According to Water.org, Africa has over 345 million people without access to water. The same source says that women across the globe spend a cumulative 200 million hours a day collecting water. Even in developed countries, there are still 10 million people without access to water. These numbers illustrate the seriousness of the problem that water is a valuable and essential element of life, and there are still many parts of the world that cannot access clean, safe water.
However, where there are human problems and human suffering, there is human ingenuity and compassion. This is why it is unsurprising that many organizations, and the people guiding them, have made it their life’s work to help the world’s struggling populations find and establish clean sources of water. This article aims to feature a handful of these organizations that focus on bringing water to the people who need it most.
Charity: Water
This non-profit organization works to help the populations of developing countries get clean drinking water by building local wells from nearby water sources. It was founded in 2006 and has already benefited over 2.5 million people. The organization raised over $40 million as of January of last year and used that money to fund 6,611 projects that took place in 20 countries.
It has taken donations from over 50,000 individuals, so it feels a great responsibility to use the money it solicits as efficiently as possible. It promises to use all public donations to purely fund water projects, as most private donors and sponsors cover the organization’soperating costs. It tries to keep these costs low with only twenty full-time employees and ten interns at its New York City based offices. However, the charity does heavily rely on its more than 800 dedicated volunteers.
The Bayat Foundation
Also founded in 2006, the Bayat Foundation was created by Ehsan Bayat and Mrs. Fatema Laya Bayat to provide aid to families in need in Afghanistan. The foundation focuses on multiple core programs that include well digging operations to provide clean drinking water for communities. In fact, a visit to the organization’s website will reveal the joyful news that most recently two new wells were successfully built in Kabul.
TheBayat Foundation also provides entrepreneurship grants to smart women in Afghanistan, sponsors the basic needs of struggling families such as blankets, food, and medical care, provides emergency relief in the aftermath of events like flood or avalanche, and builds schools and orphanages.
The Clean Water Foundation
In addition to building wells and providing clean drinking water to those who need it, Canadian non-profit The Clean Water Foundation also funds research and awareness campaigns that benefit the world’s water supply.
One of its most recent campaigns is called A Prescription for Clean Water. This is a campaign against the improper disposal of pharmaceuticals. Throwing such materials in the garbage or flushing them down the toilet actually presents a serious hazard to human health when it enters our water supply. The foundation seeks to bring awareness to people about their role in the issue and how they can help.
