Purpose
Access to clean water, for everyone that needs it
Access to clean water is a game-changer. The overall health benefits are obvious, but the ripple effect that happens when clean water is introduced into a community is profound, and often overlooked. Sure, the risk of waterborne illnesses such as, Cholera, Salmonella, Giardia, E. Coli, and Typhoid, is mitigated–but it also positively affects many other aspects of life.
Less money spent on medicine and clinic visits, plus less time staying home being sick, less time collecting water or the wood to boil that water, means a significant change to the socioeconomics of a community. Less sick days for children means a higher attendance in school, changing the outcome of their overall education. The list goes on: infant care, feminine hygiene, women empowerment. All of these reasons are a driving force for them, but it is the fundamental belief that everyone deserves access to clean water, as a basic human right, that drives them everyday.
Day in and day out they channel that drive as they work on the front lines providing access to clean water through the implementation of portable water filtration systems, the digging and renovating of bore-hole wells, and the construction of rainwater harvesting/storing systems (in places where groundwater is not accessible).
Story
Impact felt on a global level
In 2009, professional surfer, Jon Rose, believed there could be a more meaningful way to participate in the world - a way to do what he loved, while helping people along the way. That inspired him to create, Waves For Water (W4W), a targeted, special-ops style, non-profit organization where they focus on correcting the imbalances of water scarcity, in developing communities around the world.
At the center of their efforts is empowerment. Supported by the belief in developing and empowering local networks, they always implement their programs through the local teams of volunteers and community leaders, that they cultivate in the beginning stages of any program. This process enables them to connect with a community on a deeper level, by establishing trust and rapport, over time – which, ultimately, ensures the highest potential for a truly sustainable program.
Over the past ten years we have implemented 155 clean water programs, in 48 countries–using water filtration systems (150,000), bore-hole wells, and rainwater harvesting systems; impacting an estimated 3,750,000 people. In addition to their primary focus around providing clean water, they also coordinate and execute natural disaster relief efforts around the world. They have responded to 33 major natural disasters, to date–including initiatives in Nepal, Bosnia, Philippines, Indonesia, Haiti, Japan, Chile, and Pakistan.
