Water For People + Kristof C-19 Impact initiative
New York Times columnist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof has launched the C-19 Impact Initiative to highlight organizations like Water For People, who are fighting on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to encourage you to support this life-saving work. Read the article.
Now, more than ever, access to safe water, hygiene, and sanitation is essential to protecting human health, and we are grateful to be recognized for our work bringing sustainable water and sanitation systems to communities around the globe.


Everyone Deserves Water That Lasts Forever
Water For People believes in a world where everyone has safe water and sanitation that lasts forever. We believe in it so much, we've named our impact model Everyone Forever.
Everyone means every family, health clinic, and school. Forever means water and sanitation systems are sustainable and will last for generations. It sounds simple, but it’s actually a big shift in the status quo. In most water and sanitation work, the focus is on short-term wins – building a few wells or toilets without considering how they will keep serving people long into the future.
We used to operate that way, until we realized it wasn’t working. When pumps and toilets broke, no one could fix them. This left communities back where they started. So in 2011, we conceptualized the Everyone Forever model. We partner with local governments, businesses, and individuals, providing the support they need to bring clean water and sanitation systems to their own communities. Then we ensure they have the resources they need to maintain those systems now and in the future. The local government provides the structure. The local shop owner provides the materials. The local entrepreneur makes repairs. And the local family gets clean water for a lifetime.
Learn more about Everyone Forever through the eyes of the people who help make it possible:

The Town
of Thagoni
Está muy lejos, they tell us. Thagoni is very far.
Thagoni is so far away, so deep in the mountains, and so spread out that national programs for water access never would have reached it. Just the cost to get a rig up there to drill a well would be prohibitive.

Students are Part of the Solution
Both Maribel and David are dreaming of going to university next year – Maribel wants to be a nurse or social worker, and David plans to study mechanics. One of the reasons they are able to dream about heading off to university is because they go to a school that has safe water and sanitation. They never had to miss school due to fetching water or being sick from water-borne diseases.
Highest possible Charity Navigator Rating
Water For People has earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for 16 consecutive years. This distinction places our organization in the top 1% of all charities.
We’re proud that our commitment to transparency and responsibility has earned us this designation. We couldn’t do this work without the support of so many who believe in our mission and have joined us on this journey to bring water to Everyone Forever.
But wait...there's more!
Well, hello, New York Times reader. Of course we expected you to reach the bottom of our page - you love to read!
We invite you to keep on reading. Learn more about our work, meet our valued partners, or check out our progress. When you're done reading, please don't forget to join our email list and explore other ways to get involved.
Thanks so much for taking time to get to know Water For People.