Co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White, Water.org is a non-profit organization dedicated to making potable water available to underprivileged communities around the world. Lack of access to clean drinking water is considered to be the greatest threast to humankind, even while it tends to be one of the easiest to address. It's organizations like Water.org that are dedicating their efforts to making a difference and improving upon this dire situation. They are funded by folks like you and I, and if you donate to various charitable causes, I would recommended taking a look at adding them to your yearly donation list.

Their Mission

The mission statement of water.org is as follows; "Water.org is challenging the traditional approach to assisting people in developing countries. Our goals are to draw attention to the world’s number one health problem, unsafe and inadequate water supplies, and to raise funds to help fight this immense problem – one community at a time. Our mission is to inspire people to act" Te organization looks to create high-quality water projects across the world that are sustainable and can be fully managed by the communities. It's critical that these projects last for generations if an real improvement is ever to be realized, and this outcome is intensely focused upon as a core competency.

Worldwide Water Facts

1. Less than 1% of the world’s fresh water (or about 0.007% of all water on earth) is readily accessible for direct human use
2. 884 million people lack access to safe water supplies; approximately one in eight people
3. 3.575 million people die each year from water-related disease
4. Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease
5. Over 50 percent of all water projects fail and less than five percent of projects are visited. Far less than one percent have any longer-term monitoring (A main target for improvement by Water.org)

Their Operation

Once a community is selected for a project, the organization looks for potential wells. If the geologic surveys prove correct, the drilling occurs only one time and very often, they do not need to go more than 60 meters into the ground. Once water is hit, they install the pump system, a cement cap, and in some areas, build a walled enclosure for the well. Overuse is a frequent cause of pump failure for community water points. To address this, people pay a usage fee which covers ongoing maintenance and repair.

Digging a Well

Water.org project teams will then regularly visit the well site over a few month period to ensure the wells are being properly used, and to ensure the well is satisfying the needs of the village. They also verify the commitment of community leadership along with the overall quality of the water drawn from the well. To keep these projects alive, the organization then schedules regular visits to the sites over a 5 year period to monitor use, production, condition and the impact the safe water is providing to the community.

How Can I Donate

Economic times are tough on all of us right now. Disposable income is at a all-time low, and making the right choices on where to spend our money has never been more important. Big Berkey Water Filters strongly feels that Water.org is one of those causes worth donating to. For only a $25 donation, you can provide 1 person clean water for life. This clean water will improve their health and allow that person to be able to better provide for their own community and family, removing the life-threatening diseases and malnutrition that accompany lack of access to potable water. Please visit their website to learn more.