Most Australians turn on a tap for running water, or use a toilet several times a day, without even thinking about it. Today, 1 in 9 people lack access to safe water, and 1 in 3 people lack access to a toilet. More people have a mobile phone than a toilet. Live & Learn implements water, sanitation and hygiene activities that focus on sustainability, scale, gender equality and social inclusion.

We combine locally contextualised water and sanitation system designs with a rights-based approach so that marginalised communities and individuals are able to use their own skills and resources... The Sustainable Development Goals include target 6 to ensure that by 2030 everyone has access to clean water, and a safely-managed household toilet, as well as protecting water resources and water-related ecosystems. Water, sanitation and hygiene is essential for eradicating extreme poverty. We implement projects that specifically improve access to safe sanitation, promote positive hygiene behaviour change, protect the local environment, and help people recover water and sanitation services quickly after disasters.

Live & Learn uses contextualised community-led total sanitation with sanitation marketing so that vulnerable households have access to durable and desirable sanitation goods and services. We also adopt human-centred, social marketing techniques to address the motivators for hygiene behaviour change and menstrual hygiene management. Government partnership is a foundation of our WASH approach, enabling programs to work at scale and build long-term sustainability. Programs start by aligning with national WASH policies, then building engagement with the right government agencies.

In informal urban communities in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu Live & Learn is working with motivated people to set up small enterprises that sell affordable toilets to families. In flood-prone and floating communities in Cambodia we work with Engineers without Borders to produce floating bio-digesters to manage toilet waste. In Solomon Islands we work with communities on community-based water security and safety planning.

We have helped thousands of school children get more benefit from school through access to hand-washing facilities and safe toilets. Many of these children are now exercising their creativity with the help of our Arts for Advocacy resource, which supports student-led Clubs to advocate for the importance of safe water and sanitation in their schools. In Vanuatu, Kiribati and Fiji you will find Live & Learn publications being used by teachers and students, as we work closely with government education departments to strengthen curriculum materials and teaching practice.