Guidestar's Philanthropedia Names Water For People Top Non-Profit of 2011
January 5, 2012
By Philanthropedia
The Cause:
Poor water, sanitation, and hygiene have many serious repercussions. Children- and particularly girls-can’t attend schools because their schools lack private and decent sanitation facilities. Women are forced to spend large parts of their day fetching water, leaving children unattended in homes. And 3.5 million people die each year (three million of whom are children) because of water-borne diseases.
The Scope:
Experts working in the field of water, sanitation, and hygiene were asked to recommend up to three nonprofits doing high-impact work across multiple countries/regions, and up to three nonprofits doing high-impact work in a specific country/region. The nonprofits could be working in direct service, advocacy, litigation, research, education, and other areas.
Expert Reviews: Evidence of Impact
Most experts applaud Water For People's commitment to sustainability, monitoring and evaluation. Water For People have pushed the sector forward on sustainability and evidence over the long term, where many experts have described as lacking in the WASH sector. Many experts specifically mentioned the success of their FLOW project, which is a platform for monitoring ongoing operation of water systems throughout the developing world. Their staff collects data and evaluates their program on a regular basis, and their impact is global, in which they work in multiple countries, often in difficult areas. They are a leading organization in the sector.
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