Lifewater International is a non-profit Christian water development organization serving the world’s rural poor through integrated water, sanitation, and hygiene programs. In 40 years, Lifewater has served 2.5 million people in 40 countries. Currently Lifewater is headquartered in San Luis Obispo, California, with field offices in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Cambodia.
History
The name of the most wonderful thing in the world is water. Without water, there would be no life on earth, and even our beautiful world would be completely different. The whole living world and human civilization are dependent on water.] Lifewater was founded by William A. Ashe in 1977. Owner of a water pump business, the Ashe family started taking trips to Mexico to promote water and sanitation to those in need in the 1960s. Over time, these small family trips grew to include other water professionals as volunteers. As a result of the success of these trips, William "Bill" Ashe officially established the Lifewater name in 1977. Bill Ashe attended a Billy Graham conference in Amsterdam in 1983 and received over 2,000 requests for safe water from pastors and evangelists in over 100 countries. In 1984 Lifewater became a registered California non-profit corporation and in 1986 was granted tax-exempt 501 status by the IRS. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Lifewater used volunteers to serve thousands of communities around the world with safe water, adding improved sanitation and hygiene practices to its list of essential services as their necessity became more apparent. As Bill Ashe transitioned the organization from volunteers to professional staff, Lifewater collaborated with other organizations to advance the cause of WASH for the poor, developing training curricula that brought Christian witness to WASH development efforts.
Service Areas and Populations
Lifewater aims to serve vulnerable children and families that live in remote, rural, and underserved regions of East Africa and Southeast Asia. The organization focuses efforts on particular regions, or groups of communities, over a longer period of time. Current projects are taking place in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Cambodia. Previously they worked on projects in over 40 countries around the world. In 2017, Lifewater served over 85,000 people and completed 118 village water projects.
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
Lack of safe water and water-borne diseases result in the deaths of millions each year. Many of these death are children under 5. When safe water is not available close to home, school, or work, children are at risk and miss out on their education, adults miss out on work and productive labor, large portions of household income are spent on medical care, and the cycle of poverty continues. Even when safe water is available, people can spend hours every day retrieving it at great distances. However, the best solution is not access to safe water alone. Research shows that combining safe water with sanitation and hygiene does much more to decrease the disease burden in a community. Moreover, these interventions can also be very low-cost and done in a way that requires no outside assistance.
Strategy
Lifewater uses a strategy it calls "Vision of a Healthy Village", which it describes as "a holistic approach that goes beyond building wells" that is "rooted in a deep belief in the dignity and capability of those whom we serve." The strategy combines WASH, Sustainability, and Gospel Impact. The Vision of a Healthy Village strategy mobilizes all the stakeholders in a community to create positive changes, including households, schools, religious institutions, and local government. To establish safe water, Lifewater uses technology that is appropriate to the area and sustainable for the community. Local teams are trained to use shallow and deep drilling rigs to reach water under the surface. Drilled wells are capped with a hand pump. In some cases, spring caps, rain catchment, or cisterns are more appropriate. Local water committees are trained and to care for the water source, collect user fees to save for needed repairs, and carry out frequent maintenance. To improve sanitation, Lifewater uses the Community-Led Total Sanitation program to show communities the importance of good sanitation, and help communities achieve open defecation free status. Households must build their own ventilated improved pit latrine, and larger latrine blocks are built at schools. To improve hygiene, Lifewater teaches about the importance of handwashing with soap, keeping water safe, keeping households free of waste, and drying dishes in clean areas.
2017 was a historic year for Lifewater International. The organization launched three new field offices in Ethiopia and Cambodia plus the completion of 118 village water projects, making the biggest impact the organization has had 40 years of service. In 2017 Lifewater served 85,968 individuals, created 3,783 healthy homes and trained 136 water committees during the year.
Finances
In 2017, Lifewater international received $3.8 million in donations, an increase of 36% over the previous year. The organization reports that 46% of its revenues are from donations by individuals, 43% by foundation grants, 4% from churches, and 5% from corporate gifts. Lifewater spent $2.6 million on the programs and services it delivers, about 73% of its expenses. Fundraising makes up 10% of the expenses and 17% is spent on administrative resources. Lifewater is certified by the Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability and has an overall rating of 88.83/100 compared to the 85 it received in 2016 on Charity Navigator, America's largest and most utilized independent evaluator of charities.
