Water Wells For Africa

BUILDING WATER WELLS IN RURAL AFRICA. WE THINK CLEAN WATER IS THE FIRST STEP OUT OF POVERTY, AND TOWARD GREATER HEALTH AND HAPPINESS. WE GIVE WATER TO THOSE WITHOUT IT, IMPROVING NOT ONLY THEIR WELL-BEING-BUT ALSO THEIR OPPORTUNITIES.

WATER WELLS FOR AFRICA (WWFA) GIVES FRESH, CLEAN WATER TO ABOUT 500 PEOPLE EACH TIME WE INSTALL A NEW WELL. BECAUSE OF THE DEPENDABILITY OF OUR EQUIPMENT, SOME IN CONSTANT USE SINCE 1996, WE KNOW MANY OF OUR PUMPS HAVE ALREADY LASTED MORE THAN 20 YEARS.FROM AN EQUIPMENT PERSPECTIVE, EACH PUMP COULD TECHNICALLY SERVE MORE PEOPLE (AND MANY DO), BUT WE INTENTIONALLY KEEP NUMBERS AT SUSTAINABLE LEVELS TO PROTECT LOCAL WATER TABLES AND ENSURE THE LONGEVITY OF BOTH PUMPS AND WATER SUPPLIES.ANOTHER IMPORTANT REASON WE KEEP THE RATIO OF PEOPLE TO WELLS AT ABOUT 500-TO-1 IS THE FACT THAT WATER IS CARRIED HOME IN BUCKETS, OFTEN BY GIRLS AND WOMEN. THEY MUST FIRST WALK FROM HOME TO THE WELL, THEN WAIT IN LINE, AND FINALLY RETURN WITH A BUCKET OF WATER (WEIGHING 8.3 POUNDS PER GALLON; 40+ POUNDS PER 5-GALLON BUCKET) BALANCED ON THEIR HEAD. THEY USUALLY DO THIS MULTIPLE TIMES PER DAY. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF 100 PEOPLE HAD TO WAIT AT THE SAME WELL FOR ONLY 2 MINUTES EACH, THE LAST PERSON WILL HAVE WAITED 3 HOURS AND 20 MINUTES BEFORE GETTING HER SINGLE BUCKET OF WATER. THIS IS A WIDESPREAD AND UNFORTUNATE PROBLEM, BUT ONE WE ARE FIXING. WAITING FOR WATER CREATES A STRAIN ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND EXPOSES SOME OF THE MOST VULNERABLE PEOPLE TO WEATHER, PREDATORS (ANIMAL AND HUMAN), REDUCED SCHOOLTIME, AND PHYSICAL HARDSHIP. MORE WELLS MEANS LESS WAITING AND MORE TIME FOR OTHER ACTIVITIES SUCH AS WORK, EDUCATION, GARDENING, ETC. THIS IS WHY WE MAY CHOOSE TO PLACE MORE WELLS IN SOME AREAS: WE'RE INVESTING IN PEOPLE, NOT NUMBERS.OUR PLANNING PROCESS INCLUDES A LOCAL, ON-SITE NEEDS ASSESSMENT. IN 2018, WE MADE A CLEAR DECISION AS AN ORGANIZATION: WHEN NECESSARY, WE WILL PLACE MORE "WELLS PER PERSON" BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT WILL BRING THE GREATEST LONGTERM RELIEF AND WATER STABILITY TO THE GREATEST NUMBER OF PEOPLE. AFTER ALL - IT IS THEM WE EXIST TO SERVE. DEPENDING ON NEED, WE MAY PLACE ADDITIONAL WELLS ON OTHER NEARBY WATER SOURCES SO NO SINGLE PUMP BECOMES OVERUSED OR ANY WATER SOURCE DEPLETED.THE POPULATION OF MOST MALAWIAN VILLAGES IS IN THE HUNDREDS RATHER THAN THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, SO WE WORK WITH FEDERAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS, AS WELL AS LOCAL LEADERS, TO MAXIMIZE THE IMPACT OF EACH WELL WE INSTALL. OUR SYSTEMATIC LOCATION SELECTION PROCESS HELPS ACCOMPLISH OUR "MOST PEOPLE SERVED" GOALS, BY PLACING NEW WELLS IN PLACES EASILY ACCESSIBLE BY MULTIPLE COMMUNITIES. THE WWFA TEAM HAVE ALSO BECOME SPECIALISTS AT BRINGING WATER TO PEOPLE IN THE MOST REMOTE AND DIFFICULT AREAS. WE GO PLACES AND HELP PEOPLE OTHER WATER PROVIDERS OFTEN AVOID. WE OFTEN (AND LITERALLY) GO WHERE OTHERS WON'TAND OUR WELLS ARE KNOWN TO LAST SO LONG THAT PEOPLE SOMETIMES RELOCATE TO BE NEAR THEM. THAT IS A WONDERFUL FEELING.WE USUALLY WILL NOT INSTALL A WELL UNLESS IT WILL SERVE 50 OR MORE FAMILIES, AND WE STRIVE FOR EACH WELL TO MEET THE NEEDS OF AT LEAST 100 FAMILIES. AVERAGE FAMILY SIZE IN MALAWI IS 5, SO WHEN CALCULATED THIS MEANS EACH WELL HELPS APPROXIMATELY 500 RESIDENTS ALONG WITH PASSING TRAVELLERS; MANY WELLS SERVE MORE THAN 500. WE TRACK THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF FAMILIES IN MOST VILLAGES WE SERVE, AND USE ESTIMATES/AVERAGES IF WE CAN'T GET EXACT NUMBERS.IN 2021, WE PROVIDED LIFE-GIVING WATER TO APPROXIMATELY 32,500 MORE PEOPLE THROUGH THE COMPLETION OF 65 NEW WELLS (6 OF THEM IN SCHOOLS). THIS IS THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF WELLS WE'VE INSTALLED IN A CALENDAR YEAR. 2022 WILL SEE INCREASED WELL NUMBERS IN BOTH SCHOOLS AND VILLAGES. WE EXPECT THESE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TO HAVE CLEAN AND CLOSE WATER FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT 20 YEARS.WATER WELLS FOR AFRICA IS OUR NAME, BUT ALSO OUR PASSION AND MISSION. WE'RE SAVING LIVES, INCREASING INDEPENDENCE AND GROWTH, AND PUTTING HEALTHY SMILES ON FACES ACROSS THE COUNTRY OF MALAWI.OUR SUCCESSES ONLY MAKE US WANT TO ACCOMPLISH MORE. GIVEN ADEQUATE RESOURCES, WWFA WOULD GIVE EVERY HUMAN ON THE PLANET CLEAN WATER, BUT PRAGMATISM LEADS US TO WHERE WE CAN DO THE GREATEST GOOD.

SECONDARY PROGRAM - EDUCATION & OUTREACH:WWFA EDUCATES THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE PLIGHT OF PEOPLE IN RURAL AFRICAN VILLAGES WHO LIVE WITHOUT CLEAN AND EASY-TO-REACH WATER. WE SHARE INFORMATION THROUGH PRESENTATIONS, VIDEOS, PRINTED MATERIALS, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND OUR ORGANIZATIONAL WEBSITE.