Local teams build it. We keep it flowing.
In the rural communities we serve across Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone, the day often starts with fetching water. The walk can take hours, the lines are long, and the source is often an open stream or pond.
That time comes from somewhere. Kids miss class. Parents lose hours they'd spend on work or their farms. And water from unprotected sources brings illness home, which costs health and even more time.
When safe water is close and reliable, those hours come back, and people put them toward their own plans.
The Water Project has helped communities in sub-Saharan Africa gain access to clean, safe water since 2006. We're a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Concord, New Hampshire. Our work is led by local teams in Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone who live and work in the regions they serve.
Communities help choose the right water source for their needs, whether that's a well, a sand dam, a protected spring, rainwater catchment or a solar pump. Then we stay. Every project is backed by The Water Promise, our commitment to monitor each water point and fix what breaks.
We're constantly working on our commitment to 100% coverage in the areas we serve. Water flowing today should still be flowing years from now.
Your gift covers the full life of a water project, not just the day it opens.
Students at St. Gerald Shitaho Polytechnic walk about two hours a day for water, on a path that turns slick in the rain. A borehole well on the school's own grounds will put water steps from class.
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The Water Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. EIN 26-1455510. Gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
We don't measure success on opening day. These projects are still serving their communities years later, and you can check any of them on our live map.
In 2018, families here protected the spring they'd always used. They hosted the building crew and gathered stones for the walls, and the open, algae-filled pool became a clean, piped water point. Eight years on, it's still flowing.
Families here once walked for hours to rivers and open scoop holes, especially in the dry season. In 2021, they gathered the rock and sand themselves and helped build a sand dam, with a well beside it to draw the water it stores. Today, Everlyne says fetching water is "a short walk," and her family has added handwashing stations at home.
Students used to cross a busy road to fetch water from another school, racing to get there before its gate was locked. Since 2022, they've had a well on their own campus, so they can stay in class and stay on track.
We fund the full cost of every project, from the first community meeting to repairs years later. That covers pumps, materials and field crews, plus the local training and monitoring that keep water flowing. Being honest about real costs respects both our donors and the communities we serve. That's why our audited financials and IRS 990s are public, and you can check the live status of every water point we've built.
Yes. The Water Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 26-1455510), and gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law. You'll get an email receipt as soon as your gift goes through.
Yes, anytime. Update it online from your donor account, or contact Donor Services and we will take care of it.
You'll get updates with photos, maps and stories from the community you helped. You can also track the status of every water point we've built on our live map.
We fix it. Through The Water Promise, local teams monitor every project, and trained mechanics respond when something goes wrong. We set aside years of repair funding so water keeps flowing.
Local teams in Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone. They work alongside each community from planning through construction and training, and they stay connected for years afterward.
Clean water close to home, and a promise to keep it there. Give once, or join The Water Promise.
Join The Water Promise. Your monthly gift keeps water flowing long after the build, funding the mechanics, monitoring and repairs that make clean water reliable year after year.
Give monthlyEvery gift brings safe water closer to a community that's ready for it. You'll see exactly where it goes, with photos, maps and updates.
Give once