Water Charity is a 501(c)(3) that implements practical solutions to provide safe water, effective sanitation, and meaningful health education to those in need. Although Water Charity is relatively new as an organization, they have been “doing water projects” for well over 40 years. In a short time, they have risen to be one of the prominent global water charities.
To a large extent, Water Charity utilizes volunteer and reduced-cost human resources in order to multiply their impact. They take advantage of resources close to the project. This means that they make every effort to use local labor, local materials, and local equipment. They believe in applying their resources and capabilities the most effective way possible. If partnering with others will improve the effect they can have, they’ll pitch in on someone else’s projects, and welcome others to help them with theirs.
In June, Water Charity completed the Guatemala City Water Filter Project, designed to provide water filters to the families that work in the Guatemala City Garbage Dump. They worked in conjunction with Safe Passage, a nonprofit organization that does extensive work with this population. As part of its program, Safe Passage provides literacy training and health education to the mothers of the children enrolled in the program. It is through this Mothers Group that they implemented the filter project. Unclean water worldwide is responsible for illness and death due to intestinal illness. In Guatemala, it is one of the leading causes of death, with disproportionate impact on infants and children.
Although a water supply exists in the neighborhood surrounding the dump, it is contaminated with metals, bacteria, viruses and parasites. This population provided an outstanding application for low-cost water filter technology, as there were no other practical alternatives for safe potable water. Medical records for the time preceding the filter project are available for comparison with records now being gathered as to incidences of gastrointestinal disease after months of use of the filters. If the results of this pilot project prove out, it will be expanded and replicated.
Water Charity has completed many projects, of varying sizes and technologies, in South America, Central America, and Africa. While continuing with these larger projects, Water Charity recently started its Appropriate Projects initiative. In two months of operation, it has done 16 water and sanitation projects in 13 different countries. These include such diverse countries as Samoa, Dominican Republic, and The Gambia.
Every project is different. One site needed the last few pipes to complete the water system. Another needed two new wells at schools. A new pump was needed to get the water running for a third.
Each Appropriate Projects project, although small, is cost-effective and meets a critical need that must be addressed at once (in response to an emergency, before school starts, or before the rains come). Guidelines call for all projects to be completed in a month. Managed by Peace Corps Volunteers, projects are being finished on schedule and within budget.
Water Charity works on all levels in the water/sanitation field. Under a new initiative, called Engineer Request , Water Charity is working in conjunction with the Peace Corps on the design of complete water and sewage systems in Bashtanka, Ukraine, a city of 13,000, to replace those built during the Khrushchev era that are now failing. Using volunteer help from Engineers Without Borders and other organizations, the plans and specifications are being developed.
WC has just begun its first project within the U.S. borders, a water project to assist the members of the Navajo Nation, in northern Arizona. Currently, many people have to drive their pickup trucks, with tanks on the back, 20 miles to retrieve water for the family for the day. Water collection and storage facilities will not solve all of the problems, but will begin the process toward a permanent solution to aid the lives of those affected.
To find out more about this group, please visit their website.
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