On mountains of sand, between the unpaved streets with wooden houses that stretch as far as the eye can see, the inhabitants of the Ventanilla district look down on the rest of the city of Callao – a rich city, the gateway to Peru by sea and air. Up there, in one of the most disjointed, polluted areas in the country, things are different.

Still, there is also room for color there. Yellow, green, and blue walls dot Ventanilla’s dusty face. The schools, with their colorful murals and soccer fields with endless matches, add the background noise. The energy of so many of its inhabitants permeates everything. But they get a hard dose of reality with such common actions as turning on the faucet.

In Ventanilla, most of the schools and many homes don’t have continuous access to running water. Maintaining cleanliness and hygiene is tricky in these circumstances. There, just flushing can’t be taken for granted; neither can drinking clean water.

In 2017, along with the NGO “Plan International,” Ferrovial carried out a project to improve conditions for accessing water and sanitation in Ventanilla. The company’s engineers built one underground tank and another overhead. They also improved toilets and sinks, as well as services for reusing water.

In particular, the program made it possible to build and renovate the sanitary facilities of six schools and 100 homes; provide access to drinking water for over 7,500 people; and improve sanitary conditions in the district.

Now, when the bell rings and children let the soccer fields go quiet, when it’s time to cool off and drink some water before continuing to learn, the taps at six schools in Ventanilla flow with a stream of clean water.