Mangazaka Public Wash
inauguration: November 7, 2025 🎉
Thanks to The Street Foundation and Bill WATTS for financing this project ❤️
📍Location: The village of Mangazaka,
Rural commune of Ambatomena,
District of Manjakadriana
Region of Analamanga
Objectives:
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To build two small concrete capture tank of 1.5 cubic metre and 2.5 cubic metre fed by two reliable natural springs, to supply clean water to a new public wash house.
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To drain the pond currently used for washing clothes and build in its place a raised, public wash house, roofed and semi-enclosed with eight basins, also supplied with water from the same concrete tank – for clothes washing and with an additional tap where the villagers can collect clean water.
Built by José RASOAMIARAMANANA's team.
PROJECT OUTLINE
Conditions in Mangazaka mirror those of many rural villages in Madagascar. Before MDF helped install a gravity-fed water system in 2018, the community had never had access to clean, safe drinking water or proper sanitation. Most families in this poor agricultural area live in harsh conditions, surviving through farming and cattle raising.
Collecting water has traditionally been the responsibility of women and girls — an exhausting and time-consuming task carried out several times a day. This burden limits the time women can devote to caring for their families or earning additional income, and it often prevents girls from attending school. To ensure proper management of the spring and water system, villagers are not allowed to use it for laundry. As a result, women and girls must rely on a roadside pond as their only nearby source of water for washing clothes.
Without a proper laundry facility, washing clothes becomes a draining and tedious task, especially during the rainy season, when the pond becomes flooded and contaminated. Women and girls often end up washing clothes in muddy rice-field water or in streams, exposing themselves and their families to waterborne diseases and skin infections. Reliable access to clean water for washing would help reduce these illnesses — particularly among small children and babies — while freeing women to engage in more productive activities and increasing family income. It would also relieve girls of the heavy burden of collecting water during the dry season, allowing them to stay in school.
In Mangazaka, the lack of clean water and basic infrastructure shaped daily life for generations. Women and girls spent much of their time walking long distances to fetch water and washing clothes in unsafe conditions, restricting their opportunities for education and personal development.
The water supply project completed by the Madagascar Development Fund (MDF) in 2018 marked a turning point. With access to clean water for the first time, public health improved significantly, productivity increased, and more girls were able to attend school. Yet the absence of a safe, dedicated laundry area meant that many women still had to use the muddy roadside pond.
To address this need, MDF has now built a modern public washing facility. The new infrastructure includes two concrete catchments with capacities of 1.5m³ and 2.5m³, approximately 700 meters of piping, and a covered, semi-open laundry area with eight washing basins and a clean-water tap. The project, costing a total of 30,388,750 Ariary, was co-funded by The Street Foundation and Mr. Bill Watts — long-standing partners working closely with MDF and local authorities.
For the people of Mangazaka, this new facility is far more than a construction project. It represents hope, dignity, and meaningful progress for women, families, and future generations.