Bringing Clean Water in the Name of Jesus

There’s nothing like bringing clean water to a community for the first time. It’s miraculous how something that we take for granted can literally change the lives of people who are living in extreme poverty. Women and girls are freed from the back breaking and frequently dangerous work of seeking out water far from their homes. Illness from waterborne disease plummets and the time gained in hauling water leads to improved education and livelihoods of people in the community.  

At World Vision, we know that we’ve been blessed to become the leading nongovernmental organization providing clean water in the developing world - reaching 1 new person every 10 seconds. We’re determined to reach everyone, everywhere we work with clean water - some 50 million people between 2016 and 2030. When asked why we work tirelessly and sacrificially to provide clean water to communities, we share that our motivation for this work is because we are followers of Jesus Christ. We acknowledge our faith boldly yet humbly and this also transforms lives - in this case eternally.

We are also blessed to work alongside our donors and partners - and this work also can transform lives. Many of our donors tell us that their gifts or investments in World Vision’s water programs provides some of the greatest satisfaction in their lives. This isn’t surprising since helping other people who are suffering brings us closer to God. Said another way, we are wired to experience satisfaction and fulfillment by giving back.

People receive this fulfillment from giving because they know that it is helping people in need, this is why showing impact of the investments is so critical. And, there’s no greater impact of an investment than an investment in bringing clean water to people in need. For more than a decade, we’ve provided donors with the opportunity to invest in water programs in specific countries and to see the impact of that investment in each of the countries. As we enter 2021 by launching our new five-year WASH Business Plan, we’ve updated the opportunity to invest in our water programs in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, or Honduras. We’ve also expanded the countries in our collaboration with Sesame Street called WASHUP! that brings education on handwashing, sanitation, and clean water to school children.   

Innovation in Giving

We’ve continued to innovate and provide new ways for people to invest in our water programs.

Water Funds

We have been able to obtain an additional $4 of leveraged funds for every $1 of funds given to either our Global Water Fund or Asia Pacific Water Fund. This means that every $1 investment will have an impact of $5. Our track record over five years shows that we consistently complement $1 in U.S. donor funds with about $1.50 in grants from governments and intergovernmental agencies, including USAID and UNICEF, about $1.50 from allocation of sponsorship funds through work with World Vision national offices, and about $1 from foundations and corporations, including long-term partners of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and P&G. For our Africa Water Fund, a $1 investment becomes $4.80 in impact. An investment in our Africa Water Fund or any of the African countries where we work also unleashes the Dave and Dana Dornsife match of every dollar invested, up to $40 million between 2021-2025.

Water Point Reports

Many people love the multiplication of their dollars summarized above. Others want to see the impact in a specific location. So, last year we started providing water point reports for donors in either Rwanda or Kenya. The report provides the specific location of a water point, with GPS coordinates, a picture, and a description of the water system. We’re able to provide the water point for an investment of $12,500. Donors have responded to this offer in a significant way funding over 200 water points for incremental investments in our water programs of more than $2.5 million. This year, we’re providing the opportunity to invest in water points in Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia.   

Healthcare Facility Reports 

We are also providing reports for our work to provide water, sanitation, and hygiene in health-care facilities. This is a comprehensive effort to ensure that clinics are hygienic and safe and health care personnel are equipped to prevent the spread of infections. It means that mothers going to the clinic to give birth have a joyous experience of the miracle of birth instead of potentially getting an infection that can result in the death of newborns and moms. We provide a report of the work in health care facilities for $125,000 and are currently providing these for Malawi, Niger, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This innovation has funded 9 health care facilities and brought in an additional $1.1 million.

District Level Offers

Today, we’re announcing our newest innovation in fundraising. We’re launching the opportunity to help World Vision provide clean water everywhere we work in a district^[1] of a country.   This is similar to our successful effort to Finish the Job in Rwanda which recently received all the funding needed from U.S. donors in donations or multi-year pledges ($30 million) so that we can reach everyone, everywhere we work with clean water in the entire country of Rwanda. As part of that Rwanda effort, we provided groups of donors primarily in Colorado and Albuquerque with the opportunity to fund providing clean water in the Districts of Gicumbi and Nyamagabe.  This work resulted in more than $5 million of incremental dollars. So, we’re expanding the opportunity to invest in helping us reach everyone everywhere we work in a district, starting with Kenya. This is a great way to build community between donors and to develop a deeper and stronger relationship with the communities in which we’re providing clean water.  

Bartabwa Offer

We will bring clean water to 16,500 people, 7 health care facilities, and 42 schools in Bartabwa, which is located in western Kenya. This is a 5 year effort which will provide 8 separate piped water systems in order to reach everyone in the areas of Bartabwa where we work. The investment needed from U.S. donors for this work is $3.18 million.

Kalawa Offer

We will bring clean water to 17,500 people, 37 schools, and 15 health care facilities in Kalawa, which is located in southern Kenya. This is a 4 year effort which will provide 3 separate piped water systems in order to reach everyone in the areas of Kalawa where we work. The county government has already agreed to fund 20% of the development of this water system. The investment needed from U.S. donors for this work is $2.87 million.

[1] While called many different names depending on the country including wards, sectors, counties, communes, and districts, these all represent sub-national authoritative boundaries which we are simplifying and generalizing globally as Districts.

“In the last ten years Lila and I have been privileged to be a part of several community focused World Vision clean water projects in Niger (Raffa village), Ethiopia (Melke Bello AP), and most recently Rwanda (Gatsibo District). What a pleasure it is to not only learn more intimately about the communities, but also to share with others more specific information, needs, and opportunities”.   

-John Trull, National Leadership Council

However you choose to invest with us, thank you for helping us bring clean water in the name of Jesus and transform lives.

Water Warrior Call

Interested in hearing more from our World Vision Water experts and partners? Join us for our Water Warrior Call this February to hear a special announcement and learn about our partnership with the Water Institute at UNC. Click the button below to join us on the 18th!

When: Thursday, February 18, 2021 from 9:00am - 9:30am

Prayer Requests

• Pray for the transformation of the hearts of our donors who invest in our water programs.  Help them embrace Matthew 10:42 (NLT): “And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded”

• Pray for the continued progress in World Vision’s efforts to reach everyone, everywhere we reach with clean water by 2030 and that this success will empower other organizations and governments to ensure that the global water and sanitation crisis is fully addressed.

• Pray for the people in Bartabwa and Kalawa, Kenya who suffer from the daily hard work of hauling water and gathering the water from highly contaminated sources.