The donations raised through the GF Walk for Water events support our long-standing partner, Water Mission. These funds support providing access to safe water for disadvantaged and disaster-stricken communities worldwide. By improving water security and resource management, we aim to foster sustainable, long-term benefits for these communities.
Each year, the contributions are directed to regions with the greatest need.
Funds raised during the global GF Walk for Water 2023 were donated to Water Mission according to the principle of ‘where they are most needed.’ We are proud to share the following stories. Your support has helped save lives, provide hope, and improve livelihoods.
The safe water project in Marumba serves nearly 10,000 people, as well as schools, churches, and the health clinic. Our solution sources water from a spring, treats it with an Erosion Chlorinator, and uses solar-powered pumping, 15km of piping, and 18 access points.
Mothers around the globe dream of raising healthy children but trying to do so without access to safe water is challenging. Contaminated water sources cause water-related illnesses that take the lives of more than 800,000 people each year, with children under age five among the most vulnerable. In Marumba, Tanzania, many mothers like Asella understand this struggle. Asella spent much of her life walking long distances to collect water, yet the only water available was unsafe. Her children were often too sick to go to school. As a parent also caring for her aging parents, it was hard for Asella to leave home and earn money to support her family. “It was so difficult in those days without safe water,” shared Asella. “My children were sick all the time with worms and stomachaches.”
When Water Mission began a safe water project in Marumba, it transformed the lives of Asella and everyone in the community. Using solar power, water is pumped, treated to remove contaminants, and piped to tap stands throughout Marumba. Now clean, safe water is close to home and accessible to the nearly 10,000 residents. Safe water has not only meant better health, but also major economic improvements. The time people spent collecting water can now be used for going to school or running small businesses. The money they spent on medicine to treat water-related illnesses, they are now investing in the future.
“Now there are changes since safe water is available,” shared Asella. “People are no longer sick with worms and stomachaches. Even the hospital patients aren’t there for water diseases anymore.” Asella’s children are healthy and going to school. Asella’s mother and father are healthy enough to walk to the nearby tap stand and collect water themselves. With more time and the freedom to leave her parents at home, Asella can go to the marketplace and earn an income selling clothing, soaps, salt, and lotions. Her small business helps support her family and pay for her son to attend a university. Asella has become a community leader and health promoter. Having water close has also improved their standard of living and given them hope. Homes were formerly made with tree trunks, mud, and grass. With water now available in the community, bricks can be made to construct homes, providing safer and more secure structures.
“Before, we had crowded rooms with five or six people in a room,” recalled Asella. “Now, a home can have a children’s room and a parents’ room. Before, we had to go somewhere and relieve ourselves, just digging a hole anywhere. Now, we can make bricks and build a standard latrine at the home.” “Thank you for the safe water project,” said Asella. “It was a challenge before. The safe water has changed our community.”
The safe water project utilizes a mountain stream as the water source. The water is pumped through our Living Water Treatment System, which includes an Erosion Chlorinator, and is bottled for distribution to the community members. On average, there are approximately 1,000 liters of water bottled and sold per day.
For decades, families in Guayaman, Honduras, were tormented by water-related illness. With one of the highest percentages of extreme poverty in Honduras, residents could not afford to purchase bottled water. For residents like Onan Aguilar Contreras, a father of four, safe water was simply out of reach. Parents were helpless to ease their children’s suffering.
“Our life was very difficult,” says Onan. “The water we drank caused many illnesses in our home, including vomiting and stomach pain.”
Then, Water Mission installed a safe water solution. By working with the community throughout the process, residents’ lives have transformed into a position of empowerment. We trained a local Safe Water Committee to oversee operations and ensure the project’s viability for decades to come. In this way, residents can provide hope and wellness for their neighbors.
Onan is overjoyed to see his children thriving. “This magnificent project came to make a change in our lives, improving the health of my family and neighbors.”
This safe water project serves nearly 1,700 people in the community including two schools and a health clinic. It also features a livestock trough, supporting some of the community’s other needs like water for their animals. The solar-powered system sources water from a borehole using a submersible pump. The water is also treated with an Erosion Chlorinator.
Globally, many mothers struggle to raise healthy families without access to safe water. These mothers watch helplessly as their children suffer from water-related illnesses. Their children even face dangers while collecting water.
Lucy, a mother and long-time resident of Morpus, Kenya, lost her young son many years ago while he was collecting water. Because the only water source in Morpus at the time was a dry riverbed, residents had to dig deep into the sand to reach the water many meters underground.
Lucy was home cooking for her children while her son was deep in the hole collecting water for the family. Suddenly, Lucy heard cries and screams from the riverbed. When she rushed to investigate, Lucy found that the hole had collapsed, tragically burying her son.
Water Mission, in collaboration with our partners, is on a mission to end the global water crisis so mothers like Lucy never have to grieve the loss of their children because of this solvable problem.
Lucy says that with safe water in the community, “Life has changed completely.” She is grateful that safe water will mean a brighter, safer future for her grandchildren.
“Now, the children go to school and can get water there,” she said. “We are very thankful.”
After Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago, Water Mission responded to the need to get safe water flowing where the conflict damaged infrastructure. Since then, Water Mission has provided 100 million liters of water for 200 communities and installed more than 70 safe water systems.
On June 6, 2023, Kakhovka dam in Ukraine collapsed, causing widespread flooding and destruction across the southern region. Access to safe water - already a challenge in the war-torn country - was now one of the most critical needs in the region following this disaster. Water Mission responded quickly to the disaster, implementing 4 new safe water systems in response to catastrophe.
Valentina is a Ukrainian woman whose water supply was cut off by the Kakhovka Dam breach in June 2023. Water Mission provided Valentina's community with a safe water solution. Valentina says: "We immediately felt the consequences of this disaster, but we did not expect it to be so difficult. Now, this water source is helping us. We use this water to make tea, coffee, food and drink. This situation made us appreciate every drop of water. Thank you for taking care of us. You know, when there was no electricity, we thought that this was the worst problem, but when there was no water, we felt it. You can live without light, but you cannot live without water. Water is life. Thank you for not leaving us without water."
Funded by the 2019 GF Walk for Water, GF, and Water Mission partnered to support seven safe water projects in four countries in 2020. Through the GF Water Foundation, funding of $500,000 was approved to support projects in Indonesia, Malawi, Peru, and Uganda.
Each safe water project listed below includes a community engagement plan, training, a protected water source, a mechanized pumping solution, a financially sustainable payment model, remote monitoring, and multiple convenient access points throughout the community. Upon project completion, each community receives close monitoring and support for one additional year. Many projects will then transition into larger community cooperative arrangements for long-term support. Others will remain community-managed projects for ongoing success.
Together, all seven projects are now serving more than 25,000 people with access to safe water.
Kapiri is a relatively large town of about 12,000 residents in western Malawi near the border of Zambia. Following a full geological survey, we drilled two new boreholes which had strong water production to supply the town. In April 2022, our staff will commission the completed safe water project and solar-powered pumps now deliver water to two 10,000-liter storage tanks mounted on a two-meter-high tank platform. Water is then gravity-fed to 12 distribution points throughout the community. Spending was 13% over budget because of the large size of the community and the need to drill two new boreholes following a full geological survey.
Our team in Malawi completed the first phases of our WASH promotion training, and trainers are going throughout the community to teach health and hygiene practices. We have also worked with the elected Safe Water Committee on a financial sustainability plan, and they are trained to maintain the system financially and operationally. We will continue our follow-up and community support until the project is transitioned to our long-term support cooperative.
In November 2020, Water Mission trained community leaders in hygiene and sanitation. These leaders now lead training for all community members on proper hygiene, handwashing, and safe water handling. This project was completed in February 2021. For the first time, safe water is now flying for 2,800 people in Bua. Water Mission continues its monitoring and follow-up efforts. We visited the community in April and May to review the project’s functionality, assess the Safe Water Committee’s management, and conduct additional training.
Oenoni is located in the Timor region of southeastern Indonesia, where remote communities exist on volcanic rock islands. Limited access to water in these neglected communities has proven a historic challenge, contributing to their underdevelopment. We provide long-term safe water that will support residents’ health and livelihoods. In this community, based on the needs assessment, we decided to provide household connections to our safe water system. This is our first project with household connections in Indonesia, and community members helped dig the trenches for their piping. Because of these household connections, Water Mission installed two of our patented Erosion Chlorinators, 12 solar panels, and two elevated water storage tanks.
The first phase will serve 170 families, and the second phase will provide safe water for 130 more families. This provides access to safe water for more than 1,200 people in Oenoni. In March, Water Mission and the community celebrated and commissioned the safe water project in Oenoni. In attendance were the East Nusa Tenggara governor and the Kupang District mayor. Our staff will continue to provide follow-up and support through visits to the community and our satellite-based remote monitoring system.
The Oemolo project was fully completed and commissioned on February 28, 2020. As a result, this entire community of 1,500 people now enjoys access to safe water. Orim Betty, the Village Secretary, typically made three trips per day for water to a distant spring. The water was unsafe and the daily task required nearly two miles of travel and several hours. Today, Orim can collect safe drinking water near her home. Like others in her community, she can now devote more time to farming, income-generating activities, and caring for her family.
The project was completed and transitioned to the community in December 2020. Our team completed the safe water system installation in the fall of 2019. WASH training for the Safe Water Committee and community engagement followed in July 2020, delayed by COVID-19 restrictions.
Today, the system is fully operational after successful follow-up visits and evaluation. All 580 residents have convenient safe water access. As a result, young girls have more time to attend school and receive an education with their male peers. Community members report improved health and decreased stomach pains, intestinal worms, and skin conditions. Gertoreda Hanas reported having an allergy that made it hard to sleep because her skin itched. After drinking and bathing with safe water, however, the irritation is gone and she can rest again.
Ikonia is a rural community of over 5,500 people located in the Luuka district of Uganda. A more populated remote community, Ikonia contains four schools, a health clinic, five churches, and a market. The primary economic activity in Ikonia is farming for crops like sugarcane, maize, and rice. Other residents engage in micro-businesses such as retail trading in general merchandise. When our team in Uganda performed their comprehensive assessment of the community, they observed that the community did have a hand pump that was functioning but was overcrowded and not supplying enough water for the demand. They also noticed that people were not treating the water they collected from the hand pump.
The local leadership in Ikonia is strong, and the elected Safe Water Committee was eager to work with us to install a sustainable safe water solution. With the help of the community, we drilled a new borehole, built a safe water enclosure, installed our Erosion Chlorinator, and piped water extensions to 12 public tab stands. We also installed a solar array to improve the reliability and long-term sustainability of the system. In August of 2021, our team finished the installation and commissioned the safe water system. We have visited the community five times for routine follow-up and support, and we will continue to receive monthly reports from the Safe Water Committee and monitor the system’s data through our remote monitoring system until we transition the project over to the community.
San Roque is a remote community in the Amazon River basin region of eastern Peru along the Ucayali River. Access requires 10 to 12 hours of travel by boat. Residents used to live without access to safe water, compounding challenges to health, livelihoods, education, and overall well-being. Because of these logistical challenges to get to San Roque, coupled with COVID-19 restrictions, curfews, travel bans, and global supply chain disruptions, delays pushed back our timeline in this community. We are thankful to share that in March 2022, safe water began flowing in San Roque. Spending was 22% over budget because of several factors. Primarily, the project design and proposal were completed one year before to global constraints on the supply chain, which raised the cost of materials and labor. In addition, because this project was uniquely remote, Water Mission paid for a staff member to live in San Roque for the past year.
In this community, we customized a highly engineered solution that draws water from a nearby lake via a floating pump station and a solar inverter, to bring water to the treatment house. The treated water is then piped to three water points in the community. Each community water point has a 10,000-liter (2,600-gallon) storage tank. Our staff now follow up with the community through routine visits and monthly reports from the elected Safe Water Committee and will stay in close contact with the community. Our satellite-based monitoring system will also help us remotely evaluate data to ensure the system is operating efficiently. As part of this project, Water Mission has implemented its new Restore Survey- a breakthrough, cost-effective tool designed to routinely evaluate the impact of WASH in communities around the world. The Restore Survey is audio-recorded in Peru's local language and presented with a mobile touch-screen device so users can respond anonymously and share data. This data is then collected, analyzed, and shared with community leaders on the same day the survey is administered. A pre-project survey has been conducted, and another will be done after the project has been implemented.
