From the Field: Meet the inspiring leaders of Dargah Sharif, Bangladesh
Empowering Community Leaders Meet the leaders of Dargah Sharif, a neighborhood of Khulna, Bangladesh, home to 3,000 people. This committee was organized and trained by our local partner Dushtha Shasthya Kendra (DSK) to address the water & sanitation needs of their community and, in the committee’s words, ‘to reduce inequality.’ Their accomplishments are inspiring. Seeking […]
Decentralized wastewater treatment R&D
Visit the community of Tarabo, Bangladesh: “Now we feel good about our neighborhood.” Only 2% of wastewater for 18 million people living in Dhaka is treated before discharge to waterways Over 18 million people live in the Dhaka metro area, with 4 million living in informal housing surrounding the city. Dhaka is located on the […]
Doña Lidia: We are different now than before. We feel differently about ourselves.
Before the town of San Pedrito completed their water project, Doña Lidia spent her days trekking up and down steep mountain trails to find water. Now their new water system pipes water to every home, school, and clinic—for 24/7 access to safe water, a toilet, and a shower. When Doña Lidia’s community’s project was completed […]
Honoring our 2021 Water Ambassador: Russ Garrison and the Garrison Family
Water1st is built upon the belief that the global water and sanitation crisis can be solved by building a community of concerned people who take simple and effective actions together. Each year, our Give Water Give Life benefit brings the Water1st community together to celebrate what has been achieved, and to chart our course for […]
Youth Spotlight: Why youth board member Lily walks
Too often, I take for granted the luxury of water and overlook the fact that billions of people lack access to this human right. I believe that all individuals deserve the resources and the opportunity to reach their potential. In high school, I was introduced to Water1st, a non-profit organization dedicated to combating the global […]
Empowered women empower women
On International Women’s Day we applaud the women who literally move mountains to make our water projects a reality. These are the women who hold their families together with unfathomably scarce resources, and who spend their days carrying every drop of water their families use. These same women work tirelessly to support our water projects. […]
Dina’s story | water changes everything
Our Founder & Executive Director first met Dina in 1996 in the small mountainside community of Los Sorrianos in western Honduras. As a bright and vivacious four year-old, Dina spent her days collecting water with her mother. The following year, with the support of our local partner, COCEPRADIL, the Los Sorrianos water project was completed. […]
Let’s Build Toilets People Will Use
Dezenove de Outubre, Mozambique is located in the Cabo Delgado region, on the side of a paved road to Tanzania, where several long-distance buses make pit stops each day. During a 2017 visit, one community member told me that he is ashamed when the buses stop, as it allows outsiders to see how they live. […]
People Without Clean Water Need Smart Investments
In remote and impoverished communities around the world, I’ve heard new water systems described as a dream come true, winning the lottery, and God touching the Earth. There is no under-estimating the significance of the end to the all-consuming daily walk for water. Over 2 billion people still lack access to water that is safe […]
Honoring our 2020 Water Ambassador: John Crossman
Each year we recognize a member of our community whose contributions to our work are remarkable. This year we are honored to celebrate John Crossman as our 2020 Water Ambassador. John’s brilliant mind and unique background contribute to the invaluable support he has provided us over the past fifteen years – from his service in […]
Project Community Update | the impact of COVID-19
The leadership of our partners during this unprecedented pandemic has proven nothing short of extraordinary. The effective and unified actions of our in-country partners are protecting our project regions and saving lives. They are demonstrating the multitude of ways in which trusted leaders can mobilize and protect a community through effective messaging—this influence doesn’t happen […]
Update from Bangladesh | Be inspired
The urban slum communities we support in Bangladesh consist of hard-working rickshaw drivers, domestic workers, and other low-wage earners. They survive one day at a time, without personal savings or a safety net. When their work is disrupted by a pandemic, their families are instantly impacted and at great risk. Our partner organization, DSK, is […]
In the Nick of Time | water flows in Dima Jeliwan
In early March, about the same time the first case of coronavirus was detected in Ethiopia, Astedu turned on the tap in her side yard and clean water flowed for the first time. Now Astedu and her family are armed with the number one defense against pathogens of all kinds, clean water. All Water1st projects are designed […]
Dima Jeliwan, Ethiopia Update
An update from our Dima Jeliwan, Ethiopia project. Asinakech is over 60 years old. She is more vulnerable to coronavirus. On one of the first days that Ethiopia reported detecting the presence of the virus in the country, the Dima Jeliwan project started pumping water to the first households to connect to the system, including […]
Honduras COVID-19 Update
Our Honduras partner, COCEPRADIL, has produced this video for social media, targeting young people who may be out in public and spreading the virus to their family members, espcially elderly parents and grandparents. 75 year old Don Raúl Cantarero of Candelaria, Honduras says this: “I am an old man, I am 75 years old. I […]
Update from the Field | Azacualpa Centro, Honduras
¡Viva, Azacualpa!Clean water is flowing in Azacualpa Centro! We just returned from Honduras where we were joined by over 1,000 people in Azacualpa Centro to cut-the-ribbon on their new water system. The full-day celebration was planned by the community and filled with original songs, skits, speeches, and poetry conveying gratitude, happiness, humor and stories to […]