Water Is Life Brings Clean Water to Communities in Need

Water Is Life is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives and transforming communities through clean water, sanitation, and hygiene programs. Water Is Life provides clean drinking water, hygiene education, and sanitation programs to schools and villages in the developing world. The non-profit also encourages others to help by donating, raising funds, and raising awareness about the global water crisis.

Over a billion people in the world don't have access to clean water. In fact, the majority of toilets in the United States contain purer water. Diarrhea is the second leading cause of death among children under the age of 5, claiming nearly 1.5 million young lives each year worldwide.

Water Is Life works closely with NGOs, local governments, and partners to ensure households, orphanages, schools, and medical facilities in developing countries like Haiti, Ghana, and Kenya have access to potable water and proper hygiene and sanitation. Thanks to the charity's efforts, hours are restored each day, enabling children to go to school and women to learn a trade, start a business, and earn an income. Moreover, clean water cuts down illnesses by almost a third.

Founder Ken Surrite got the idea for Water Is Life while he was in a hotel in Nairobi in 2007. As he turned on the shower to let the water warm up, he realized that the children he had just left in an orphanage would love to have the water that he was letting go down the drain. The phrase “water is life” kept going through his head, so he took action and started Water Is Life.

Every day, 6,500 people die from waterborne diseases, with 5,000 of them being children.

“While we may not be able to help them all, it makes a huge difference in the lives of the ones we are able to help,” says Surrite.