Running water is a luxury. Wherever it is introduced, living standards rise dramatically almost immediately. In recent years, AGAPE e.V. has installed piped water systems in many villages. Starting from a village well, pipes are laid along supply routes and platforms are installed at intervals of approximately 50 metres, where water can be drawn for washing, cleaning and drinking. Here we present just a small selection of our projects:

Piped water system in Sholop

In 2016, AGAPE e.V. installed a deep well at Sholop railway station to provide clean water for travellers and visitors to the nearby marketplaces, restaurants and mosque. On the recommendation and with the approval of AGAPE e.V., the surrounding market stalls took the initiative to lay pipes and now have running water. In return, the operating costs of the deep well and the pumping system are covered by the users. In February 2020, we were able to see just how much this running water has improved hygiene conditions in the shops. Thanks to the water pipe, kitchen utensils and hands can be cleaned better and more thoroughly than was previously possible with a hand-operated pump. The shopkeeper proudly shows us his water pipe, from which he draws water for drinking, washing up and cleaning. At the back of the shop, there is even a washbasin for washing hands.

Sholop has once again shown us how important a supply of clean water is. Thanks to the support of AGAPE e.V., the impact of your help is expanding, and we can see that our ‘help for self-help’ projects are working sustainably.

The yoghurt shop at the train station.

Connection of two primary schools in Dadpur to a water supply

In Dadpur, Heidelberg University tested the school wells and confirmed the suspicion that two of the three neighbouring schools had very high levels of arsenic. A pumping system had already been installed at one school to supply clean water. Since 2022, at the suggestion and with financial support from AGAPE e.V., a further tank has been installed on the school roof, which now supplies the other two schools with running, clean water via a pipeline. Everyone has access to clean, arsenic-free water via the pipework. And the children also have running water in the toilets to wash their hands.

According to current findings (2026), the deep well no longer supplies iron-free water, so we have also supported this water supply with a sand filter.

Water connection of two schools to deep wells in Boalia

• Since 2020, the deep well in Boalia’s market square has also been supplying water via pipes to the nearby primary and secondary schools, as well as the livestock market. During our recent site visit in 2026, the village leaders asked us whether a nearby madrasa could also be connected to the network. We agreed with the responsible villagers that they could extend the pipework themselves. The village will decide amongst themselves how to share the electricity costs. In our view, this is how ´helping people to help themselves´ works.

The deep well here was constructed by AGAPE e.V. in 2015. It is used very frequently by neighbouring households, the mosque and the nearby market stalls.

At the primary school in particular, the pipework has significantly improved the drinking water supply and hygiene conditions, as there is now clean running water. Previously, the children had to drink water from a well that was heavily contaminated with arsenic. A visibly significant improvement achieved with minimal effort.

Goaljani pipe system for hospital supply

• In Goaljani, our partner organisation AGAPE Bangladesh fitted the existing well with an electric pump and pipework in 2022. Located in the centre of the village, this well supplies water that is free of arsenic and iron. AGAPE takes regular water samples and has them tested for quality at Heidelberg University. This is important as a small nearby hospital is supplied with this water.

(Well in Goaljani)

(Hospital in Goaljani)