Water For Everyone – an initiative of Water Charity

Clean water is essential for the health, safety, education, and well-being of a population, especially the children. The problem in ensuring the availability of clean, safe water is the ability to find and identify communities in need and then bring the necessary resources together to implement the needed services.

Water Charity participated in a consortium of NGOs to bring water to every person in Liberia by the end of 2020.  We are proud to say that this effort has been completed.  Despite a raging worldwide pandemic, a ragtag group of small nonprofits managed to do the entire nation of Liberia, border-to–border. 

A component that allowed for the completion of this project was a countrywide GIS map of all cities and villages and water sources.  Using this map, we were able to match work projects with implementing partners to complete the water improvements.

This work in Liberia affected us, and we understood that a new model for development work was needed… and we decided to help spread it.  In 2019, we undertook the role of the lead organization to implement similar programs to bring water to everyone in more countries.

Data collection and management especially about functionality of water and sanitation facilities countrywide is a big challenge. GIS mapping and mobile data inventory of all WASH facilities (functional and non-functional) is a new approach to solving the problem of sustainable water and sanitation facilities. 

Using GIS mapping and mobile data collection tools can eliminate constraints encountered in monitoring WASH facilities, ease data collection and allow updating.  This can then facilitate timely and accurate analysis and project planning and recruitment of the needed resources. 

The purpose of GIS mapping and mobile data collection therefore is to collect data with Geo Codes for each village and create digital maps of all WASH facilities and communities in the country. This will improve the efficiency of data collection and overall quality and accuracy of data collected in the field leading to better targeted projects and improvements.

In 2021, we received a contract from the African Development Bank and the Gambia Ministry of Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters to undertake the development of a WASH map and web-based monitoring and evaluation system for The Gambia. 

This work will provide a detailed open-source database under the control of the Gambia Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources that can be used for learning and adaptive planning of WASH projects for the country to bring Water for Everyone.  This is a wonderful opportunity for us at Water Charity to take the lead on such an ambitious and forward-looking project.

Our Water for Everyone Initiative adds countries where we and/or our implementing partners undertake the work necessary to develop such a comprehensive WASH map, identifying the needed projects to ensure everyone has access to safe water. 

Please take a look at the countries where the WASH mapping is complete and consider sponsoring the project opportunities for each country that will move us forward to ensuring Water for Everyone (WFE).

As incredible as it seems, the WFE model is, in this moment, setting the pace for what a nonprofit intervention can look like.  We use GIS Data Mapping to record the nationwide assessments, and have accurate and data-rich maps showing every well in whole countries that allow updating in real-time.

Once the actual water needs are known and quantified, we can set about to do all the necessary well repairs, filter installations and new boreholes in a cohesive manner.  We can do the work far more efficiently than at any time in the past.  Water Charity has a long history of helping villages going back 15 years.  But this methodology is really the future for building sustainable water improvements.  Please visit the country pages below and see the projects that currently need funding.

How we work and fund projects:

We use our country WASH map to prioritize projects.  We work with local people to affect the needed work to complete the project.  With our training and supervision, we empower local individuals and Community Water Committees to take responsibility not only for the project, but for the sustainability of the water resource.  We often prefund projects to meet an immediate need for water in a community.  In this way we can get life saving water to the community quickly while raising the funding for the project already underway.  You can sponsor one project or several projects.  In this way you know exactly where and how your money is being spent.  We have one of the lowest administration and overhead rates of any nonprofit organization because we work directly with the people in the communities and connect them to donors.  Please look at the projects and consider a donation.

Current Countries with completed WASH Mapping and projects to fund:

• The Gambia
• Togo
• The Republic of the Marshall Islands

Conclusion
We have undertaken the extraordinary mission toward ensuring access to water for everyone. However, we cannot do it by ourselves. If this work is of importance to you, please contact us and tell us how you would like to help.  First and foremost, we need Donations to implement the Projects. However, we also need assistance from those who currently work, or previously have worked, in the countries where we are executing projects. We need implementing partners and contacts with businesses and governmental entities at all levels. Finally, we ask for your help in spreading the word about this amazing endeavor through all of your communications channels.

Our Work in Liberia
Read the latest about the Water for Everyone Program-Liberia. Our most recent work is in the districts of Todee and Careysburg of Montserrado County.

Our past participation in the Liberia effort is summarized on these pages:

Rivercess Well Repair Program – Liberia

Sinoe Well Repair Program – Liberia

Grand Cape Mount Well Repair & Filters Program – Liberia

Current Countries with completed WASH Mapping

Liberia

The Gambia

Togo

The Marshall Islands

Klamath

We have undertaken an extraordinary mission toward ensuring access to water for everyone. However, we cannot do it by ourselves. If this work is of importance to you, please contact us and tell us how you would like to help.

First and foremost, we need Donations to implement the Projects. However, we also need assistance from those who currently work, or previously have worked, in the countries where we are executing projects. We need implementing partners and contacts with businesses and governmental entities at all levels. Finally, we ask for your help in spreading the word about this amazing endeavor through all of your communications channels.

CLICK HERE to see our article in the Fall 2019 issue of WorldView, the quarterly magazine of the National Peace Corps Association outlining our progress with the assessment in The Gambia.