Published in January 2022

Exactly one year ago, I started this piece with the following words “Many of us will remember 2020 with mixed emotions”. Looking back over the last 12 months, I think the same could be said for 2021. Across the globe, loved ones were lost and many faced a different kind of life.

As we start 2022, the outlook is again mixed, with some countries confronting COVID-19 head on with a heady mix of multiple vaccinations and natural immunity, others still trying to halt any further spread through continuous lockdowns and immunisation programmes and others, including some of the places where we work, where a well-resourced and accessible national vaccination programme is still some way away.

However, despite this mixed picture, my outlook for 2022 remains positive. This is because I have seen how communities (particularly those in drylands where we work) have adapted to this new COVID world and how organisations like Sand Dams Worldwide have been nimble, working hard and promptly to adapt to changing circumstances and help those in need.

"We will be using the year ahead to celebrate all that we have achieved so far and planning how we can use all the experience, knowledge, progress and support we’ve gathered since 2002 to expand on and improve our work in the years to come."

Last year, some of our sand dam projects on the ground were hampered due to the pandemic and subsequent local restrictions and closure of international borders. However, working remotely did provide us with the opportunity to test other methods of working and delivering programmes. In Ethiopia for example, we were able to identify suitable sites for sand dams using online tools and our trusted local in-country partners. This perseverance is now paying dividends as we are seeing real progress in the region with the first sand dams of the programme being recently completed; sure to benefit local community members with clean water in coming months and years.

We also used last year to continue to gather evidence on the effectiveness of sand dams. In a world in much need of more and conserved nature-based resources, if we are to persuade others to invest in sand dams, we must be able to demonstrate how they improve human health, the environment and how they can lift people out of poverty. Pages 14 and 15 of our annual report sets out some of the findings so far, and excitingly, the team are working hard on a new impact report which we hope will be ready to share later this year. This research and demonstration of impact will help us to continue to champion the importance of sand dams as a cost-effective water resource technology in 2022 and beyond.

So, I have reason to be optimistic.

2022 also marks the year Sand Dams Worldwide turns 20! In turn, we will be using the year ahead to celebrate all that we have achieved so far and planning how we can use all the experience, knowledge, progress and support we’ve gathered since 2002 to expand on and improve our work in the years to come.

More to come on that soon. But for now, I wish you a happy and safe start to the year. If you would like to donate towards our new sand dam appeal, please see here and below. And thank you for all your support of Sand Dams Worldwide, sand dams and our beneficiaries thus far.

Please donate what you can to support communities devastated by drought with sand dams and climate-smart agriculture