Drop in the Bucket.  3 April, 2008.  <http://www.dropinthebucket.org/Welcome.html>

            Drop in the Bucket is a registered nonprofit organization devoted to bringing impoverished Africans access to clean, drinkable water.  Their mission is to provide wells and sanitation facilities to villages and rural schools.  The organization is new; it was started in 2006, but they promise that no board members or directors receive compensation and that volunteers even pay for their own travel expenses, indicating their devotion to the cause.  Drop in the Bucket’s projects revolve around their belief that sanitation, hygiene, and water are all interrelated.  Their wells use pumps that pump to a container and also to a reservoir tank.  In addition, roundabout pumps, which can be played on by kids in the village, pump water to handwashing facilities and toilets.  And in turn, the septic system turns waste into 100% safe drinking water after a 28 day process, so the entire system is sustainable and requires little upkeep or additional expenses.

African Well Fund.  3 April, 2008.  <http://www.africanwellfund.org/about.html>

            The African Well Fund is a nonprofit organization devoted to raising donations and funding well construction in Africa.  All donations go directly to Africare, which is a leader among US charities that benefit Africa, so their charity is well supported and reputable.  Part of the website is devoted to education people about water issues in Africa, citing statistics from credible sources such as: “more than half of Africa’s people lack access to safe drinking water” (UN) and “of all the renewable water available in Africa each year, only 4% is used -- because most Africans lack the wells, canals, pumps, reservoirs and other irrigation system” (Africare).  With one third of African women walking more than an hour each day to get water, the African Well Fund sees a powerful need that is easy to solve, because the construction of wells is relatively cheap.  The website also describes current projects in Rwanda, Uganda, and Sierra Leone that make up a budget of only about $15,000 US.

Water Aid America. 3 April, 2008.  <http://www.wateraid.org/usa/default.asp>

            Water Aid America is a nonprofit organization devoted to enabling the world’s poorest people to access clean water and sanitation technologies.  In addition to raising donations, Water Aid America primarily works with partner organizations to educate, build and sustain affordable water and sanitation facilities.  In addition, Water Aid America helps organizations raise funds and it uses political activism to influence regulatory change.  The website provides useful educational information about different technologies including initial costs, ongoing costs, benefits, and implementation, which is helpful for potential donors or concerned citizens so they can understand water Water Aid America actually does.  Showing all of this information adds to their credibility, because donors are able to see what their money goes to.

Blood:Water Mission  April 20, 2008  <http://www.bloodwatermission.com/?em1204=43911>

This is the website home for the Blood: Water Mission, inspired by the members of the band Jars of Clay.  This mission is “committed to clean blood and clean water to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic, to build clean wells in Africa, to support medical facilities caring for the sick, to make a lasting impact in the fight against poverty, injustice and oppression in Africa through the linking of needs, talents and continents, of people and resources.”

One current project they have is the 1000 wells project in which Blood: Water is trying to to build 1000 wells and clean water projects in 1000 African Communities.  They are also learning about how HIV/AIDS

Water Wells for Africa   April 10^th 2008  <http://www.waterwellsforafrica.com/>

In the past decade, the Water Wells for Africa Project founded the building of 100 wells in Malawi.  They return yearly to assess the condition of the wells. In Malawi, only 37% of the population has access to safe water that is within one kilometer. 

This is an organization of volunteers—so there is little overhead and the money goes to the wells. A $5000 donation builds a well and provides the tools and education necessary to maintain the well. 

The WWFA is a project of the Breakwater church in Manhattan Beach California.