The Water Project began in 2006 in Canada in response to the growing water crisis plaguing the country of Kenya. The non-profit organization (NGO) has since expanded its network of donors and is now able to deliver life-sustaining resource assistance to many countries in Africa, as well as expand their efforts in India.
While The Water Project embraces a broad vision for long-term sustainability and coalition building, their primary goal is to get water to the people by digging wells. They are very effective in establishing funds and mobilizing people within communities to get wells up and running that serve tens of thousands.
The organization is active in Kenya, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Uganda and various locations in India. Projects completed recently are wells at a Rwandan girls’ school that serves 450 people, a Rwandan college that serves 635 people, among many others. This “Wells for Schools” program has the added benefit of providing a path for community members to teach children the importance of clean water to health and the dangers of water-borne illnesses.
In a unique turn among NGOs, The Water Project keeps donors and the public informed about their progress with meticulous record-keeping and a transparent philosophy wherein they admit that sometimes projects do not go as planned. They do this by providing all donors with a tracking link to projects their donations are funding that documents progress – and delays – for all of their work using GPS coordinates and real-time photos.
The organization has helped to bring clean, sustainable water wells to more than 125,000 people through completion of more than 250 projects since its inception. As awareness to the growing global water crisis rises, The Water Project hopes to bring water to all of those who are thirsty through a shared sense of community and commitment.