Major Announcement from Water For People's CEO
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
By: Ned Breslin

The Case Foundation has made a transformative investment in Water For People. This investment will enable Water For People to expand sustainable water solutions and grow social entrepreneurship in Africa.

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Read more about this partnership in a letter written by Gary Edson, CEO of PlayPumps International - U.S.

Water For People is very excited to announce a significant investment from the Case Foundation that will enable us to accelerate and expand our efforts to promote innovative, sustainable and social-entrepreneurial driven water solutions in Africa. The Case Foundation, led by Steve and Jean Case (former AOL executives), is known for, amongst other activities, championing new methods of social entrepreneurship in the water sector its commitment to solving the global safe water challenge. We believe our partnership will help strengthen Water For People’s work overseas.

This week, the Foundation made a transformative investment in Water For People which will allow us to significantly expand the success we’ve had working with local entrepreneurs to provide technical support to communities in Malawi, Rwanda and Uganda. This is success that wouldn’t have been possible without the commitment of you, our supporters, for the past 19 years.

The Case Foundation is addressing a key challenge through their investment in Water For People: that ongoing operations and maintenance is a challenge for almost all organizations involved in the delivery of safe water solutions. Put simply, broken pumps exist throughout the developing world because the financial and technical capacity to operate, maintain, repair and replace water systems is fragile.

An answer Water For People has found to this challenge of sustainability is the empowerment of “circuit riders,” who are mobile mechanics that visit village after village to maintain and repair water infrastructure. Circuit riders collect a fee for their services and become viable businesses that serve a social good by providing quality technical support to communities. This allows communities to continue to access safe water more effectively than was the case in the past. Downtimes are reduced, girls no longer walk past broken water infrastructure on their way to collect water from unprotected sources, and communities are freed from the burdens associated with repairing their water points.

In addition, PlayPumps International - U.S., which was initially funded by the Case Foundation, has contributed its existing inventory of pumps to Water For People. PlayPumps are a water supply technology that has historically been targeted at schools and clinics but will now be offered to communities within Water For People’s array of technology options. PlayPumps are a government-approved technology in Malawi, allowing Water For People to offer these to communities immediately. PlayPumps will now be included in the “circuit rider” program which means local repair and maintenance expertise will be accessible to villages and will ensure the better operations of these pumps in the field.

The combined, new resources from the Case Foundation and PlayPumps International - U.S. total roughly $2M in funds, assets, and in-kind support, complementing almost $2M of direct funding from Water For People’s program base in Africa.

The partnership is profound in that it puts the power of the Case Foundation behind Water For People and our unique model which encompasses using only appropriate technologies, continually monitoring our work, establishing partnerships to engage all key local entities, always requiring the community and partners to financially invest in their water solutions, and looking to the private sector to play a catalytic role in solving development challenges. In the end, the relationship will unleash the potential of the local private sector to scale work and solve problems sustainably. We’ll have an increased ability to engage the local private sector and demonstrate ways that the local private sector can play a key role in eradicating water poverty. We’ll have the opportunity to offer communities a larger portfolio of technology options supported by “circuit riders” when determining the best solution for their needs. And we’ll incorporate all of this into our signature World Water Corps® volunteer mapping, monitoring, and evaluation program to ensure the longevity of every solution.

The investment from the Case Foundation is a testament to all our staff, especially those in the field, who are pushing on the edges of the sector and showing there are better ways to work and have lasting impact. We are honored by the Foundation’s endorsement of our view that partnerships with the local private sector, community, civil society and local government are vital to the success of any international development project.

Please join me and the team at Water For People in celebrating this transformative partnership.

My thanks,

Edward D. Breslin
CEO, Water For People