Sponsor A Well in Africa

Want to make an enormous impact on hundreds of lives by sponsoring a clean water well in Africa?

You, your school, church or even a group of your friends can choose to fund an entire clean water project in Sudan, Sierra Leone, Uganda, or Rwanda.

Cost and project availability vary, but on average a water project can be completed for around $6,500. The costs include preparing the community for a water project, actual construction and the long-term monitoring and evaluation needed to make sure your investment lasts a very long time.

All it takes is a bit of passion and a little time to change someone's world.

Our goal is to provide you with the information you need to confidently partner with us in funding a well project. We also want to help you host a hugely successful fundraiser.

If you can't find the information you need below, or you'd just like to chat, please don't hesitate to call us at 800-460-8974.

How much does is cost to fund a well?

This is perhaps our most common question. And the answer isn't one price fits all. We believe it's vitally important for our donors to know the true costs of building a well, from start to finish. That said, on average, project costs are:

• Uganda and Kenya: $6,500
• Sudan and Sierra Leone: $4,500
• Schools and Medical Clinics: $13,500 - $30,000

Various factors including water depth, rock formation, distance from the drilling HQ, and other things mean that no two wells are ever the same. We'll work with you to find a project that fits your fundraising goals.

Can I sponsor only part of a well?

Yes and remember that no matter how much you donate, we'll show you the specific project where your gifts were used to help build a well...every time.

What am I paying for?

A water project costs more than just the well.

To ensure each project is done right and lasts for many years, there are three essential phases to every project including:

• Site selection & community education
• Project manangement & construction
• Long-term monitoring & evaluation

The majority of your donation goes to our field implementers in the construction phase. They use it to pay for supplies, well pumps, drill bits, wear and tear on the rigs, fuel, and wages for the drill crews. If you choose to only fund construction work (the 100% Option), we'll find additional support to cover the project's other two phases and list those donors as project sponsors along with you.

When you sponsor an entire project, you'll be an integral part of the effort from the very beginning to clean water flowing and over the life of the well! We'll show you how all along the way.

Learn more about the process »

Where will the well be built?

Currently, we're working to fund new wells and well rehabilitations at schools, medical clinics, and churches and community centers in Kenya, Sierra Leone, Uganda, South Sudan and Rwanda. Individual sites are each open to the public and can serve large groups of people.

Our teams and partners prepare each community for their new water well project. They ensure the community is committed to the project, and in most cases will require some form of investment of time and/or money on their part. This is a critical step to ensure that a water project is sustainable so that your investment has the longest possible effect.

How many people will each water well serve?

This will vary by location. And it's always important to remember that simply because a project community has for example, a population of a thousand people, that does not mean a single well can serve them all. We're committed to providing a reasonable assessment of well usage. Most of our recent projects have seen reported figures of around 500, which we would consider an upper end of a resonable limit for a hand-pumped well.

An equally important question to ask is how long the project will last. To make sure it's as long as possible, we go back and check to find out what's working and what's not. We work hard to do the greatest good with your gifts.

Properly maintained, each pump can provide clean, safe drinking water for ten years or so before needing an overhaul or complete replacement. Some locations will last longer, some will not.

Will I get to see it?

Yes, of course! Our well drilling teams are great at sending pictures and updates back to us as they work. We'll pass those on to you through our Project Updates - listing you and your team as the sponsors (you can choose to remain anonymous too).

You'll be able to track your specific project from its beginning, through construction and for many years to come.

How does the fundraising and donation process work?

The process of sponsoring a well in Africa is simple.

Once you have raised the money and/or made a donation to The Water Project, Inc., we will assign the gifts to the next available well site on our ever-growing list. You can select a country we work in or let us choose.

We work very hard to keep our drillers busy, and try to ensure they always have a back-log of work. That simply means that your project will be constructed about 8-12 months after your donation. Please note that if you indicate a specific country for your gift, it may take a bit longer if our partners are booked up.

We won't send your donation to the field until just before it's ready to dig - keeping everything safe, secure...and accountable.

How can I be sure a well was built?

Proving wells is hard work, but we believe it's essential to building trust through transparency.

We ask our drillers to send pictures of the actual drilling process when possible. In many cases we're provided with before and after photos.

In addition to pictures, we insist that every well be documented with Govt. drilling permits and GPS coordinates. We have folks on our team visit random wells, using these coordinates, to keep everyone honest.

Finally, we ask for itemized expense reports and copies of deposit/withdrawal forms from the banks to which we wire funds for wells. We trust our teams, but also try to remove any opportunity for others to question their integrity.

Can I go to Africa to help build the well?

At this time, we are not able to ensure either safe travel or participation by volunteers at water projects in the field.

Well drilling is specialized work carried out by trained professionals and it is often quite dangerous. Our teams, made up of local drilling techs, don't have the ability to manage visits while they work.

The locations in which they work are often very remote and not frequented by foreigners.

How do I get started?

If you are interested in sponsoring an entire well, or even just a portion, we've got a couple great tools to help get your project off the ground...

Still Have Questions?

No problem. Just drop us a line or call 704-918-1804 and we'll get back to you right away!

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