The good news is, for years, as we installed and repaired water points across Africa, we also taught hundreds of schools and communities how to build hand-washing stations, how to keep their water source and homes free of germs, and how to begin other good health practices. It’s what we do every day and it is saving lives. But we need to do more and we need to ensure water keeps flowing throughout the crisis.
Now, more than ever, we urgently need your help to stay on the front lines of this fight, today and into the coming months. While we may not be able to avoid every work shutdown or quarantine along the way, we certainly CAN avoid a financial pause - with your help. When your giving continues, water keeps flowing for children and families who need it most.
For the last few weeks, leading up to the world-wide spread of COVID-19, we’ve been working with our teams at home in the U.S., and in Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone to ensure everyone is safe and cared for. We’ve taken specific steps to keep all of our staff and partners protected and we're all working remotely as needed, which is quite normal given our distributed team.
Now - and without interruption - we are doing the most important work we know of to battle back the spread of this virus.
It’s called "WaSH". It’s a handy abbreviation for our work and it couldn’t be a better fit in these times. The Water Project's teams are Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) experts. Together, with your support, we provide the two most important ingredients for keeping people healthy - clean water and hygiene.
As you know, clean hands and social distancing are the tools we ALL have in this fight. Everyone in the world is fighting the virus in the same way. And though you and I can easily grab some soap and have ready access to clean water… not everyone does.
If you know us well, you’ll know that in 14 years of work, we have never made an “urgent financial appeal” like this. The Water Project plans strategically and in every year since our founding, people like you have come alongside in giving to make it all possible. But these unprecedented times lead us to boldly ask you to give right now, to get in front of what we know is a desperate and ongoing need.
Now is the best time to step into this fight with and for our neighbors around the globe just as we’re helping each other in our neighborhoods here at home.
Peter Chasse
Founder & President