Our Impact
Meet the people we empower
More than 52 million people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America now have access to safe water and sanitation at home, and greater resilience to COVID-19 and other diseases.
Read their stories to see how, together, we have transformed lives.
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Now Tahmina and her baby can play
For many years Tahmina walked to and from her in-law’s to fill vessels, cups, and buckets of water for cooking and cleaning. This was time-consuming and for Tahmina, often difficult. Read about how her life changed after getting affordable access to safe water and improved sanitation at home.
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Today Andreia and her family have safe water at home
For years, Andreia’s family didn't have access to safe water on their property. Andreia knew her kids' childhoods could be full of learning, playtime, and healthy days if Andreia could find an affordable way to give them the safe water needed to survive and thrive.
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Giving babies a healthy start with water
For Sophon, there was nothing beautiful about the water-related burdens she endured much of her life in rural Cambodia. She wanted to end those burdens for her son.
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Anita's family is safe
Anita wanted to give her girls a safe, healthy place to go but, the thought of paying for a private toilet at home felt financially impossible. How could she save to build a toilet when the costs of living were already too high? Read about how a small loan helped Anita solve her family's sanitation crisis.
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How Janine gave her family safe water
Janine is a hardworking woman who is determined to give her family what they need to survive. When her family needed an affordable way to get safe water at home, Janine made the connection to give them a long-term safe water connection. Read her story.
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Mueni's family has safe water at home
Mueni’s family lacked access to safe water at home. Not until recently did her mom learn she could take a small loan to help the family finance a long-term safe water solution. This is Mueni’s story about how lasting access to safe water at home has changed her life.
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Today Juanita rests
Juanita has lived in the same community for more than half her life. She’s seen how a lack of access to safe water challenges families in Mexico. Read how affordable, lasting access to safe water at home means Juanita can finally rest while she enjoys watching her grandchildren thrive in school and in life.
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Nelly's heart
Water is a smart investment. The best investment the world can make to reduce disease, increase income, keep kids in school, and change lives. Nelly believed this to be true, and now she knows it for a fact. Thanks to Water.org’s smart solution known as WaterCredit, the hardworking, loving, single mom who wanted to give her family safe water and a better life was able to do it.
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Elma
Elma’s courage gave her the strength to choose smiles over tears, to choose love over pain, and to champion safe water for her family, even when the battle seemed impossible.
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Obwiri
When COVID-19 reached Obwiri’s community, she had increasing concerns about her family’s sanitation situation. Read about how a small loan empowered her to solve her family's water and sanitation crisis at a critical time.
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Health and hope are flowing
Namulondo is a hardworking health assistant at a local hospital and a loving single mom who has dedicated her life to caring for her children. A small, affordable loan helped Namulondo pay for a rain storage tank, providing her family with enough water for several months.
We work in 11 countries on four continents
In 11 countries on four continents around the world, we are turning your generosity into opportunity.
Learn more about where we work and why.
Our solutions break down financial barriers and help people get safe water at home
For millions around the world, access to funds stands between them and safe water and sanitation in their home. Water.org offers a portfolio of smart solutions that break down the financial barriers between people living in poverty and access to safe water and sanitation.
Our solutions are working! More than half of our total impact — 26 million people — was achieved in the past three years.
Accelerating impact in three ways
Partnering directly with institutions that serve people living in poverty
We partner with local financial institutions by providing technical assistance, connections and small grants, where needed, so they can provide small, affordable loans to people in need of water and sanitation at home. We also partner with water and sanitation providers to enhance their capacity to obtain financing and improve service delivery for their customers.
Expanding partnerships to accelerate access
We work with partners across sectors, including water and sanitation and financial services, and other international development organizations to expand access to affordable financing for water and sanitation. We provide technical assistance, share best practices, and collaborate with stakeholders so they can develop, implement and scale effective solutions.
Strengthening the environment for water and sanitation solutions at a systems level
We work with governments, sector institutions, and other partners at a systems-level to influence public policy and practice changes that increase the flow of capital for household water and sanitation solutions.
We serve people living in poverty
Our solutions resonate with people living in poverty — specifically people who have enough income potential to take out a water or sanitation loan, but who often cannot access the funds at an affordable rate or pay for facilities and services upfront.
Millions of people who live in the countries where we work live on less than $3.79 a day and spend significant portions of their income to buy water. These are the people we work every day to empower.
The global water crisis affects billions of people
Today, 1 in 10 people lack access to safe water and 1 in 4 people lack access to a toilet. We give our everything every day to change this because we believe in the power of water. Access to safe water and sanitation can quickly turn problems into potential – empowering people with time for school and work, and contributing to improved health for women, children, and families around the world.
We will achieve our vision of safe water and sanitation for all by continuing to unlock more funding than what is currently dedicated to help solve the global water crisis — removing the financial barriers that stand between people in need and access to safe water and sanitation at home.
$25 helps one family get access to safe water.
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