Water purification plan

On October 28, at a rural primary school in Yunnan Province, teachers and students joined volunteers from a corporate partner, staff from One Foundation, and an illustration artist to install a special new water purification system and take part in engaging water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) activities. The arrival of this “new friend” filled the campus with excitement—children and teachers alike no longer need to worry about safe drinking water.

This school is the 6,001st rural school supported by the One Foundation Clean Water Program.

Earlier this year, on April 16, One Foundation received a message reporting that several local schools were in urgent need of water purification equipment. During the rainy season, the drinking water at these schools often became heavily polluted and cloudy. After receiving the request, the Clean Water Program team promptly included the schools in its field assessment plan and soon conducted on-site visits to understand the real conditions.

The primary school is located in a remote karst mountainous area and serves more than 300 students, most of whom are Yao ethnic minority children from nearby villages. Water used for daily activities such as washing and cleaning comes from a storage reservoir built by the school. When project staff turned on the tap during their visit, murky water flowed out immediately. To ensure safer drinking water, the school previously relied on large containers to let water settle. During particularly turbid rainy periods, students’ families had to purchase bottled water at their own expense, while in the dry season the school depended on emergency water deliveries from local government departments.

The message to One Foundation was left by Principal Li, who oversees the township central school and its affiliated village schools. After learning about the Clean Water Program, he reached out to the foundation in hopes of improving drinking water conditions for teachers and students. To his surprise, the response came quickly.

In addition to this primary school, the Clean Water Program has now been implemented in more than 10 schools across the same county, providing water purification equipment along with engaging WASH education courses and campus activities. These efforts help children develop healthy drinking habits and good hygiene practices.

Zeng Ming, a staff member of the One Foundation Clean Water Program, shared:

“Every year, we receive many requests for support through different channels. Our team does its best to verify basic information and deliver limited donation resources to communities with the greatest needs. By continuously collecting feedback from actual use, we keep improving and upgrading the program to better serve children in rural areas.”

After learning about the filtration principles behind the purification system and the design journey of the children’s water cups, a “Healthy Companions” carnival-style activity was held on campus that afternoon. Guided by teachers and volunteers, students participated in eight interactive challenge games—including Germ Battle and Water Cycle Puzzle—learning essential water and hygiene knowledge through laughter and play. Some students eagerly demonstrated the “Seven Steps of Handwashing” while correcting each other, becoming little “health teachers” for their peers.

One volunteer reflected:

“The children explored with joy and lit up the entire event with their pure enthusiasm. In the process, seeds of caring for water resources and practicing healthy lifestyles were quietly planted in their hearts.”

At the beginning of 2025, a brand-new water purifier arrived at a project school in Jiangxi Province under the Water Purification Plan. Even before the machine was switched on, Director Shi already looked visibly relieved. Standing at the classroom door, watching workers adjust the equipment, he smiled and said, “This purifier has truly lifted such a heavy burden off my shoulders.”

Before the purifier, the school’s drinking water relied solely on him. Every evening, he boiled two large pots of water on a stove, cooled them, and then carried them bucket by bucket into thermal containers. To make sure the children could drink warm water the next day, he often stayed up past midnight—boiling, cooling, and hauling water. He had done this for years.

“To be honest, it wasn’t good for anyone,” he admitted. “The water wasn’t safe enough for the children, and for me, it was simply exhausting.”
But in rural schools with limited staff, drinking water safety had long been sustained by “doing a little more.”

Now with the new purifier installed, children drink more frequently, and Director Shi is finally free from the burden: “Don’t underestimate this small machine—it means I no longer stay up late at night, and I no longer worry about not having enough safe water.”

This cup of clean, safe water has lifted years of worry from teachers’ minds—and marks the beginning of healthier growth for children.

Four Rounds of Upgrades: Ensuring Clean Water Reaches Remote Mountains

The specially designed water purification equipment for rural schools has gone through four rounds of technological upgrades: from basic filtration, to child-friendly design, and now to smart IoT systems. Each upgrade came directly from real needs.

For example, after receiving a plea from a principal in Yunnan’s mountains, the project team drove for hours to visit schools deep in the highlands. They discovered that many relied on open-air pools to collect rainwater—leaving them dry on sunny days and muddy on rainy days. To improve such conditions, the project decided to install a new batch of IoT-enabled purifiers in these schools, along with child-friendly courses to help students truly access safe, clean water.

Delivering equipment is not the end, but the beginning. The real challenge lies in keeping clean water flowing—making sure the system runs reliably in distant mountains, accompanying children as they grow up.

A Complete Support System: Making Change Sustainable

Over the past 14 years, the One Foundation’s Water Purification Plan has not only delivered equipment but also built a full ecosystem:

End-to-end transportation and installation: ensuring devices reach remote schools on time

Three-year warranty and filter replacement: preventing “use it until it breaks” situations

Water quality monitoring: regularly testing for safety

Health education courses: teaching children how to spot contamination and wash hands

Volunteer training: empowering communities to maintain systems themselves

These solid safeguards ensure the project is far more than just “delivering a machine.” It’s about creating a sustainable, high-quality operation.

At one school, the project team tracked an unusual filter usage pattern. Working with the school and the local water company, they fixed issues in the municipal pipeline. From then on, the utility company scheduled weekly flushing, improving water quality for the entire area.

Clean water changes more than just a campus—it quietly drives improvements in the wider community’s water environment.

“Water Treasure Class”: When Drinking Becomes a Health Ritual

The project’s water and hygiene courses help children form habits through play. Fifth graders step into the role of “little teachers,” demonstrating the seven-step handwashing method, explaining how to spot bacteria in water, and encouraging peers: “Clean water is the best friend of your body.” At that moment, she was both a student and a guardian.

Drinking water is no longer taken for granted—it has become a health ritual.

Through the years of the project, the astonishment in children’s eyes when they first tasted filtered water, the focus of teachers checking water pressure and temperature—all these moments prove: the simplest details of daily life shape growth, day by day.