The mission of Water Charity is to implement practical solutions to provide safe water, effective sanitation, and meaningful health education to those in need.
Biosand Filter Project – Haiti
Water Charity is participating in a program to deliver biosand filters to the people of Haiti. A relief effort was begun shortly after the devastating earthquake and is continuing in the aftermath. It will be expanded as quickly as possible to provide safe water to the population over the longer term.
The biosand filters being used for the project are HydrAid BioSand Filters, manufactured in Michigan. The project includes technology, research, installation, education, maintenance, quality assurance and support through a global network of partners.
The HydrAid system is founded on proven biosand water filter technology that has been effectively used around the world for decades. When properly implemented, it filters out 99.9% of the parasites, bacteria, and viruses from dirty water. It is effective in the control of diarrhea, one of the most deadly waterborne diseases, which is estimated to cause 1.5 million child deaths per year.
The biosand filter utilizes specified layers of gravel and sand of specific grades and sizes. In addition, it is topped by a biological layer which assists in the purification process.
The biosand filter is easy to install, delivers high volumes, requires little maintenance, and produces clean water for up to 10 years.
Water Charity began evaluating and using the technology in specific long-term applications, starting in 2008. When the earthquake struck in Haiti, it became evident that HydrAid filters would be the ideal tool for immediate use in the relief effort, especially in light of the close proximity of Haiti to the US mainland.
Various agencies and organizations came together to develop a plan to produce, deliver, and install HydrAid filters in Haiti. The original HydrAid design was enhanced for disaster relief with additional disinfection technology by Amway engineers. The procedure called for treatment of the water, first with chlorine, and then additional filtration through a carbon filter. An important addition was the inclusion of a receptacle for storing the clean water. The additional disinfection serves a number of purposes, including further reduction of pathogens, elimination of the waiting period before the filter can be used, and reduction of the possibility of re-contamination of the treated water.
Amway teamed up with the Safe Water Team, a West Michigan nonprofit organization, Thirsting to Serve, a Michigan Rotary group, and Triple Quest, a Joint Venture of Cascade Engineering and Windquest Group, to supply HydrAid filter systems to Haitian schools, clinics, and other earthquake victims.
The delivery process got underway when a truckload of 22 skids of HydrAid filters, complete with filter sand, was shipped to Jacksonville, Florida. The U.S. Navy then transported the filters to Haiti. The NGO Pure Water for the World is handling the distribution and installation in Haiti.
Your donation towards this project will be used in its entirety for the purchase of the filters, the ground transportation, and the installation of the filters in Haiti.
Flash: Every dollar you donate will be matched by Six Senses Resorts & Spas!
Emergency Water Filtration Project – Haiti
Water Charity has started a project to deliver water filters to Haiti at once. Under the direction of Ryan Sinclair, Dr.P.H, filters are being set up in and near Port-au-Prince to dispense safe water immediately.
The Center for Public Health Preparedness at Loma Linda University has sent a team to assess the needs and deliver emergency relief to the people of Haiti. Dr. Sinclair, Assistant Professor at the Loma Linda School of Public Health, and an expert in water and sanitation, is accompanying the team.
We purchased commercially-available filters and chlorine, and gave them to Dr. Sinclair to take with him.
Urgent and difficult problems demand simple solutions. Using this direct method, we are able to help deliver life-saving filters precisely where they are needed, NOW.
Your donation is urgently requested for this project. 100% of your donation will go to purchase water filters, which are being deployed now. If you are looking for a vehicle to make a donation to the relief effort in Haiti, you will not find a more direct and cost-efficient way to contribute.
Flash: Every dollar you donate will be matched by Six Senses Resorts & Spas!
Safe Water for Rural Communities NOW! – Haiti
Water Charity has embarked on a project to immediately establish a system to disseminate safe water to rural communities impacted by the earthquake in Haiti. We are undertaking this in partnership with Deep Springs International (DSI), an NGO that has been working for three years to provide for potable water in rural areas of Haiti.
The immediate response has been to scale up production of chlorine and provide chlorine and buckets to families in the areas surrounding Port-au-Prince, the city most affected by the devastation.
In the longer term, it is anticipated that rural areas will experience an influx of refugees from the destruction of Port-au-Prince and overwhelm current rural water supplies. Increasing the capacity for household water treatment in rural Haiti will provide clean drinking water to the refugee population and the existing population.
In a crisis situation, simple solutions which are easy to implement at once are called for. Teams on the ground will provide safe storage systems (a bucket with tap and lid), chlorine supply, and training to affected, rural families and communities.
The chlorine solution that is used is that recommended by the Center for Disease Control. The simple water treatment system allows families to obtain water from any source, add one capful of chlorine solution to 5 gallons of water, wait 30 minutes, and then drink safe water. Experience shows that even the poorest families can treat their own water regularly with this system.
Sources for chlorine generators, buckets, taps, and chlorine tablets and granules have been established. Emergency response personnel will visit affected rural communities, identify community health workers who can assist with the distribution, and train technicians to implement and teach the processes and ensure compliance.
Your donation is urgently requested to assist us in this endeavor. Please click on the Donate button below. 100% of your contribution will immediately go directly toward work on the ground in this emergency relief effort.
Flash: Every dollar you donate will be matched by Six Senses Resorts & Spas!
Introducing the Appropriate Projects Initiative
In July, 2009, Water Charity kicked off an innovative new initiative called Appropriate
Projects to enable instant deployment of resources to do small but critical water and sanitation projects. In its first months of operation, projects have been implemented in various locations around the world. (See the right column on this page for a current listing.)
While continuing with our successful model of developing and carrying out projects of all sizes, we realize that there is a great need to do some projects without delay. Appropriate Projects cuts the process down to its bare bones.
Every project under the new
initiative:
- Serves a critical water or sanitation need
- Has a great impact
- Can be done for under $500
- Is managed by a serving U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer
- Is funded and started immediately
- Is completed in under 30 days
Appropriate Projects offers the public the opportunity to Adopt a Project in its entirety or to make a donation for a project in any amount. If a donor funds an entire project he is given naming rights. A person could, for example, designate a project “in honor of” or “in memory of” another individual.
Please visit the Appropriate Website at http://appropriateprojects.com, and click on the Projects tab to see current projects in need of funding.
Introducing Water Charity - One of the Top Water Charities
Water Charity is a nonprofit corporation, directed toward improving the human rights and dignity of individuals throughout the world by providing them with resources that impact upon their health and wellbeing. With all donations applied to projects in the field, we have become one of the highest-ranked water charities delivering global services.
Water Charity implements practical solutions to provide safe water, effective sanitation, and meaningful health education to those in need.
Water Charity, in concert with key partners, surveys the needs, drafts the plans, assembles the resources, implements and manages the projects, and evaluates the results.
We plan for the long term and intermediate future, implement in the present, and react in the short term to crisis situations.
Our core group contains people with decades of experience in engineering, community development, construction, education, and public health. Led by Jacqueline Chan, Dr.P.H., Averill Strasser, and JahSun, we have completed many water and sanitation projects throughout the world in the past year, all on schedule and within budget.
We have implemented several new initiatives, not the least of which is Appropriate Projects, designed to do small water and sanitation projects all over the world, immediately. Each one is run by a Peace Corps Volunteer, starts at once, and is completed in a month!
In addition to our focus on potable water for rural and urban areas, we are engaged in research and education surrounding the human need for water, and the extraordinary health benefits of adequate hydration.
Sanitary Bathrooms Project – Paraguay
Water Charity is participating in a project to provide sanitary bathrooms in a small rural community in Paraguay. The project is being carried out under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Michelle Pfister.
This project will provide latrines for 21 families, comprised of 120 adults and children. It is a natural extension of a project that was begun in 2008 under the direction of a prior Peace Corps Volunteer working in the community. All construction work will be done by local professionals.
Barrio Maria Auxiliadora, Calle San Francisco, Guayaivi, San Pedro, Paraguay, is home to approximately 112 families, comprised of 650 people. While Guarani is the most commonly spoken language, the majority of the community also speaks Spanish.
This hard-working, well-organized community has an elementary and high school, a successful agricultural cooperative, various community groups/committees, two churches, small family shops, and soccer fields.
Most homes have running water and electricity. The principal economic activity is agriculture. Farmers primarily produce fruit, such as bananas and pineapples, and the average family income is about US $5.00 per day.
Although educational opportunities for children have improved, the average adult has only an elementary school education.
Intestinal parasites are one of the most serious health problems in Paraguay, affecting more than 90% of the country’s children, including most people in this community. According to a recent community census, nearly half the families lack a bathroom, and 85% of latrines are unsanitary.
An unsanitary latrine directly contributes to the presence of parasites, through exposed feces and flies that are attracted. This impacts on the entire community, with children more heavily affected.
The project is being implemented by committee participants, who attend regular meetings, organize fundraisers, pay monthly dues, and participate in Peace Corps-organized health classes.
A Paraguayan NGO is contributing 38% of total project costs. To ensure community ownership and sustainability, participants are contributing one third of the cost of materials and labor. The remaining funds for materials are being provided through donor contributions.
To indicate your desire that your donation be used for this project, please use the Donate button below.
La Colorada Abajo Water System – Dominican Republic
This project is to construct a water distribution system in a rural community in the Dominican Republic. Water from a protected mountain spring will be transported by gravity through a system of piping a distance of three kilometers to the community below.
Water Charity is participating in this project, which involves a number of other entities and individuals, by providing the final funding necessary to get the project underway.
The community of La Colorada Abajo, Municipality of Malmon, Puerta Plata, is home to more than one hundred people, who currently live without access to potable water. During the rainy season, the river often rises to prohibit vehicular traffic to the main road, thereby isolating the community.
To meet their daily needs, families currently collect rain and stream water that is contaminated with diarrhea-causing parasites. Diarrhea can lead to serious health complications, including dehydration and malnutrition, particularly in young children and the elderly.
The gravity-fed system outputs over seven gallons of water per minute, which is sufficient to meet the needs of the residents as well as those of the community centers: a schoolhouse, two community churches, and a local baseball park.
To ensure sustainability, the community has a water committee which was formed to manage the project from planning through construction and maintenance. The project will take approximately 5 months to complete.
The schedule calls for the purchase and transportation of materials, the digging of the trench, the assembly and burying of the pipe, and the construction of the tank, intake, river crossings, and standpipe.
The residents of La Colorada Abajo will supply all necessary labor for the project, amounting to almost 30% of total costs. In addition, all members will pay a biweekly quota toward system upkeep, and will pay to be connected to the system.
Project funds will be used to purchase the required materials. The project is being implemented under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Sarah Casey.
Plumbers will be trained to maintain the system. Health promoters will train the community in hygiene and sanitation, and make home visits to ensure compliance. Sustainability will be insured by fiscal responsibility in the collection and disbursement of funds for maintenance.
Participants will gain leadership and technical skills, which will carry forward to future community projects, and may lead to employment opportunities for those who take part.
This project, arising from and supported by the community and progressing through the organizational and planning stages, has the elements needed to continue through the construction phase on schedule and within budget. It will lead to the elimination of water-borne disease, and empower the community to progress to other development projects.
To indicate your desire that your contribution be allocated to this project, click to Donate button below.
Regional Reforestation Project - Cameroon
This project is a community-led reforestation effort, designed to counter the effects of environmental degradation in the semi-arid region of the Extreme North of Cameroon.
Cameroon is bordered by Nigeria on the west, Chad on the northeast, the Central African Republic on the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo on the south. The Extreme North has a population of about 2 million people.
The region suffers from sparse rainfall and high median temperatures. Its characteristic vegetation is savanna scrub and grass. It is experiencing deforestation, erosion, soil infertility, and desertification.
Reforestation is the restocking of existing forests and woodlands which have been depleted. In addition to mitigating the degradation, reforestation can also improve the quality of life by soaking up pollution and dust from the air, rebuilding natural habitats and ecosystems, and mitigating the effects of global warming.
The project has the ultimate goal of improving environmental conditions and community practices. It will combine the leadership and organizational skills of community leaders from groups such as schools, churches and mosques with the technical knowledge to start and maintain local tree nurseries.
The project will support the efforts of the communities of the region by assisting local leaders in taking charge of remediation of their local environmental problems.
The project will also support the local economy by providing financial compensation to local tree nurseries for the trees planted.
Participating communities will benefit by the increased availability of trees in the marketplace for their local use.
Technical expertise and environmental education will be provided to the communities and schools, which will have a long-lasting effect on the region.
The project is being run by Peace Corps Volunteer M. Cleaver.
You can designate that you wish your contribution to be used for this project by clicking on the Donate button below.
La Cruz Water Project - Guatemala
This project is to build a 1200 liter rainwater catchment tank, with an accompanying handwashing station, at an elementary school in La Cruz, Cajola, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. The tank will hold a 2-week supply of water for the 285 students that attend the school.
The Escuela Oficial Rural Mixta has little access to water, consisting of a small chorro that receives water once a week for an hour. The young students currently bring water in 2-liter bottles from their homes or the local stream to school in order to sustain the water supply.
Teachers do not have water to mop their floors or to teach basic hygiene to the children. Atol, a mid-morning snack, cannot be handed out due to the lack of water. At times water must be borrowed from neighbors in order to do necessary chores.
The project is being administered by Peace Corps Volunteer Ashley Kissinger.
Water Charity is pleased to be participating with other NGOs in this project, and our funds will go for skilled labor and materials. The community and parents from the school are contributing additional labor, and will maintain the tank and pipes upon completion.
To see plans for the project, CLICK HERE.
To indicate your desire for your contribution to be allocated toward this project, please click the Donate button below.
School Water Supply Project - Burkina Faso
This project is to build a water supply system at a primary school in the southwest of Burkina Faso. A faucet will be placed at the school and connected by piping to the existing water tower in the village.
Currently, the only source of water for the school is a nearby well. However, the well is not reliable, typically drying up from February to late April. Furthermore, it is not safe to drink the untreated water, and the well presents a danger to the students trying to draw water.
Working with the Association Pour le Dévelopement des Adductions d’Eau Potable (ADAE), the primary school has found a solution in the construction of a supply line and faucet, which will provide treated potable water.
The project will be directed by Peace Corps Volunteer J. O’Meara
The community will provide 50% of the total project cost. Their contribution will be in the form of labor for construction, including the digging of the trenches for the pipes.
Project funds will be used for the purchase and transportation of materials.
This project provides a simple solution to a problem that affects all of the students at an elementary school. Providing them with clean water is expected to relieve them from the burden of procuring water from an unsafe well. It will reduce gastrointestinal illness and create a better learning environment.
To indicate your desire that your donation be used for this project, please use the Donate button below.
This summer the Peace Corps community has an opportunity to be part of an extraordinary effort to improve our communities through volunteer service.
President Obama’s summer service initiative, United We Serve, is a call to all Americans to join a volunteer effort this summer and be part of building a new foundation for America, one community at a time. Please visit visit the