key skills being developed.
This is enabling DelAgua employees to thrive and contribute towards Rwanda, Sierra Leone and The Gambia becoming tech-enabled societies. The DelAgua team can adapt to any challenges that arise and successfully distribute hundreds of stoves to the rural communities who most need them.
The DelAgua stove also enables stove recipients to have more productive work.
The significant time saved through the reduction in time spent gathering wood and cooking plus the immediate financial saving for those households buying their fuel means that there is time for more productive employment and developing skills plus money to invest in entrepreneurial activities, agriculture and education.
In 2024 DelAgua commissioned a study to understand how CHWs in Rwanda experience improvements in their lives as a result of working for DelAgua.
Several key themes emerged, including improved income, with Community Health Workers (CHWs) reporting greater financial stability; enhanced employability and skills, reflected in significant gains in practical knowledge and confidence to apply their training – 98% of CHWs said these skills are useful in their day-to-day work; and stronger social interaction, with increased trust, visibility, and relationships within their communities.
Empowerment was also a major outcome, particularly for women and marginalized groups, who reported improved social standing, greater leadership opportunities, and increased influence. Notably, over 98% of female CHWs said that working with DelAgua has improved their employability, the usefulness of their skills in daily life, and their social interactions.
Working with DelAgua has brought me a lot of skills. The first one is I have learned how to use smartphones, which is something I think will help me keep working with improved technologies.
The project is funded by the sale of carbon credits. Help create more jobs, provide more life-changing stoves, offset your carbon footprint and buy carbon credits directly from DelAgua.
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